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I'm just back from 2 weeks in Venice, Florence and Rome. My daughter and I used the money belt frequently and spotted one another when taking pictures. We hardly saw anyone on the street begging because the police were in most tourist areas. We would see some in the side streets but they were women and just stood there.
I was bumped at the Forum by a tall man who came up from behind and bumped my closely held pocket book. I slapped by protected bag hard and stepped away. My daughter was bumped at the Palatine Hill in much the same way and felt it was weird because the person paused and checked back to see. It was not a courtesy check, also by a single man.
We felt safe everywhere we went, just somewhat alert at all times. Great trip. Ciao
Update Pickpocket concerns Italy
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You and your daughter being aware of who is around you at all times helps avoid being pickpocketed.
I think you were very smart to use a money belt. I always wear one and have never lost anything, whereas my sis had her purse stolen by a clever thief. Fortunately she had given me her passport and credit card to put in my money belt, so that all she lost was a very good camera, which cost $700 to replace.
It sounds like your precautions paid off.
Woody
We were in Florence, Lucca, Orvieto and Rome for 3 weeks starting mid-May. There were far fewer beggars than in the past and I never felt that anyone was crowding me to pickpocket (is that a verb?)
I'm recently back from Rome, Venice, and Florence and had no issues at all. Saw a few beggars, but no one invaded my space. I carried a pac safe (?) purse over my head and across my shoulder. I carried everything in it; passport, credit cards, cash, etc., and felt perfectly safe.