The Police
If the worst happens, you'll be forced to have some dealings with the police. In Italy these come in many forms, their power split ostensibly to prevent any seizure of power. You're not likely to have much contact with the Guardia di Finanza , responsible for investigating smuggling, tax evasion and other finance-related felonies; and the Vigili Urbani , or town police, are mainly concerned with directing the traffic and punishing parking offences; while the Polizia Stradale patrol motorways. You may, however, have dealings with the Carabinieri , with their military-style uniforms and white shoulder belts, who deal with general crime, public order and drug control. These are the ones Italians are most rude about, but a lot of jokes concerning their supposed stupidity stem from the usual north-south prejudice. The Carabinieri tend to come from southern Italy - joining the police is one way to escape the poverty trap - and they are posted away from home so as to be well out of the sphere of influence of their families. The Polizia Statale , the other general crime-fighting force, enjoy a fierce rivalry with the Carabinieri and are the ones you'll perhaps have most chance of coming into contact with, since thefts should be reported to them. You'll find the address of the Questura or police station in the local telephone directory (in smaller places it may be just a local commissariato ), and we've included details in the major city listings. The Questura is also where you're supposed to go to obtain a permesso di soggiorno if you're staying for any length of time, or a visa extension if you require one . In any brush with the authorities, your experience will depend on the individuals you're dealing with. Apart from topless bathing (permitted, but don't try anything more daring) and camping rough , don't expect a soft touch if you're picked up for any offence, especially if it's drugs related. Drugs are generally frowned upon by everyone above a certain age, and universal hysteria about la droga , fuelled by the serious problem of heroin addiction all over Italy, means that any distinction between the "hard" and "soft" variety has become blurred. Theoretically everything is illegal above the possession of a few grams of cannabis or marijuana "for personal use", though there's no agreed definition of what this means and you can expect at least a fine for this. In general the south of Italy is more intolerant than the north, and in any case, if found with suspicious substances you can be kept in jail for as long as it takes for them to analyse the stuff, draw up reports and wait for the bureaucratic wheels to grind - which could be several weeks and sometimes months.
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