heading to italy for a 3 week visit to countryside and village, no major cities - just day trips. flying into naples and out of rome. question: tall wife and large friend so need larger vehicle. station wagon ok? hear so much about thief. car will mostly be empty when we travel except for stops between locations. thanks

If your plan is to stay and visit small villages mostly, then you need to stay in the smaller range. The larger small vehicle that you could probably get away with is a station wagon or a smaller size SUV.

safe with "open" rear?

I wouldnt leave anything in view - most of the 'open' type rear vehicles have a screen you can pull overtop so that you cant see the contents. I would ensure this is the case.

nternational driver's license?

I'd be very surprised if an 'estate" type car didn't have a cover over the luggage - we rented this type of vehicle last year in Holland and it certainly did.

the standard trick for stopping thieves nicking stuff out of the back is

1. put everything out of sight in the "boot" [rear] of the vehicle.

2. Reverse it hard up against a wall or a tree so that the tailgate can't be opened.

3. close the windows and lock the doors. [surprising how often this doesn't happen - my italian friend forgot to close the car window while we went to have lunch!]

You are not likely to need an international driver's license unless you have an accident, then you will need it a lot. It is mostly a translation of your US license for the benefit of the many policemen who do not speak/read English. Cheap insurance.

good idea about international license only $25

in italy you MUST have international driver's license, as of 2006

It is the law in Italy that you must have an international driver's permit (it's not a license) OR an official translation to Italian of your regular license. Obviously, the IDP is less of a hassle to obtain.

Make sure you understand limited traffic zones (ZTL). More of a problem Northern Italy.