What is the difference
 

between the carabinieri and the police in Italy?
thanks

For what I know, Carabinieri are a military corps while Polizia are not.
Carabinieri work (between other things) in traffic and roads and as military police. Polizia work on crime and investigation, issue passports..like Police everywhere, I think :)

If you like mysteries I recommend the series by Donna Leon and also the Aurelio Zen books by Michael Dibdin. With an interesting policeman at the heart of each series, you may get a handle on who's who in the hierarchy (although, I must say -- I keep forgetting).
Jess

For those who are interested in Italian culture, that is an interesting question.

As I learned several years ago studying in Florence, the Italian police system consists of the "polizia" or "polizia di Stato" (state police) and the carabinieri. The carabinieri are members of an Italian army corps that collaborates with the police force and has similar powers. In the larger cities, there are both carabinieri and polizia di Stato, both forces which have sections that do regular police work and have special sections to combat organized crime, for example.

In general, in small towns, the carabinieri carry out normal police duties and the "guardie comunali" or "vigili urbani" direct traffic and issue parking tickets. The "polizia stradale" has traffic jurisdiction outside the towns (the last group roughly like our Highway Patrol)

thank you all

They wear nicer uniforms? ;)

rkkwan.zenfolio.com/p680472421/?photo=130797959

I second Jess215's recommendation of the Donna Leon books. I just finished another, and I really enjoy them. They give one a real feeling for Venice, or at least Venice as this author sees it.

I wouldn't know the difference between the two police forces, but I do recognize a good-looking man when I see one--and that they are!

Nice photos, rkkwan-and as far as uniforms-well, all of Italy's law enforcement types have very nice uniforms, but not as fine as the carabinieri, that is true. And there's no question, from a cultural perspective, that the carabinieri are a part of the cultural landscape-remember, at the opening of La Scala in Milan, there are a line of carabinieri all in dress uniforms and tri-cornered hats, all on white steeds-it's a beautiful site.

And one other thing as well, you all have never seen more beautiful calendar artwork than those put out by the carabineri each year-they are collector items amonst collector items, IMO. I have a friend who worked with the carabinieri for several years, and he gets these calendars each year-has a wall of them in his office, as a matter of fact-they are gorgeous and interesting, that's all I can tell you, and I've never seen them anywhere except on his wall. One thing they are not-they are not photographs-it's real artwork on the pages, I've never seen anything like them.

Exactly the same as gendarmes and police in France.

oops-should have written "sight"

And very similar to Spanish Policia Nacional and Guardia Civil.