General Info
Passports: You should carry your passport/identity document with you at all times - a requirement of the law.
Currency: The local currency is the euro. At the time of writing, one euro is worth about 70p or A$1.70.
Receipts: Whenever you purchase anything - even just a coffee - remember to take the receipt with you. If you are not given a receipt, ask for the 'ricevuta fiscale' [Pr. richevoota fiscarlay]. Italian finance police carry out random controls and may ask you for this receipt. If you cannot produce it, both you and the point of sale will be fined. This is to ensure that retailers to not fiddle the books when it comes to paying taxes (a national sport in Italy) . Those who are determined to evade find easy prey in tourists who aren't aware of the rules ...
Pedestrian Crossings: When crossing the road at a pedestrian crossing, do not assume the traffic will stop. If there are traffic lights, wait for the green man and proceed with caution - traffic can still come from around the corner. If there are no traffic lights, wait until the coast is clear, then run!
Telephone Numbers:
British Consulate General, Via San Paolo 7, 20121 Milan: (+39) 02 723001
Australian General Consulate, 3rd Floor, Via Borgogna 2, 20122 Milan: (+39) 02 777041
Queuing: This is an alien concept for Italians. Why waste time waiting when there are so many other more fun things to do? Forget 'First come, first served' - here it's 'survival of the fittest'. If you have ever flown with Ryanair, you will know that there is no seat allocation. There are, however, seats for everyone. If you've ever flown with Ryanair to an Italian city, you probably felt like you were queuing for tickets to a Robbie Williams concert. The second the gate opens, complete chaos ensues, as a mass of bodies, with passport and boarding card in hand, pushes and shoves to get to the plane first, using elbows, backpacks and any free limb to knock the competition out of the way. It's an incredible sight to watch - just make sure you're not at the front of the queue! You will notice this same phenomenon, although fortunately not this extreme, if you decide to venture out into the shops and bars of Bergamo. In an attempt to bring some sort of order to this chaos, in many supermarket deli counters and bread shops, you need to take a ticket from the dispenser and wait your turn - ingenious!
Siesta: Shops, banks and most businesses close for lunch from about 12:30 to 3 or 4pm. Fortunately, restaurants have not yet adopted the siesta!
Car Hire: For information on car hire in Bergamo, see Hertz, Avis or Europcar. Ryanair passengers will get a discount with Hertz; Flybe passengers will get a good deal with Avis.