Vending machines

Distributore automatico

America is the land of the vending machine: you find them in front of grocery stores, you find them in airports, you find them in hotels and you will find them on the side of the street. Italy lacks vending machines, and I think this is no loss. In Italy you don’t need a vending machine for snacks or drinks as there is always a bar nearby that will sell those things to you.

However there are three vending machines I regularly see in Italy: for DVDs, for cigarettes and for prophylactics.

All of the video rental stores I have seen have vending machines where registered members can rent and return DVDs anytime day or night.

Many tabaccheria have cigarette vending machines that can be accessed through their roll down gates all night long. Despite strict laws against smoking in public buildings, including bars and restaurants, smoking is prevalent in Italy

And there are frequently vending machines on the outside of a farmacia, with the green crosses, for prophylactics.