When To Avoid Driving On Italian Highways This Summer

In Italy, the month of August is always a popular one for holidays. Italians are especially accustomed to driving to get to holiday destinations across the country, but this also entails that some days are worse than others to be driving on a highway in the Bel Paese, as the risk of getting stuck in traffic is very high.

According to Autostrade per l’Italia, a company managing some of the main highways in the country, this year the month of August will present critical moments on the roads, which are going to be concentrated mainly on weekends. Starting on Friday, 5th August, Saturday, 6th August, and Sunday, 7th August, all of the month’s weekends are expected to present high levels of traffic (labeled red, meaning with intense traffic). This applies to the whole of the motorway network, but especially on the roads going from the North to the South of the country, towards holiday destinations, and on the way out from the main urban centers. Specifically, motorways A1 Milano-Napoli, A14 Bologna-Taranto, and A30 Caserta-Salerno are expected to be the most trafficked ones.

The biggest peaks in the month in terms of traffic (black label, meaning critical levels) should be in the morning of Saturday 6th August and in the morning of Saturday 13th of August. More generally, between Fridays and Sundays it is going to be advisable not to be on the road, with the addition of Monday 15th August (public holiday), August 22nd, August 29th and August 31st. To facilitate traffic as much as possible, Anas, the main public company managing highways in Italy, has removed 500 building sites, and for selected time slots during the day it will limit circulation of trucks and lorries.

To be updated in real time about traffic conditions, Anas offers a specific real time traffic information service on its website. It is also possible to follow the road info service CCISS’s Twitter account, or call the number (+39) 800.841.148.