19 May 2009

Signs...or no signs!?


Which way do we go?

Road signs in Italy can sometimes be a source of frustration and amusement. Anyone who has driven here has had the experience of zipping down a road to come to an intersection where there are several signs pointing to different towns. Many times these require you to stop to read through them all to figure out which is the town you are looking for. I have driven around a roundabout more than once on several occasions trying to read all the signs to figure out where to exit.

Then there are the “tutti le direzioni” signs, “all directions”, visible many times when leaving a town. This generally means the way to go to get out of town and hopefully there will be signs farther along with specific locations listed.

One of my favorites is when there are signs pointing in multiple directions for the same location. In Italy there is usually more than one way to get to any one place; however, all routes are not equal. We all know the phrase…All roads lead to Rome.



Then there are the times when you can’t find a sign anywhere. On numerous occasions we have followed a sign at one intersection to come upon another intersection devoid of any signs. I think I have a good sense of direction but this can sometimes present a bit of frustration in finding your way around Italy.

A good map is always helpful when traveling in Italy to help in choosing the best route to your destination.

2 comments:

Pierre said...

Loved this post ... I guess, ultimately, all roads do indeed lead to Rome. How soon you get there is a different story ... ;-)

Bryan said...

Pierre, Traveling in Italy does mean not being in a big hurry.