Helpful Hints & Useful Information

Eating Hours:
Lunch is generally served between 1pm and 2:30pm and particularly in the south, all other activity stops between these hours.

Dinner is at about 8pm and goes on until 11pm or later (in the south eating hours tend to be later).

Banking Hours:
Banks in Italy are open Monday through Friday from 8:35 a.m. to 1:35 p.m. and from 3:00 - 4:00 p.m.; in many tourist areas they are open non-stop from 8.30 a.m. to 4p.m. and closed all day on Saturday and Sunday and on national holidays. The afternoon one-hour opening may vary from city to city. Travelers' checks can be exchanged for Italian currency at most hotels and shops and at the foreign exchange offices in main railway stations and at the airports.

Etiquette and tipping:
Italians are friendly towards foreign visitors. On entering a shop or bar it is customary to greet people with a general buon giorno (good morning) or buona sera (good evening), and the same applies when leaving.

Tipping in restaurants is expected when the 15% service is not included. However, as much as 10% would be considered generous and a tip is not often expected at all in family-run restaurants. Taxi drivers and hotel porters expect a few euro if they have been helpful. You could simply round the bill up to the nearest 2 euro.

Dress codes
Italians generally tend to look stylish but don’t necessarily expect visitors to do the same. In most places you are not expected to dress-up; however, very scruffy or dirty clothes are unlikely to get good or friendly service.
When visiting places of worship (church or religious site) both sexes are required to cover torsos and upper arms. Shorts and skirts must reach below the knee.

Tax free shopping in Italy (I. V. A.)- IVA refund
THE IVA TAX is 16.67% of the purchase price of nearly everything sold in Italy. Non-European residents shopping in Italy can claim a refund of IVA on each purchase that exceeds 155 euro. There are no rebates of the IVA tax on hotels, restaurants or tourist services.

1. Upon making a purchase, the buyer must ask for an IVA refund. This form itemizes what has been purchased and states the refundable IVA amount. Stores that display a Global Refund “Tax Free Shopping” sign offer IVA refunds in cash upon departure from Italy, otherwise the only refund options are by credit card or by bank check. Bank check refunds should be avoided, as fees to cash them in the USA can be very expensive.

2. As with all exports, purchases must be declared at the Custom Office upon departure from Italy or the European Union (EU) and a validation stamp must be obtained. Validation stamps can be obtained at the Customs Office of an Italian airport only if purchased goods are shown first to the Custom Officer and then inserted immediately into the luggage to be checked in for final destination outside of the EU. If the purchases will remain the traveler’s carry-on luggage, the customs stamp can only be obtained at the Custom Office of the EU airport where the travel will be in transit for final destination outside of the EU. If the traveler is departing the EU by train or car, the customs stamp for Italian IVA refund form must be obtained at the border (travelers are departing the EU when they cross from Italy to Switzerland).

3. Stamped Global Refund Checks can be exchanged immediately for cash or credit card refund at the nearby Cash Refund Office. Allow two to three billing cycles for a credit card refund. All other IVA refund forms should be sent to their respective stores within 90 days of the date of the receipt. On receipt of this stamped form the vendor can then forward the IVA rebate to the tourist who made the purchase. For more information about shopping tax free in Italy call Global Refund at 800-566-9828 or visit their web site at http://www.globalrefund.com.