Health in Italy

How health care works for visitors

Italy has a national health service, the Servizio Sanitario Nazionale (SSN), run region by region, and its hospitals and doctors are generally good. Emergency care is available to anyone who needs it, regardless of nationality or insurance. What changes for an American is who pays: you are not enrolled in the SSN, so you can be billed for care, and you will usually pay the hospital or doctor yourself and claim it back from your insurer.

Alongside the public system there are private clinics and doctors in every city, often with shorter waits and English-speaking staff, and higher prices. The US Embassy in Rome and the consulates publish lists of local doctors and hospitals that treat English-speaking patients; look them up on the embassy website before you go. For the embassy's contacts, see Safety.

In an emergency

Call 112, the single European emergency number, or 118, the medical emergency line. Both are free from any phone, including a US mobile. Say where you are as precisely as you can (street and number, or the name of the sight or beach), describe the problem, and stay on the line. Operators in the big cities and tourist areas can usually handle English, though not always quickly; a few Italian words help.

• Aiuto (help)
• Ho bisogno di un'ambulanza (I need an ambulance)
• Mio marito / mia moglie / mio figlio sta male (my husband / my wife / my son is ill)
• Sono allergico a... (I am allergic to...)

More phrases are on Useful Italian.

The emergency room

The pronto soccorso is the emergency department of a public hospital, signposted with a red cross or the words "Pronto Soccorso". On arrival, a triage nurse assigns a priority code, by color or, in regions that have switched, by number from 1 (most urgent) to 5. Heart attacks, strokes, serious injuries and children with high fevers are seen fast. Minor problems can wait many hours, especially in big-city hospitals on summer weekends.

Bring your passport, your insurance details, a list of your medications and any allergies. You will get a discharge report (verbale di pronto soccorso); keep it, along with every receipt, for your insurance claim and for your doctor at home.

What care costs

Italian prices for medical care are far below US prices, but care for visitors is not automatically free. Urgent treatment in a public emergency room is given to everyone and is often free or cheap. Italian residents pay a fixed ticket (co-payment) for non-urgent emergency room visits, typically around €25 (about $28) depending on the region, and non-EU visitors can be billed at regional rates, especially for non-urgent visits, follow-up care and admissions. Practice differs from hospital to hospital and region to region. Genuine emergencies are treated first and billed later.

As a rough guide, a straightforward emergency room visit for a minor injury or illness often costs nothing or up to a few hundred euros. X-rays, scans, stitches and specialist consultations add to that. A hospital admission, surgery or an intensive care stay can run to thousands of euros, which is still far cheaper than the US but a real bill. Private clinics typically charge €100–250 (about $112–280) for a doctor's visit and much more for tests.

The cost that can be ruinous is medical evacuation. The State Department warns that an evacuation can cost more than $50,000, and a long-distance air ambulance to the US with a medical team can cost far more. Few US health plans pay for it, which is the main reason to buy travel medical insurance.

Doctors, nights and weekends

The guardia medica

The guardia medica, officially continuità assistenziale (continuity of care), is the public after-hours doctor service. It covers nights (usually 8 p.m. to 8 a.m.), weekends and public holidays, when family doctors are closed. A doctor can see you at a local clinic, advise by phone, or in some cases visit. It is meant for problems that cannot wait until morning but are not emergencies: a high fever, an ear infection, a bad stomach bug, a prescription you urgently need.

Each local health authority (ASL) runs its own service. In many regions you reach it on the national non-emergency number 116117; elsewhere there is a local number, which your hotel, the pharmacy or the ASL website can give you. Non-residents usually pay a modest fee per visit.

Tourist medical service

In beach and mountain resorts, many ASLs open a guardia medica turistica (tourist medical service) in the high season, mostly in summer and in some ski areas in winter. These clinics exist for visitors and charge non-residents a set fee, often in the range of tens of euros. Look for signs in the town or ask at the pharmacy or tourist office.

Private doctors and hotel doctors

Big hotels and many smaller ones can call a doctor to your room, for a fee. In Rome, Milan and Florence there are private English-speaking medical services and international hospitals; Rome has the Rome American Hospital and Salvator Mundi International Hospital, both private. Your insurer's assistance line can also find and sometimes pay a doctor directly.

Dentists and eyes

Dentists in Italy are mostly private. For a lost filling or broken tooth, ask the hotel or pharmacy for a nearby dentista; many will fit in an emergency. Opticians (ottico) can replace lost glasses quickly if you carry your prescription.

Pharmacies

An Italian farmacia is marked by a green cross, usually lit. Pharmacists are trained to assess minor problems and suggest treatment, and many speak some English in tourist areas. For a cold, a stomach upset, an insect bite, a blister or a mild allergy, start here.

• Hours. Typical hours are about 8:30 or 9 a.m. to 12:30 or 1 p.m., then 3:30 or 4 to 7:30 or 8 p.m., Monday to Saturday. Pharmacies in city centers and stations often stay open through lunch or later.
• Nights and Sundays. Pharmacies take turns staying open. The farmacia di turno (on-duty pharmacy) is posted on the door and window of every pharmacy, and listed on regional and city websites. At night you may be served through a small hatch.
• Over-the-counter medicine. Even common painkillers are sold mostly in pharmacies and parafarmacie (drugstores without prescription medicines), not supermarkets. Packs are smaller than in the US, and prices are usually low. Many pharmacies also check blood pressure and blood sugar and run some quick tests.
• Prescriptions. Italian pharmacies cannot fill a US prescription. If you need a prescription drug, a doctor in Italy (the guardia medica or a private doctor) has to write one.

Bringing your own medicine

• Pack enough for the whole trip plus a few extra days, in your carry-on.
• Keep medicines in their original labeled containers, with a copy of the prescription.
• Ask your doctor for a short letter listing your conditions and medicines by generic name, which any Italian doctor can read.
• Controlled medicines, including ADHD stimulants, strong opioid painkillers and some sleep and anxiety drugs, have stricter rules in Italy. Check with the Italian embassy or a consulate in the US before you travel with them.
• If you use injectable medicine or a device such as an insulin pump, carry a doctor's letter for airport security.

Travel insurance

Check what your own health plan covers abroad before you buy anything. Many US plans cover only emergencies abroad, or reimburse you later at in-network rates, and few pay foreign hospitals directly. Original Medicare generally does not cover care outside the US. Some Medigap supplement plans include foreign travel emergency coverage, usually 80 percent after a deductible, up to a lifetime limit; Medicare Advantage plans vary, so call yours.

A good travel medical policy for Italy should include:

• Emergency medical treatment abroad, with a high limit (many travelers choose $100,000 or more)
• Medical evacuation and repatriation, ideally $250,000 or more
• A 24-hour assistance line that can find a hospital and guarantee payment
• Coverage for pre-existing conditions, if you have any (often available only if you buy soon after booking)
• Search and rescue, if you will hike, ski or climb
• Coverage for activities you plan, such as scuba diving, e-bikes or rented scooters

Credit card travel benefits usually cover trip cancellation and lost luggage; few include medical care. Read the medical section of any policy in full.

Heat

Summer heat waves are the most common health risk for visitors from June to September. Temperatures of 95–104°F (35–40°C) in Rome, Florence, Naples, Sicily and the Po Valley now happen most summers, often for a week or more, and old stone cities hold the heat overnight. Italy's Ministry of Health publishes daily heat bulletins for major cities, graded green to red. On red days, it advises older people, young children and anyone with heart or lung conditions to stay out of the sun in the middle of the day.

Signs of heat illness

• Heat exhaustion: heavy sweating, dizziness, headache, nausea, weakness, cramps. Get into shade or air conditioning, drink water, cool the skin with wet cloths, and rest.
• Heat stroke: confusion, slurred speech, fainting, hot skin, a very high body temperature. Call 112 at once and cool the person while you wait.

Staying well in the heat

• Book outdoor sites such as the Colosseum, the Roman Forum and Pompeii for opening time or the last slots of the day.
• Drink before you are thirsty; refill at public fountains.
• Wear a hat, light loose clothing and high-factor sunscreen; covered shoulders also get you into churches.
• Take the Italian approach: a long lunch indoors and a rest in the afternoon, then out again after 5 p.m.
• Confirm air conditioning before you book any room in summer; see Where to stay.

See When to go for temperatures by region and month.

Vaccines, mosquitoes and ticks

The CDC recommends that travelers to Italy be up to date on routine vaccines, including the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine, since measles circulates in Europe. Depending on your plans, your doctor may also suggest hepatitis A or B. There are no vaccination requirements to enter Italy.

Mosquitoes

The Asian tiger mosquito, which bites in daytime, is common across Italy from late spring to fall, and ordinary mosquitoes are thick near lakes, rivers and Venice's lagoon in the evening. Italy reports West Nile virus cases every summer, mainly in the Po Valley and, in 2025, in a larger outbreak in Lazio and Campania. Small locally acquired outbreaks of dengue and chikungunya have occurred in recent summers. Most infections are mild or cause no symptoms, but older people face a higher risk of serious illness from West Nile.

• Use an EPA-registered repellent (DEET, picaridin or oil of lemon eucalyptus), which you can also buy at Italian pharmacies.
• Choose rooms with screens or air conditioning; many hotels provide a plug-in repellent device (zampirone or fornelletto).
• See a doctor if you develop a fever with headache, rash or joint pain during or after the trip, and mention your travel.

Ticks

Ticks in woods and meadows in the northeast (Friuli Venezia Giulia, Veneto, Trentino and Alto Adige) can carry Lyme disease and tick-borne encephalitis. If you plan long hikes or camping there in spring or summer, ask your doctor about the tick-borne encephalitis vaccine, which is licensed in the US. Wear long trousers, use repellent and check yourself every evening.

Other creatures

Vipers live in dry hills and mountains but bite rarely; watch where you put your hands on rock walls. On rocky beaches, sea urchins and occasional jellyfish are the usual problems. Pharmacies sell creams for stings and tweezers for spines.

Drinking water and food

Tap water is safe to drink across Italy and tightly regulated. Rome's free public fountains, the nasoni, run constantly with the same water that comes from the tap, and you can drink from them by blocking the spout so water spurts up from the hole on top. Milan has its green cast-iron fountains, and Florence's fontanelli dispense chilled still and even sparkling water free. Do not drink from any tap or fountain marked acqua non potabile (not drinking water), common on trains and in some public restrooms.

Italians drink a lot of bottled water by preference, and restaurants usually bring a bottle (naturale, still, or frizzante, sparkling) for €2–4 (about $2.20–4.50). You can ask for tap water (acqua del rubinetto), though not every restaurant will serve it. In parts of Sicily and Sardinia, summer droughts have led to water rationing in recent years, and in some southern towns the tap water tastes strongly of chlorine. Follow your host's advice there.

Food hygiene standards are high. EU rules require restaurants to tell you about the main allergens in their dishes, and awareness of celiac disease is high, with many places offering gluten-free (senza glutine) pasta and pizza. See Food for ordering with allergies.

Other things to know

• Falls. Cobblestones, worn marble steps, steep streets and uneven ancient sites cause more injuries to visitors than anything exotic. Wear shoes with grip and take care on wet stone.
• Traffic. Scooters weave and drivers do not always stop at crosswalks, especially in Naples and Rome. Make eye contact and cross decisively.
• Sun at sea. UV on the water and in the mountains is intense even when it feels cool. Reapply sunscreen and drink water.
• Smoking. Banned indoors in public places; Milan also bans it in most outdoor public spaces near other people.
• Air quality. Milan and the Po Valley have poor air on still winter days; people with asthma should carry their inhalers.

Health checklist before you go

• Check your health plan's foreign coverage, and buy travel medical insurance with evacuation cover if it falls short
• Get up to date on routine vaccines, including measles, at least a few weeks before departure
• Pack your medicines in original containers, with prescriptions and a doctor's letter
• Save 112, your insurer's assistance number and the nearest US consulate in your phone
• Write down your allergies, blood type and medicines, in English and Italian if you can
• Pack repellent, sunscreen, blister plasters and a small first-aid kit
• Read Safety for heat waves, strikes and volcanoes, and the packing list for what else to bring