What sort of ID and handbag do you carry in Italy
 

Hello I will be in Florence and Venice next month. Do I need to be aware of gypsies or are they not as present in these area’s? I will stay aware of course just wondering what to expect. Is a small cross body bag okay or would you recommend I carry something under my clothes? Should my husband carry a wallet? He usually has it in his back pocket so I’m worried. Also do you usually carry your passport or just carry a copy do I need an ID with me at all times? Thanks in advance!

What sort of handbag and ID do you carry in Italy?
 

hello I will be in Florence and Venice next month. Is there a large amount of gypsies in those area’s? I was thinking of using a small crossbody bag is that recommended? Would a bag under my clothes be better? What do men do as my husband usually carries his wallet in a back pocket. I’m guessing that is not ideal. Do you carry your passport or a copy? Should we always have ID on us? Thank you in advance

You have the small issue of asking a question about Italy in the Asian forums.

But at any rate, I would DEFINITELY wear a money belt for Italy. I'm not sure how much of a threat your "Gypsies" are but pickpockets in Italy are clever and crowds are so intense. Your hubby will might lose his wallet in the first day. Carry your cards and passport in a money belt, and carry the day's cash in your cross body bag. Don't access your money belt in public. EVER.

A lot of people photocopy their passport. I think you're actually required to have your passport on you at all times in Italy, but at any rate, I usually just keep it in my money belt. Carry some other form of id to guarantee things like museum guides (I carry my old student ID or DL for this).

Italian law says that you have to carry ID with you at all times, and that means the original not a photocopy. So this is not a point to discuss. Some people feel that the law does not apply to them and they don't have to follow it - that's up to you to decide.

As a lucky EU national I need only my ID card in Italy. I usually take my passport as backup and keep it at the hotel to have a second document, just in case. So far I have never needed it **knocks on wood**.

Pickpockets are existent, just like at any tourist hotspot. Carrying the wallet in the back pocket of one's pants is an open invitation. Please tell your husband that he could just as well wear a t-shirt with the writing, "Please pickpocket me".

A cross-body bag is certainly good to have. Passport, cards and larger amounts of money should be in a money belt underneath your clothes, or, in winter, at least in a zipped pocket inside your closed jacket. A small purse in your handbag should contain the amount of money you'd need for the day - think entrance fees, icecream, coffee, small purchases.

Is there a large amount of gypsies in those area’s?

You are obviously not an English speaker due to your accent on areas but your query is actually racist and no matter your personal opinion or preconceptions should not be used in this Forum.

What nochblad says.

The most succesfull pickpocket is the one you do not notice.

Carry a cross-body bag, and don't carry all your credit cards and cash at the same time.
Don't wear your wallet in your back pocket.
I have never worn a moneybelt in my life.
We have small cc sized IDs, so don't take a passport when traveling in Europe.

I use the same cross-body bag I use everywhere in Europe, whether I'm going shopping in town here or taking a trip to another country. I keep my passport in a case in an inside pocket of whatever coat I am wearing, along with a spare credit card and ATM card and anything else valuable.

A wallet in a back pocket is a stolen wallet.

"Gypsies" is a meaningless and derogatory term that doesn't even begin to account for the many varieties of pickpockets and scammers in Europe. Don't use it.

DH always wore a money belt with our passports, itinerary, and extra money. I always wore a small cross-body bag. If it was small enough, I wore my rain coat over it. After DH died, I still carried the cross body bag but no money belt. I/We took one credit to use and one as a spare. Also a debit card to use to get more Euros.

As for pickpockets, I believe they cross all ethnic groups so just say 'pickpocketers' rather than Gypsies. Please heed StCirq above about a wallet in a back pocket.

Have a wonderful trip!

As for pickpockets, I believe they cross all ethnic groups so just say 'pickpocketers' rather than Gypsies.

Unfortunately this comment is still racist.

How would such comments in the various postings above be viewed in Berkeley, California for example?

I'm not sure how using the word 'pickpocket' or 'thief' or any general term can be racist, nochblad. Please provide the correct word that would help a person concerned about his/her personal security.

I live in central Italy and visit Venice and Florence fairly often. I use my normal handbag. Its strap is long enough that I can use it cross-body if I wish, but I usually just wear it on my shoulder. I keep it to the front, with my arm across it, in very crowded situations.

I always carry my national ID card, as required by law. Before I had an Italian national ID card, I carried my passport. I was advised by a marshal of the carabinieri that I absolutely must do so. In these days, random security checks are becoming more common, and no one should assume that having pale skin exempts them from such security checks, because that also would be racist, wouldn't it?

I absolutely agree that a wallet should never be carried in a back pocket. I've been trying to tell my Italian husband that for twenty years, but he keeps carrying a wallet there. It's never been stolen. I actually wouldn't carry a wallet in any trousers pocket, because I know of people who have had a wallet lifted from front pockets.

TDudette, the name itself is considered racist, like many of the other derogatory appellations for nationalities or ethnic groups. There are several ethnic groups that get called that name, for instance, "Rom", or "Sinti". However, the main point, which you were making, is that you can't identify pickpockets with any specific ethnic group.

I think TDudette knows full well that gypsy is derogatory. She was responding to nochblad's remark, which seemed to imply that calling people pickpockets was equally derogatory.

I thought it was pretty clear that Nochblad objected to the use of the word itself. There are similar derogatory words for Chinese people, Italians, Irish people, black people, Puerto Ricans, and other ethnicities that no one would think of putting in writing in a public forum. I don't want to use any of these terms to make my point. Imagine a dialog, where someone trying to negate a prejudice against Chinese people uses the derogatory name for Chinese people in making the defense.

Exactly what St Cirq said.

To be fair -- many of not a majority of Americans have no idea the word has any 'connotations'. In fact the Merriam/Webster only says 'sometimes offensive', When I first moved overseas at 26 I had no idea. I learned quickly, but it isn't something someone might know/understand unless they were told.

And it would seem the OP's native language isn't English, so can be allowed a few mishaps with terminology.

HTH is anyone deducing that the OP is not a native English speaker???

Agree. I knew from being a voracious reader. But the average American would only be exposed to that ethnic group/culture through pop culture which generally doesn’t use it as a slur. I’ve read articles that have theorized that one reason for this is that the US is a melting pot— They tend to blend in better because people don’t necessarily ask about ethnic background, and if they speculated, Romani would not be the first guess.

I’m not sure where some posters are getting the ESL idea from either. OP doesn’t have great grammar but her vocabulary and phrasing is typically American I would think.

I use the same purse I use at home. I carry my Passport Card and leave my actual passport locked up at the hotel.

The OP lives in San Francisco. The apostrophe in the second sentence was a false clue. Perhaps just a typo, although LOTS of people have trouble with apostrophes.

". . . although LOTS of people have trouble with apostrophes."

Like most people on this board. And they claim to be educated. It's pretty funny, actually.

>>>Like most people on this board. And they claim to be educated. It's pretty funny, actually.<<<

Life must be wonderful, up on that pedestal.

By-the-way -- I suppose that you know, educated person that you are, that Uncas was a noted sachem of the Mohegans, and that linking his name to a blended scotch is immensely disrespectful.

You are SO clueless, Fra.

You can't get away with a mean-girl putdown here, your snottiness.

Please, tell me how, in your impeccably educated manner.

Just as I do with a trip to New York City. No wallet in pocket. Lightweight purse with your wallet on a chain inside. (this not only helps in a pickpocket situation or the (completely mythological) cutting of the bottom of the purse) but comforts me that I didn't just walk away from a store having left my wallet on the counter.)

I also always use a bag with an easily pickpocketed outside pocket.... I only keep chapstick, unimportant papers, etc there... but my theory is that it may tempt someone to try to snatch something on the outside instead of the inside.

I apologize if I offended anyone that was not my intention. Thank you for the responses.

Hi Summer, getting back to your question, your husband's wallet won't be safe in his front pocket either.

Fra - some people also have problems with hyphens.

My first posting should not have been interpreted as a direct criticism of the OP but a more general observation as to the improper use of certain descriptions which can be or are considered racist in many European countries.

I believe that Fodors Italy is one of the very best forums that exists and this is due in part to the quality of the language used and the excellent contributions from so many of its contributors.

Long may it continue.

Returning to the original question, I have in fact just bought a new bag to take to Italy with me in two weeks time. I wanted a bag which has a place for everything I need while travelling, [passport, small guide book, gloves, as it's winter] but which isn't so big that it becomes unwieldy. I will also take and use a money belt in which to keep the majority of any cash and credit cards etc and my passport when I am not travelling. My present bag really isn't big enough though it does have the advantage of a large zipped flap that comes right over the from of the bag, and which allows one to stuff a passport, say, right out of sight and where it cannot be seen or otherwise detected by a thief. Unfortunately the new one doesn't have that feature but it has enough of the others that I wanted. And it is very light.

As I will be travelling by myself I won't have anyone to watch my back or indeed my back pocket, where my DH also insisted on keeping his wallet. What is it about these chaps that they are determined to give the pickpockets a helping hand?

I remember a scene back in school, 10th grade or so. During a school trip our teacher boasted that his wallet, which stuck out of his back pocket, was perfectly safe there, he'd feel it if anyone touched the wallet.
A minute later one of the boys handed him back the wallet (untouched and unharmed, of course)... the teacher had not noticed a thing when it was pulled out of his pocket.
Lesson learned, I'd say. Sometimes teachers have to learn from their students.

Since then, I have only been shaking my head any time a man came up with this.

I guess I must be kind of dorky, but I carry my big money, my passport, and my credit and cash cards in my money belt. I keep small money in zippered pockets and in my coin purse, which is in my purse.

For me, the lesson is the time my sister and I were in La Boqueria in Sevilla/Barcelona/wherever, and she gave me her passport and her cash card to put in my money belt. That was the evening her purse was stolen by a clever thief pretending to be the waiter. She did lose a camera, which was inconvenient, but she didn't have to go through the hassle of getting a new passport and debit card.

Not dorky, SMART!

It makes sense to continue what works for you. If a money belt works, keep doing it; it certainly worked for my dad when we all traveled together. (I actually witnessed a child trying to pickpocket him in Rome in front of the Forum.)

I have a small cross body bag I keep wedged under my arm with my hand tightly on it at all times, or on my lap (strap still around me) at a restaurant. If I traveled alone, I'd use an under the clothing money belt, too, just for that extra layer of protection.

Not dorky. Especially in crowds, I find a money belt reassuring. No one can be 100% alert all of the time. I think a lot of people think they’ll feel or see the happen, but when you’re packed on to an overcrowded bus, or looking at something interesting or lost in a strange place, it’s easy to get distracted.

Your sister was so lucky! I would have fallen victim to a fake waiter too. Did he pretend to take your order and walk away with her stuff or was it like a fake coat check situation?

Annhig, may I ask what bag you ended up buying?

I have used a Baggallini and love it. Lots of seperate areas for my items and will even hold my camera. I keep my passport and credit cards in my passport holder that goes on my neck under my shirt. Enjoy your trip.:)

I also have a Baggalini with lot of little zipped compartments. It's great for organizing things, but the main part of the bag has little depth, especially when the stuff in the zipped compartments encroaches on its space. I often have to take everything out to reach something in the bottom.

I'm convinced that there's a much bigger risk of losing things than of having them stolen. I've left a camera on a table in Rome, and in a pony cart on Inis Mór, both returned to me. I left my handbag on a seat in the boarding area, retrieved by a kind hostess. I can't count the times I've left things behind in hotel rooms.

I lived in Philadelphia for seven years and was robbed twice. I lived in Princeton, New Jersey, for fifteen years and was robbed once. I've lived in Italy for almost twenty years now, going to Rome several times a year, and have never been robbed here.

I just realized that this is the longest I've ever lived in one place. It's hard to believe!

PegS - this is the bag I bought:

https://www.kipling.com/uk-en/handba...58t00-999.html

I like Kipling bags because they are very light but strong, and they come in many designs so you can usually find one that fits the bill. I usually get bored with them before they wear out. I don't know if they are available in the US but they look pretty similar to Baggalini. The quilted affect on this one makes it smarter than some of their others and the fact there are 3 main compartments should mean that I don't lose things in the bottom - which I why I hate bags that are just one big "hole" into which things tend to disappear.

Pegonthego - I think I remember you posting that story about your sis having her bag nicked by the bogus waiter, and I always think about it when I am sitting at a table outside a cafe or restaurant. And I remember not to hang my bag on the back of the chair!