Italy

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Aree di Sosta (Areas of pause)

An Aree di Sosta is a stopping place where you can spend the night in your motorhome. 

Some offer facilities for topping up fresh water tanks and emptying waste tanks.
They are provided by local authorities or sometimes by local motorhome clubs.

Finding Aree di Sosta

There are usually signs indicating the whereabouts of an Aree di Sosta but they can be difficult to find if you don’t have some sort of guide book.

Unfortunately guide books are difficult to find though you’ll find a few Italian Aree di Sostas in the French Aire guide book.

There is a lot of information available online if you can either access the internet whilst on the road or maybe print the sites you’re interested in before you go

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Parking and service facilities

Although Aree di Sosta are not as common in Italy as Aires are in France there are an increasing number appearing as local authorities realise the value of attracting motorhomers to their district. Facilities vary but are often included with the overnight parking charge. Many Sostas are metered on an hourly basis during the day, but the ticket machine will automatically change to issuing overnight tickets at a certain time – 1800hrs or 1900hrs.

Some Sostas are free, and others are free on certain nights but are charged for on other nights. Look for the sign (like the one in the picture on the left) explaining all this at the site. This Sosta is €5 for the weekend or €3 for a single night at weekend. It’s free from Monday to Friday and is also free if you turn up after 8.00pm Saturday and leave before 8.00am Sunday. Some Aree di Sostas have an “honesty box” system in which you leave your payment, but more commonly there’ll be a ticket machine. During the day it will dispense tickets for parking by the hour, and after a certain time it changes the hourly rate so you can stay all night at a reduced tariff.

Look for the easily recognised Aree di Sosta signs.

This ticket machine on the left is typical of the type found at Aree di Sostas.This one is provided by the “Comune di Porto Venere” on the Ligurian coast. Press the yellow button for the motorhoome tariff, insert coins until the displayed time covers your intended stay, then hit the green button and the ticket is printed for you to display on your vehicle. The tariffs are printed on the machine. Both high season (alta stagione) and low season (bassa stagione) rates are listed.

This Sosta is €5 for the weekend or €3 for a single night at weekend. It’s free from Monday to Friday and is also free if you turn up after 8.00pm Saturday and leave before 8.00am Sunday.

The following photos show two views of the facilities at an Aree di Sosta. 

The drain for grey and black water can be seen in the centre of the parking space. You simply remove the lid, then reverse over the drain and empty your tanks. To the right of this space is the post carrying The fresh water supply and also two foot operated water valves.

One of the valves turns on the fresh water and the other flushes the drain to clean it after use. Both taps run for a minute or so after you remove your foot from the valve. If you want to fill your fresh tank you’ll need to keep the valve depressed.

A council-owned municpal Aree di Sosta. This one was free during the week. The dump station is about 200 metres down the road and offers the usual waste disposal drain and fresh water supply. There is no facility for power.

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