Author: Ian Olive
Program: Reutlingen, Germany – Study Center
Traveling in: Italy
Five forward gears, four tiny 15 inch wheels, three thrumming cylinders, two small round headlights, and one massive smile. There is an age old saying that it’s more fun to drive a slow car fast than it is to drive a fast car slow. My rental car really embodied the definition of slow. Think your car is slow? Think again. My Fiat 500 had a miniscule 1.2 liter engine pumping out earth-shaking power. (Get it? I was in Italy during the biggest earthquake since the 1980s!) With 69 horsepower and a 5 speed manual, I really needed to wring it dry to get anywhere in any semblance of speed. Driving this slow car as fast as possible on narrow switchback roads really challenged my driving skills, and the best part; it was 100% legal.
Driving in Italy is not for the feint of heart. It’s not even for people that remotely like to drive. To drive in Italy, you must absolutely love to drive and be willing to focus 100% of your attention on the road. The road signs do not matter, neither do speed limits. A road with two lanes basically suggest that there needs to be a minimum of four cars wide. Basically the rules of the road in Italy are merely guidelines or suggestions, but I had an absolute blast.
A car really gave me the opportunity to visit parts of Italy that I wouldn’t have been able to visit at all. Probably the most exciting was visiting the northern Dolomite mountain region near Austria. The landscape was incredible with sweeping mountains that poked out from the westbound clouds. It was simply magical. Because of the flexibility of the car, I was able to travel freely to cities like Pompeii, Florence and Venice. While you might not get anywhere fast or in one piece, an Italian road trip might just be one of the best things you can do.
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