Driving in Florence

Italy: 2 schemes to know about before you drive in.

The short answer for Florence

Florence has 2 driving restrictions on our books: the ZTL Scudo Verde (ZSV) (low emission zone) and the Zona a Traffico Limitato (ZTL) (limited traffic zone). What is a low emission zone?

What it means for your car

ZTL Scudo Verde (ZSV)

Petrol or LPG. Banned: cars (M1) petrol Euro 0; buses and articulated buses (M2, M3) petrol Euro 0 and Euro 1; goods vehicles (N1, N2, N3) and special-purpose vehicles petrol Euro 0; mopeds (L1, L2) running on two-stroke oil/petrol mix Euro 0 and Euro 1, and four-stroke petrol Euro 0; motorcycles (L3) on two-stroke mix Euro 0. Anything not in the table may circulate.
Diesel. Banned: cars (M1) diesel Euro 0 and Euro 1; buses and articulated buses (M2, M3) diesel Euro 0 and Euro 1; goods vehicles (N1, N2, N3) diesel Euro 0; special-purpose vehicles diesel Euro 0. Vehicles for specific transport under art. 54(1)(f) of the Highway Code are excluded from the goods-vehicle ban. Anything not in the table may circulate.

Sources last read on 2026-09-07, from the authorities' own pages. The next scheduled check is 2027-03-01.

The schemes, one by one

• ZTL Scudo Verde (ZSV) Low emission zone

  The Scudo Verde is an environmental limited-traffic zone covering most of built-up Florence, switched on for enforcement on 1 April 2025 and watched by 77 camera gates. It is not a charge and there is nothing to buy: it is an outright ban on the oldest and dirtiest vehicle classes, in force around the clock every day of the year.

  The city's own estimate is that it affects fewer than 10% of the vehicles on Italian roads, broadly those built before 1997. It sits on top of the historic-centre ZTL, which keeps its own separate and stricter rules.

• Zona a Traffico Limitato (ZTL) Limited traffic zone

  The whole of Florence's historic centre is a limited traffic zone, split into five sectors (A, B, O, F and G) and watched by camera gates. In sectors A, B and O the gates are live 07:30–20:00 Monday to Friday and 07:30–16:00 on Saturday. From the first Thursday of April to the first Sunday of October a summer night ZTL closes all five sectors on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights as well.

  There is nothing to pay at the gate: entry needs an authorisation obtained beforehand, which for a visitor means either a daily permit bought in advance or the hotel putting the number plate on a temporary white list.

Driving to Florence?

Starting from

Check the route to Florence

Lists the schemes on the road you would take, and when you would reach them.

Before you set off

Other cities in Italy

• Sienaabout 50 km away, 1 verified scheme
• Luccaabout 60 km away, 2 verified schemes
• Pisaabout 69 km away, 3 verified schemes
• Imolaabout 75 km away, 1 verified scheme
• Ozzano dell'Emiliaabout 77 km away, 1 verified scheme
• San Lazzaro di Savenaabout 78 km away, 1 verified scheme

And 35 more in Italy