Motorways in Italy are overwhelmingly paid. Without tolls, you will pass only some sections in the south of the country, which is due to the lower wealth of those regions.
Another very important information is that there is no vignette system in Italy.
Unfortunately, this translates into tolls, as these costs are among the highest in Europe. In sunny Italy, you pay for a specific motorway section depending on the type of vehicle you are driving.
Motorways in Italy are a comfortable, but quite expensive way of traveling.
Highways in Italy
The motorway network in Italy is around 6400 kilometers. Interestingly, Italy was the first country in the world to build a toll road network.
Exactly in September 1921, the first section of the motorway was commissioned.
Later, people were used to build them as part of social work, under the guidance of dictator Mussolini. Despite the dubious validity of this type of move, this has significantly translated into the emergence of a dense motorway network in Italy. Which aroused interest in the Americans, who decided in the 1930s to also implement the idea of building a fast road network.
Now a small curiosity: The longest highway (A1) in Italy is up to 760 kilometers long.
Currently, the matter of highways is as follows:
- A1 (Highway of the Sun), connects: Milan – Bologna – Florence – Rome – Naples
- A2 (Mediterranean Highway), which connects: Salerno and Reggio Calabria
- A3 motorway connecting Naples with Salerno
- A4 motorway that connects Turin – Milan – Verona – Venice – Trieste
- A5 (Aosta Valley Highway), connecting Turin – Aosta – Tunnel du Mont Blanc
- A6 (Green Sea Highway), which connects Turin with Savona
- A7 (Flower Highway), connecting Milan and Genoa
- A8 (Lakes Highway), which connects Milan with Varese
- A9 (Lake Highway), connecting Milan and Como
- A10 (Highway of Flowers), which connects Ventimiglia – Savona and Genoa
- A11 motorway connecting Florence and the Cote d’Azur
- A12 (Azure Highway), which connects Rome – Pisa and Genoa
- A13 motorway connecting Bologna and Padua
- A14 (Adriatic Highway), which connects Bologna – Rimini – Ancona – Foggia and Taranto
- A15 (Highway Cisa Pass), connecting Parma with La Spezia
- A16 (Highway Two Seas), which connects Naples with Canosa di Puglia
- A18 motorway connecting Messina – Taormina and Catania
- A19 motorway that connects Palermo – Enna and Catania
- A20 motorway connecting Messina – Patti with Campofelice di Roccella
- A21 (Vine Highway), which connects Turin – Alessandria and Brescia
- A22 (Brenno Highway) connecting Modena – Verona – Bolzano and the Brenner Pass
- A23 motorway that connects Tarvisio – Udine and Palmanova
- A24 (Park Highway), connecting Rome with Teramo
- A25 connects the A24 motorway and Pescara
- A26 (Tunnel highway), connecting Voltri – Alessandria with Gravellona Toce
- A27 highway that connects Mestre and Pian di Vedoia
- A28 motorway connecting Portogruaro with Conegliano
- A29 motorway that connects Palermo – Alcamo – Salemi and Mazara del Vallo
- A30 motorway connecting Caserta – Nola and Salerno
- A31 (Highway of the Astico Valley), which connects Vicenza with Thiene
- A32 (Highway “Frejus”), connecting Turin – Susa with the Frejus Tunnel
- A33 motorway that connects Asti – motorway A6 and Cuneo
- A53 motorway connecting the A7 highway with Pavia
- A91 highway that connects the capital of Italy with Fiumicino Leonardo da Vinci Airport in Rome
Beltways of large cities in Italy
In addition to the highways mentioned above, every major city in Italy also has its own ring road, of course with an additional toll, mostly around Milan. For example, the roads marked from A50 to A52 are the Milan ring road, the A55 is the Turin beltway, while the A90 is the Rome beltway.
In addition, an entire network of so-called motorway connections was built in Italy, which further facilitate the movement of the Italian land. Qualitatively, they do not differ from what the local highways represent.
Tunnels in Italy
You also need to take the tunnels – Mont Blanc, Frejus, Gran Sasso and Gran San Barnardo, under which the journey is additionally paid.
How much does such a tunnel ride cost in Italy?
For example, the price of a one-way trip for a passenger car through the du Mont Blanc tunnel is 46.4 euro and a return trip 57.9 euro. In turn, passing through the Frejus tunnel costs 45.60 euro one way and 56.90 euro two ways, by car.
Let us now move to the prices of motorways in Italy.
Motorway tolls in Italy (how to pay for the motorway in Italy)
When entering the motorway in Italy, you collect the ticket by pressing the red button, you go to the destination, and at the exit of the highway you have to pay for kilometers traveled.
This is done at the gates, where you have to queue up depending on the type of payment. You can choose between traditional cash or payment cards.
The matter here is clear – there is a cashier at the gate, at which you will pay the due fee or drive to an automated station, where you will have to insert your ticket into the machine and then throw the appropriate amount into it. After confirming the amount of money added by you, you receive any change and drive through the open gate.
Importantly, in case of any problems it is possible to call the service.
In addition, it is also possible to pay for motorways in Italy with pre-paid cards. We then buy such a card (Viacard) and recharge it with cash, e.g. 50 or 75 euro and pay it at the gates, like any other. Their balance is checked in special points on the highways (Punto Blu) or on the phone.
See how it is done:
Attention! When you run out of money on your prepaid card, you can pay the rest in cash. However, only if there is a live cashier at the gate, not a machine.
One more important thing: you must also remember that the Viacard system does not work in Sicily.
You can buy Viacard cards at motorway stops, in kiosks and small shops, or at Autogrills.
How else can you pay for motorways in Italy?
Another way to pay for motorways in Italy is to buy Telepassa. This is a type of cashless toll collection, where to use it you need to mount the transmitter (on the windshield) of your vehicle, which in turn after driving through the selected gate reads your data and then sends us the bill at the end of the billing period.
The biggest advantage of this system is that you do not have to queue, all you have to do is drive through a properly marked gate (Telepass). This type of toll solution in Italy is mainly used by transport companies and people who often travel around Italy.
Price list for motorways in Italy (how much does a highway ride in Italy cost?)
The price for motorways in Italy depends on the number of kilometers driven, the class of road you will travel on, or even the terrain. In Italy, winding and mountainous routes will cost you more. The price of road travel in Italy also depends on the specific company that manages the selected part of the country (Autostrade per l´Italia, SALT, ALP, Autovie Venete).
So what is the price for a highway in Italy?
The average cost of driving for one kilometer on the Italian highway is around 0.70-0.75 eurocents.
In addition, the type of vehicle you use is important. It’s all about the height of your car and the number of axles. All means of transport in Italy have been divided into classes:
– Two-axle vehicles including:
- category A applies to cars equal to or lower than 1.3 meters (measured on the front axle) and motorcycles with 150ccm engine capacity and more
- Category B refers to two-axle vehicles over 1.30 m
– Vehicles, including those with trailers, up to three axles
– Vehicles, including those with trailers, up to four axles
– Vehicles with trailers, up to five or more axles
Is there a calculator that will calculate how much will I pay for the highway in Italy?
Sure!
You can check the exact price for the section of motorways in Italy traveled here by entering specific cities in the search fields. You just have to remember to use Italian city names here (i.e. Napoli not Naples).
Sample prices for motorways in Italy:
- Florence – Rome 18.40 euro
- Milan – Naples 57.10 euro
- Bologna – Padua 8,10 euro
- Brennero – Modena 21.60 euro
- Venice – Belluno 8 euro
- Asti – Cuneo 14.90 euro
How fast can you drive on Italian highways?
Let’s see!
Speed limits on highways in Italy
You can drive the motorways in Italy not exceeding 130 km/h. There are also three-lane roads, where theoretically the speed limit reaches up to 150 km/h. When it comes to speed control, the Italian police are unlikely to catch traffic pirates. In Italy, the case is solved by the electronic speed control system – Tutor. It measures the speed at which a vehicle moves, over a distance of 20 kilometers. To avoid “souvenirs” from Italy in the form of a ticket, you should look out for boards with the inscription: Controllo elettronico della velocita, which means electronic speed control.
Radars are installed on free roads.
In addition, it is worth knowing that on motorways in Italy there is a driving order with dipped headlights on all day. And some of the passes that are on the highway routes may be temporarily excluded from traffic due to adverse weather conditions.
Motorway distribution in Italy
See on the map how the individual motorways are distributed in Italy:
Let us know in the comments about your opinions on motorways in Italy, what to look for and where.