Survival Guide - The Italian Lakes - page 506

Legal Matters
The average tourist will have a brush with the law only if robbed by a bag-snatcher or pickpocket. If you're stopped by
the police in both Italy and Switzerland, you will be required to show your passport, so carry it at all times.
WHICH POLICE?
If you run into trouble in Italy, you're likely to end up dealing with the polizia statale (state police) or the cara-
binieri (military police). The polizia deal with thefts, visa extensions and permits (among other things). They
wear powder-blue trousers with a fuchsia stripe and a navy-blue jacket. A police station is called a questura.
The carabinieri deal with general crime, public order and drug enforcement (often overlapping with the poliz-
ia ). They wear a black uniform with a red stripe and drive night-blue cars with a red stripe. One of the big differ-
ences between the police and carabinieri is the latter's reach - even many villages have a carabinieri post.
In Ticino, Switzerland, any brushes with the law will likely be with the cantonal police force.
Drugs & Drink-Driving
Italy's drug laws were toughened in 2006 and possession of any controlled substances, including cannabis or marijuana,
can get you into hot water. Those caught in possession of 5g of cannabis can be considered traffickers and prosecuted as
such. The same applies to tiny amounts of other drugs. Those caught with amounts below this threshold can be subject
to minor penalties. You should be equally circumspect in Switzerland.
As for issues with drink-driving, the legal limit in both countries for blood-alcohol level is 0.05%, and random breath
tests do occur.
Maps
City Maps
The city maps in this guide, along with tourist office maps, are usually adequate. More detailed maps are available in
Italy at good bookshops, such as Feltrinelli. De Agostini, Touring Club Italiano (TCI) and Michelin all publish detailed
city maps.
Driving Maps
If driving, the Automobile Association's (AA) Road Atlas Italy, available in the UK, is scaled at 1:250,000 and includes
town maps. Just as good is Michelin's Tourist and Motoring Atlas Italy, scaled at 1:300,000.
In Italy, De Agostini publishes a comprehensive Atlante Turistico Stradale d'Italia (1:250,000), which includes 140
city maps (the AA Road Atlas is based on this). Perhaps handier for the lakes is TCI's Atlante Stradale d'Italia
(1:200,000), which is divided into three parts - grab the Nord volume ( www.touringclub.com ).
Michelin's fold-out Map 353 (Lombardia), scaled at 1:200,000, is good and covers the entire area of this guide, ex-
cept for Lake Orta and a sliver of territory in the west (for which you'd need neighbouring Map 351, Piemonte & Valle
d'Aosta). The 1:400,000 Italy: North-West (Map 561) covers the whole area.
Many of these are available online. Check out TrekTools ( www.trektools.com ).