in a place like my homeland, america, we have a wide range of crimes for people to choose from, from the sadistic to the victimless. a vast array is offered to the willing criminal. in many cultures, though, this diversity of crimes is frowned upon culturally, so there is a smaller number of acts to commit. I think this is what is at play in Italy.

Napoli is the worse, or it use to be when I went there!

I was traveling on a shoe string and did not want to pay for a hotel. So I laid down to sleep in front of the main train station! I was so tired that the hard ground did not bother me and a felt a sleep like a baby!

Comes morning I awake in a semi conscious daze feeling for my bag that I strapped my hand through before I went to sleep!

Hold and behold some young punk walking way with my Boston bag! I jumped on my feet and ran after him to grab my bag away from him!

After this incident I looked for more secluded places to sleep at! Not in front of a busy train station!

It's stories like that that kept me from being able to see Naples. The person I was traveling with did NOT want to go... so maybe this time :-)

I was robbed in Rome by 3 guys trying to pose as undercover police officers. I could tell they weren't, they looked like they hadn't had a meal in a while if you know what I mean. I was sitting on the grass in a public park next to the Colosseum. When I refused to give them my bag, 1 of them kicked me in the face, breaking my nose. They beat on me and then ripped the bag, which was really sturdy and designed to avoid theft, hard enough it ripped. They got my passport, some money and several other items, so I ended up spending 2 days out of my week there in the US consulate getting my passport replaced.

When this happened, I , with my shirt and pants and face soaked in blood, tried to ask for help finding the embassy, people walked away from me and wouldn't even be bothered to give me directions none the less any assistance.
When I finally came across a police station and asked for directions to the consulate, the police called an ambulance (all I really was concerned about at that point was my passport), and said they couldn't do anything until there was a medical report filed. I'm sure those thieves were going to wait around for that! The docs who didn't speak English had the nurse explain that my nose was broken. "I know that already, do you know where the US consulate is!". Finally some useful information.

That wasn't the first problem I had there either. Before that I had a guy follow me for blocks and he kept touching me. I don't know if he was after my flesh or valuables but I turned to face him and yelled, "Get away from me!" , several times and he wouldn't go away, but persisted in walking, no matter how fast I went (I was practically in a run) right next to me and touching on me, for quite a few blocks before I could shake him.

Before that I had a guy sit next to me at a fountain and start a conversation. He seemed pretty friendly until I told him I was American. Then he said he hated Americans, that all we want to do is kill people and then as I started to get up he asked me to have sex with him. I couldn't believe it.

I'm from LA, which a lot of people think of as being high in the crime department, and have never seen anything like this. I would recommend using about twice the same caution you would in Tijuana.

There were some good things about Italy though, the Colosseum, St. Paul's Cathedral in Vatican City, the buildings and the awesome fountains, but it's a dangerous
place. I'm sure there are good people there somewhere but I was hard pressed to find any. I won't be traveling there
alone again.

Povresito Regatso!
Mala Fortuna! Terible!

I am sorry that happened to you Spanky. They broke a females nose? And noone would help you? I found people in Rome so friendly and helpful- I am sorry that was not your experience. What is up with the medical report needed when you deal with European police? I got mugged in Spain and they would not file any report unless I went to the hospital. I dont understand that. Better luck to you in your future travels!

I'm sorry to hear you had such a bad experience.

As for the reactions of the authorities, it is common police procedure in many European countries. A doctor must first confirm the injury before an assault can be reported. Apparently, the government doesn't trust your average municipal cop to diagnose a broken nose.

I used to carry all my money with me in my bag. Fortunately, I have not been pickpocketed, even though I had been quite careless about carrying my belongings.
I have never been to Italy, but I did hear from others that pickpockets is kinda serious in Rome. Apparently, it has become a major concern for tourist who travel alone like me.

Haven't been on this board in a while, got a bad computer virus, (gone now) I just wanted to say that I didn't post my experiences about Rome to terrify anyone or scare them from traveling, just to be careful, don't be reckless (as I have been at times). I just wanted to warn people that there is a lot of crime there, especially, I believe for a single female traveler,
so be cautious, & travel with a friend if you can. I figured if I let you know what happened with me, maybe the next person won't run into the same problem, but it shouldn't keep you from hitting the road.

I was with a group of people from my study abroad program on the Metro in Rome. Since we were all just newly meeting each other, we assumed the girl behind us who was smiling and laughing when we did was part of our group. She had discreetly unzipped the pocket on the backpack of the girl next to me and stolen her wallet. She was gone before we realized she wasn't part of the program.

The girl only realized her wallet was missing so soon because someone pointed out that her backpack was unzipped.

I made my own backpack before I went on the trip that has a difficult to open drawstring and two layers of fabric (one hanging inside the other) so that if it was cut, nothing would fall out. I also made a passport pocket in it that rested against my back. It allowed me to carry my things around without wearing the tourist style backpack-pregnant belly.

When I'm in Italy, I might pack my clothes in the bottom of the bag so that it it's slashed, nothing will fall out. The pickpocket would have to dig up through your backpack, or pull your clothes out to get at anything important like your camera. You're more likely to feel this, and the pickpocket is more likely to make a scene. It doesn't solve the problem, but it might give you a better chance to keep your more important stuff.