Mantua ZTL: hours, cameras and who can drive in

Checked on 22 October 2026 against the city's ordinances and official pages.

Right now in Mantua

ZTL A (centro storico) …
ZTL B …
Corso della Libertà e via Trieste (varchi 9 e 10) …
Area pedonale (via Roma, via Verdi, via Calvi) …

Worked out with Italian time and public holidays from the official hours. The sign at the gate always prevails. Signs and cameras: the guide.

Mantua's council publishes no ZTL hours, because there are none. ZTL A, which covers the historic centre, and the small ZTL B are closed to unauthorised vehicles at all times. No council page says so in a single sentence, but the permit regulations leave no doubt: the “unlimited” permits there run from midnight to midnight.

Two exceptions matter to visitors. Corso della Libertà and Via Trieste, which cut through ZTL A, are open to everyone in the morning and early evening. And Mantua sells non-residents an hourly permit, for 1 to 10 hours, online, although the price only appears once you have logged in.

The zones and their hours

ZTL A (centro storico)

The historic centre; no street list or map is published. Official documents mention Via Accademia, Via Cavour, Piazza Arche and the streets behind the cathedral; since 1 January 2019 the zone has also included Via Scuola Grande, Via Calvi and Via Bertani. The reserved lanes on Via Trento and Via Cairoli need a separate pass, and their hours are not published.

There are no time slots here: the ban applies day and night, all year round, public holidays included. Exception: the “Corso della Libertà e via Trieste (varchi 9 e 10)” entrances are only checked at certain times (see below).

ZTL B

A small zone away from the tourist core, around Piazza 80° Fanteria, Via Tito Speri and Via Carducci. There is no official map.

It is closed to unauthorised vehicles 24 hours a day, every day, Sundays and public holidays included: there is no quiet hour when you could slip through.

Corso della Libertà e via Trieste (varchi 9 e 10)

Mantua's “elastic ZTL”: from 7am to noon and from 6pm to 9pm, any car may use these two streets. The hours come from an older council decision (see below): check the sign at the camera.

It is active at these times:

Every day, 12:00 to 18:00, public holidays included.
Every night, 21:00 to 7:00, public holidays included.

Outside these hours, these entrances are open, but the rest of the “ZTL A (centro storico)” zone keeps its own hours.

The entrances are watched by 2 plate-reading cameras, known as varchi.

List of the 2 cameras (varchi)

Via Trieste · Corso della Libertà

Area pedonale (via Roma, via Verdi, via Calvi)

The pedestrian heart of the city, with Piazza delle Erbe, Piazza Mantegna and Piazza Broletto. There are no cameras here but retractable bollards, which since April 2025 have been lowered by number-plate recognition rather than by card. From 6am to 10am they open for ZTL A pass holders and delivery vehicles, never for a visitor without a permit.

It is closed to unauthorised vehicles 24 hours a day, every day, Sundays and public holidays included: there is no quiet hour when you could slip through.

Who can drive in

Motorbikes and scooters: only mopeds (up to 50 cc) can ride in freely; other two-wheelers follow the same rules as cars.
Disabled parking badge: the number plate must be reported before you drive in, on the freephone number 800 505 454. Disabled badges and ZTLs: what to do, city by city.
Electric cars: no automatic exemption; there is an annual permit (€100). Every city's rules are compared in our guide to electric cars and two-wheelers.
Hybrids: no exemption for non-residents.
Taxis and chauffeur cars (NCC): allowed once registered on the white list.
Residents: permit for their own sector, €100 a year.
Deliveries and tradespeople: no permit needed from 6:00 to 10:00 and from 15:00 to 16:30 for vehicles up to 7.5 t; a permit is required outside these hours.

Visitors: hotels, rental cars, tickets

Staying in a hotel

The hotel can register your number plate, for up to one day. Give your plate number to reception as soon as you arrive. Hotels in a ZTL: what to do, with each city's deadline.

Tickets for non-residents

Visitors can pay to drive in: hourly permit (1 to 10 hours), bought online in Aster's Area Pass. The ticket must be bought before you pass the gate.

Rental cars

The fine notice goes to the rental company, which names you as the driver and, depending on your contract, may charge an admin fee, before the fine itself reaches you, sometimes months later. A registration made in time by your hotel covers a rental car just as well: all that counts is the number plate. What the rental company charges, and how to avoid it, is covered in a separate guide.

The hourly permit is booked in the Area Pass of ASTER, the council-owned company that issues ZTL passes: register, go to “Permessi ZTL”, then “Prenota/Acquista”, and pay through PagoPA. Print the permit and leave it behind the windscreen; it is for cars only. ASTER advises booking at least 5 days ahead, as the payment can take time to go through: do not drive in until its status reads “COMPLETATO”. On Thursdays from 6am to 2pm, no permits are issued for the market area.

At a hotel, reception fills in a paper permit with your plate number and arrival time. It is valid for 24 hours in every ZTL, with parking in the bays marked “P”. A hotel in Mantua but outside the ZTL issues the same permit, but for driving through only.

An electric car belonging to someone who does not live in Mantua can only get a transit pass, with no parking. The freephone number for Blue Badge holders is also the one to call to have the bollards on Via Roma and Via Verdi lowered. The council publishes neither a list nor a map of its cameras, so only two are counted here. Coaches have their own “ZTL Bus”, from 7am to 7pm.

Mantua in numbers

2 separate zones, all of them active around the clock.
At least 2 cameras in total.

Where official sources disagree

Corso della Libertà and Via Trieste: the open-to-all hours appear only on an undated page of the council's old website, preserved in a 2016 archive copy (the decision probably dates from 2010). No current page repeats them, but in 2026 ASTER still treats cameras no. 9 and 10 separately. We keep these hours, with caution.
Price of the hourly permit: the only official rate found, €2.50 an hour and €5 a day, is in an ASTER price list from January 2014 and may well be out of date; the current price is only visible after logging in.
Electric and hybrid cars: the old website said both were free (around 2016), the 2014 price list and a 2021 form gave hybrids 50% off, and the 2019 regulations provide an electric pass with parking. We follow ASTER's current page: €100 for transit only.
Bollards: ASTER's announcement of 18 April 2025 introduces plate recognition, while the 2019 regulations still mention a card or remote control and ASTER's disability page still refers to the “Pilomat”. We go with the more recent announcement.
Hotels: the hotel permit is in the 2019 regulations but no longer appears on ASTER's website, and the only known price (€2.60) dates from 2014.
Cameras: no total is published; the numbering goes up to at least 10, and in 2022 the council still listed four entry points awaiting cameras, with no official confirmation since.

If you drive in without a permit

Driving past an active gate without a permit costs €83 to €332 (article 7 of the Italian Highway Code), cut by 30% if you pay within 5 days. Since the 2024 reform, when the passages are recorded by camera rather than by an officer on the spot, only one fine per calendar day applies within the same ZTL, even if you drive through several times (article 198); two different zones mean two fines. For drivers living abroad, the notice can arrive up to 360 days after the offence. No licence points are deducted. If you think you were entitled to enter (hotel, disabled badge), contact the office named on the notice before paying: a late registration can sometimes still be sorted out. To appeal or pay from abroad, see our guide to the fine.

Frequently asked questions

Can I drive to Piazza delle Erbe?

No. It lies in the pedestrian area closed off by bollards. The rest of ZTL A is open to you with a permit, such as ASTER's hourly permit.

How much is the hourly permit?

ASTER does not publish the price; it appears after you register in the Area Pass. Book about 5 days in advance.

Is the ZTL active at night and on Sundays?

Yes, ZTL A and B are always closed. Only Corso della Libertà and Via Trieste are open to everyone from 7am to noon and from 6pm to 9pm.

Can my hotel get me into the ZTL?

Yes, with a 24-hour permit valid in every ZTL (transit only if the hotel is outside the ZTL). Check with the hotel before you arrive.

Can electric cars drive in freely?

No, unless you live in Mantua: you need a €100 annual pass, with no parking. Visitors' hybrids get no exemption.

Sources

Based on the city's own ordinances, rewritten in plain language. Only the ordinance in force and the sign at the gate are legally binding.