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Even though most Italians do not speak English (or at least there is such a common assumption) they seem to understand a lot of it. Same goes for Spanish.
"Hitchhiking" is ''autostop'' or ''passaggio'' in Italian. Just say ''autostop'' or ''passaggio'' and the name of your your destination or show your thumb, otherwise Italians would think you are asking the directions as Italy has a lot of tourists. For detailed information on speaking italian check the [[Southern Europe phrasebook#Italian|Italian phrasebook]] on hitchwiki.
To avoid misunderstandings for both of the above, it's a very good idea to write a sign.
The northern part of Italy is quite safe but take care in the south of Italy. When pitching a tent in the wild make very sure to stay out of sight.
[[File:No_autostop_en_italia.JPG|thumb|left|[[User:Quarim|Quarim]] and a ''NO autostop'' sign.]]
'''Hitchhiking (Il)legal?''' - Hitchhiking on the ''autostrada'' is not legal (there are big signs saying ''no autostop'' at motorway [[on-ramp]]s) but and it is unclear even to Italians whether this extends to petrol stations (''area servizio'') on the autostrada. Fine is 21 euros(so you need to find excuse for not having that money, poor traveller, somebody stole it etc.). Most likely, this sign originally was meant of the times police just ignores you or say that you must go futher from exit. Easier it is just to stop ask from people from walking on motorwayswhile they refill their cars. An American that encountered If gas stations has exit to normal road, then police (''polizia'' who drives light blue cars) at an ''area servizio'' on the motorway was simply warned not to walk on the ''autostrada'' and asks you to stay at the station until finding a rideleave. Once And when it happens that you are on the motorway, don't put your thumb out. If you are at the exits of service stations - then the police may warn you. Try then asking drivers while they refill their cars.
If you're on a petrol station it's a good idea to stay on friendly terms with the staff. When starting, it's probably a good idea to find a spot before drivers encounter the ''no autostop'' sign, but it is still possible hitchhike while you have ''no autostop'' behind you; once you have passage onto the ''autostrada'' it is fairly simple to skip from one service area to the next until you arrive at your destination. It's less likely that you will encounter problems if you're not Italian -- and, if you speak Italian, don't reveal this to police (or the armed forces ''carabinieri'').
