The register

Every guide

The complete roster. This is the dense list; the front page is an edit of it.

Guide	Section	What it covers
Italy decides where you sleep by measuring the van	Italy measures the van	Length, height and gross weight decide which sostas, which passes and which ferries are open to you, before any question of taste.
A sosta is not a campsite	Italy measures the van	An area di sosta is a service point with water, a drain and a dump; a campeggio is a site with pitches and facilities, and the two are governed differently.
Where the vans end up instead	Italy measures the van	When the sostas are full or shut the overflow goes to supermarket edges, ferry aprons and the ends of seafront car parks.
The service column, and what it actually provides	Italy measures the van	Fresh water, grey drain, chemical dump and sometimes power — the four things that set the length of a stay.
The camera at the gate	The camera at the gate	Almost every Italian historic centre is a limited-traffic zone enforced by camera, and the boundary is a line on a pole rather than a barrier.
How a varco works, from the pole to the post	The camera at the gate	The gate reads the plate, the plate is checked against a permit list, and what arrives months later is a notice by post.
When the letter arrives	The camera at the gate	Notices reach a foreign registered keeper through the hire company or the vehicle register, which is why they are so delayed.
Nobody stops you at the gate	The camera at the gate	There is no barrier and no official — the enforcement is entirely after the fact, which is what catches people out.
The limit is the radius	The limit is the radius	On the high passes the constraint is not gradient or power but whether a long vehicle can get round a hairpin without shunting.
Forty-eight turns, and none of them widen	The limit is the radius	The Stelvio's north side is the set piece, and the numbered bends are a useful way to describe what a long wheelbase meets.
Weight limits, and the signed route	The limit is the radius	Bridges and tunnels carry limits that quietly rule out a heavy motorhome, and the diversion can be a hundred kilometres.
When the pass is shut	The limit is the radius	High passes close for much of the year, and the closure dates shape any route drawn outside high summer.
The country, north to south, out of season	North to south, out of season	Outside July and August much of the coastal infrastructure is shut, and the route moves inland by necessity.
The Dolomites, and the rifugi above the road	North to south, out of season	The valley floors take a van; everything interesting is above them and reached on foot.
Tuscan back roads, and where a long vehicle should not go	North to south, out of season	White gravel roads between agriturismi are fine until a passing place is needed.
The long run south	North to south, out of season	Below Naples the distances get real and the service network thins out.