postal codes
 

I am sending some letters to Italy to addresses found on the net without zip codes. Are they required in Italy or will the mail be delivered without them

If your letters are going to a big city or town, I would think a postal code might be necessary. For a small town or village, I think the local postino will know where to deliver them.

But where/how do I get the postal codes

Try http://www.nonsolocap.it/<BR>All in Italian, but looks pretty easy to use.

I'm pretty sure you DO need the correct postal code, especially if it has to go to a small town. You also need the two-letter code for the province in parentheses after the name of the town Or if you'd rather just write out the name of the province (but NOT the region) that's fine, too. <BR>But once it's there, you don't really need the street address in a tiny town, because the local carrier will know where to deliver it. (I think maybe that's what StCirq meant.)

topping-useful

The comment from Carol about needing the two-letter province code, in addition to the postal code, is not correct. If the postal code is used and written properly, along with the one-or-two-letter COUNTRY abbreviation, and of course the street address, that's all that is needed, thusly written for the city and country:<BR>F-23882 Paris, France<BR>I-10435 Rome, Italy<BR>CH-82133 Zurich, Switzerland<BR><BR>The country letter(s), followed by the postal code, followed by the name of the country (usually on a separate line), is the way it should be done.<BR><BR>

you need to know not only the postal code but even the province or community your town is in. i for example live in a very small spot (50 houses), but our small spot is devided in 3 comunities. that comes that our spot does have 3 different postal codes and the post is delivered from 3 diff. post offices. <BR><BR>an adress could be as follow (non existent):<BR><BR>Rapter Capter<BR>Via S. Giovese 356 <BR>I - 60038 Superbamater (To)<BR><BR>(To) is for the province. sometimes they are 4 spots over italy which does have the same name, but one is in northern itlay and the rest in south. how should the posta italia know, where this person you wrote the letter lives exactly?<BR><BR>good luck e tanti saluti!<BR><BR>christina

Wayne, you don't need the province code for a place like Rome, but for small towns, you should include the province code when addressing the envelope. So many little towns have the same names (often saints' names, for example). While a CORRECT numerical code should be sufficient to get the piece of mail to the correct destination, why take a chance on having the letter misdirected, when it's so easy to get the province info? Street addresses ARE of course needed in a big city like Rome, but generally not in a tiny town.