Winter Tires in Italy: What to Know Before Driving in Tuscany

Tuscany does not look like snow country, and most of the year it is not. But Italy’s winter tire rule is national, it runs through the middle of the travel season, and it applies to your rental car whether or not you ever see a snowflake.

Here is what it actually requires, in plain terms.

The rule, in one minute

On roads covered by a local ordinance, your car must either have winter tires fitted or carry snow chains in the trunk. One or the other is enough.

The rule is not triggered by weather. It applies on the listed roads for the whole period, on a dry, sunny day too.

Road signs mark the stretches where it is in force. The sign is in Italian and reads catene a bordo o pneumatici invernali.

When it applies

Italy’s Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport asks road authorities to keep their ordinances inside a common window: November 15 to April 15.

Each authority issues its own ordinance for the roads it manages, which is why the exact stretches change from province to province. The dates for the 2026/2027 season had not been published yet when this article was written.

What counts as a winter tire

Italy accepts tires marked M+S on the sidewall, also written MS, M-S or M&S, together with the speed category symbols. All-season tires carrying that marking count.

The specifications also have to match what is written in the vehicle’s registration document, which for a rental is the rental company’s problem, not yours, as long as you ask.

Two-wheeled mopeds and motorcycles are outside the rule. Everything else with an engine is inside it.

With one catch riders should know: while the obligation is in force, mopeds and motorcycles may circulate only when there is no snow or ice on the road and no snowfall in progress. No equipment required, no riding in winter conditions.

If you are picking up a rental car

This is where most visitors get caught. A car rented in Florence or Pisa in January is not guaranteed to have winter tires, and chains are usually not in the trunk by default.

Ask two questions at the counter, before you sign: does this car have winter tires fitted, and are chains included. If the answer to both is no, ask for them.

Chains you have never used are close to useless on a cold roadside, so watch a tutorial before you need one. Some tires do not accept chains at all, which is another reason to ask rather than assume.

Buying rather than renting, because you are staying for the season? This roundup of current winter tire deals in Italy is worth a look, though it is in Italian.

For everything else about the process, our guide to renting a car in Florence covers the paperwork, the insurance and the fuel policy.

What happens if you are stopped

Outside built-up areas, where most of the affected roads are, the fine is 87 euros. Inside town limits it is 42 euros, according to the Italian State Police.

The part that ruins a day is not the money. Officers can order you to stop driving until the car is properly equipped, wherever you happen to be.

Where this actually comes up in Tuscany

Start with the obvious one: the A1, the Autostrada del Sole. If you are driving up from Rome or down from Milan, that is the road you are on, and stretches of it are covered by the winter requirement. Plenty of visitors meet the rule there before they ever reach a Tuscan hill town.

Not on the coast, and rarely in Florence itself. It comes up the moment you drive inland and uphill: the Apennine passes toward Emilia-Romagna, the Casentino, Monte Amiata, the roads to the ski areas, and plenty of ordinary Chianti back roads that sit high enough to freeze overnight.

Tuscan winters are mild by American standards, but mild is not the same as safe. Winter tires are rated for anything below 7°C (45°F), and a Chianti hill road at 8 in the morning in February is well under that.

If you are planning a cold-season trip, our article on visiting Florence in November covers what the season looks like on the ground. And if you are driving into any city center afterwards, read up on the ZTL traffic zones before you get a second fine in the mail.