Road Wronged

I am an Italian woman from Trieste in Northern Italy. While I don’t question the usefulness to tourists of some of the information contained in (the Italy Roads article), I felt that certain points required clarification.

One inaccuracy concerns the issuing of discount coupons for gas. This 15% discount is available only to cars with foreign license plates, meaning that one must rent the car outside of Italy.

Gas station owners in Italy hold to a 40-hour work week and do not “open and close at their convenience.” Different stations take different shifts so that some are open weekends and holidays. In addition, the self-service stations are always open.

While one should certainly be attentive and prudent when traveling, Italy is not a country of lunatics and crooks. Keeping one’s eyes open in a foreign country with which one is unfamiliar is good advice for any tourist, whether traveling in Italy, America or anywhere else.

Traveling to another country allows one to view and experience life in a different way: One who expects everything to be the way it is back home would probably be more comfortable staying there.

SILVIA COSSICH-GOODMAN

Malibu

Editor’s Note: According to Vittorio Cacciotti of the San Francisco-based Italian Government Travel Office, it is not necessary to rent a car outside Italy to qualify for discount coupons for gas. Visitors can get the coupons either in Rome at the Leonardo da Vinci Airport or in Milan at the Linate Airport by presenting their car rental agreement and passport.