When in Rome, Watch Out

Italy's image as a tourist wonderland has been jolted by a British government warning to beware of earthquakes, disease and Rome's No 64 bus.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office website advises travellers that if falling masonry does not get them, the measles and pickpockets may.

A carefree holiday of sun, culture and beauty could be interrupted by tectonic movements, disease and crime, it says, so be insured, be vigilant and carry only what you need.

The section headed "natural disasters" sounds especially ominous. "Many parts of Italy lie on a major seismic fault line. Tremors and earthquakes are almost a daily occurrence," it says.

Italy is indignant. "To read these lines and to walk around Italian cities is to be astonished that some palazzos are still standing," La Repubbica commented.

The site, fco.gov.uk/travel/countryadvice.asp, covers more than 200 countries and includes blunt warnings to avoid Afghanistan and Rwanda.

Most visits to Italy are trouble-free, it says, but parents travelling to the south, where a widespread measles epidemic is dying out, should have their children vaccinated.

Crime in general is low but there has been a spate of robberies on trains and at motorway service stops. Particular care is needed in Rome, especially around the main railway station and on the No 64 bus, which runs to and from St Peter's Square.

"Visitors should be particularly wary of groups of children (mainly girls) who may try to distract your attention while you are being robbed."

La Repubblical consoled itself with the fact that Rome's murder rate is well below London's.

There was more good news yesterday: not one earthquake.