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In Italy hitchhiking is a bit less common than in France or [[Germany]] but it's very well possible and doable.
You can get a free map of a whole Italy at almost every [[petrol station]] (autogrill) or [[http://www.autostrade.it/en/autostrade/servizi.do click here]]. This map has all petrol stations marked in the map. It is generally fairly easy to get rides on gas petrol stations, especially if it is a guy and a girl.
Roads are often not laid out for bicyclists and pedestrians which makes it harder to walk towards or find good spots. Always make sure to stay safe, and do some research before heading out to hitch. Italians do not generally stop on the road.
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) and it extends to petrol stations (''area servizio'') on the autostrada. Fine is 21 euroseuro (so you need to find excuse for not having that money, poor travellertraveler, somebody stole it etc.). Most of the times police just ignores you or say that you must go futher further from exit. Easier it is just to ask from people while they refill their cars. Hitching on the gas petrol stations is generally fairly easy. If gas petrol stations has exit to normal road, then police asks you to leave. And when it happens that you are on the motorway, don't put your thumb out.
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'').
'''Strada Statale(national road)''' - Because of gas petrol station problem in Italy(see above), you can try hitchhiking on ''Strada Statale'' - SS. It takes little bit more time, but you meet more local people and you can see beautiful nature, they can drive you extra kilometers, so you could arrive to destination or invite you to have a lunch with their family.
* See also '''Hitchhiking in Italy''', an article on [http://www.digihitch.com/europe44.html Digihitch] by [http://www.digihitch.com/userinfo-hikecrazy.html Hikecrazy]