Travel Departures: Italian connection

ITALY'S fraternal gesture to visiting motorists is a telephone number. Dial 116 within Italy (the cost of a local call), and it gets you through to the Telephone Assistance Centre run by the Automobile Club d'Italia. Tourists with a car or motorcycle, whether brought in from abroad or rented locally from the airports at Rome or Milan, can ring 116 for anything from legal advice to information about sports fixtures.

Unlike many similar schemes, the ACI service is not restricted to members of foreign motoring organisations; any foreigner in charge of a vehicle can use the helpline.