Ravenna ZTL: hours, cameras and who can drive in

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

Photo: Incola, CC BY-SA 3.0

Right now in Ravenna

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

In Ravenna you buy your way into the historic centre at a parking meter, much like a parking ticket: €15 for the whole day, or €8 for the morning or the afternoon. The ticket goes on the dashboard, so you need it before you drive past the camera, not afterwards.

The centre has been watched by the SIRIO camera system since 2007. Five entry points are checked round the clock; three others, on Via Mariani, Via Guerrini and Via Matteucci, only from 7:30 to 20:30. These are the hours the cameras operate, as published by the council: the order setting the legal hours of the ZTL could not be found. One more thing catches drivers out: since 1 March 2026 electric and hybrid cars have been barred from the ZTL, both for driving and for parking.

The zones and their hours

ZTL Centro storico

Most of the historic centre, around Piazza del Popolo, which is itself a pedestrian area. No street list for the zone is published online: the 1991 order that defines it could not be found.

There are no time slots here: the ban applies day and night, all year round, public holidays included. Exception: the “Varchi di via Mariani, via Guerrini e via Matteucci” entrances are only checked at certain times (see below).

The entrances are watched by 5 plate-reading cameras, known as varchi.

List of the 5 cameras (varchi)

Via G. Guaccimanni · Via A. Baccarini · Via N. Rondinelli · Via Cavour (ingresso piazzetta Gandhi) · Via Ponte Marino

Varchi di via Mariani, via Guerrini e via Matteucci

Three entry points into the same zone, whose cameras only read number plates from 7:30 to 20:30. These are the checking hours published by the council; the zone's legal hours could not be found.

It is active at these times:

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

3 number-plate cameras (“varchi”) watch the entrances.

List of the 3 cameras (varchi)

Via A. Mariani · Via Ar. Guerrini · Via P. Matteucci

ZTL di via di Roma (tratto via Carducci – via Guaccimanni)

The stretch between Via Carducci and Via Guaccimanni, with a camera at the junction with Via Carducci. The council runs it as a separate ZTL: it was suspended for roadworks from 4 to 10 August 2026, then from 1 to 14 September (the swing bridge).

There are no time slots here: the ban applies day and night, all year round, public holidays included.

A single camera checks the entrance.

The camera (varco)

Via di Roma / via Carducci

Who can drive in

Visitors: hotels, rental cars, tickets

Staying in a hotel

Only accommodation located inside the ZTL can register your number plate. A hotel outside the zone gives you no right to drive in. 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: €15 full day (00:00 to 23:59 on the day of issue); €8 morning (00:00 to 11:59); €8 afternoon (12:00 to 23:59). 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. The rental company's fees are set out in the rental car guide.

Where to buy the ticket. At the dedicated machine and the counter of the municipal police, Via D'Alaggio 3, or at eleven other parking meters, including Piazza Mameli and Largo Firenze. You pay by coin (no change given) or card. It is only valid for vehicles up to 5 tonnes.

What it does not cover. Pedestrian areas, Piazza del Popolo included. Parking is limited to 90 minutes, with a parking disc on display.

Hotels, garages, disabled badges. Accommodation in the historic centre sends guests' plates to the local police, but no deadline is published, so ask at reception before you arrive. The council's tourism site lists partner garages in the centre (Navoni, La Torre, Mariani, San Vitale, Centrale) where you can leave the car without being fined, without saying how the plate is reported. With a disabled badge issued outside Ravenna, email sirio@comune.ra.it beforehand with the plate, the badge details, the day of access and a copy of your ID; there is no mention of the city using the national CUDE platform.

At the seaside. In Marina di Ravenna, a camera enforced the reserved lane on Viale della Pace and Viale delle Nazioni in 2026: from 20 June to 1 September, 9:00 to midnight on days before public holidays and on public holidays, except 22 and 23 July. The sign at the Rotonda della Colonia shows a green “corsia aperta” when the lane is open to everyone. Motorbikes and mopeds may use it; next summer's dates have not been announced yet.

No specific rule for motorbikes in the centre is published. Photos of an offence can be viewed on poliziamunicipale.it/ravenna with the “ID Univoco Web” code printed on the fine.

Ravenna in numbers

Where official sources disagree

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. Paying from abroad, deadlines and appeals are explained in the ZTL fine guide.

Frequently asked questions

Can I pay to drive into the centre of Ravenna?

Yes, with the parking-meter ticket: €15 for the day, or €8 from 00:00 to 11:59 or from 12:00 to 23:59. Buy it before the camera and leave it clearly visible.

Is the Ravenna ZTL active at night and on Sundays?

Yes. Six of the nine cameras check day and night, every day; those on Via Mariani, Via Guerrini and Via Matteucci from 7:30 to 20:30.

Can an electric car go in?

No. Since 1 March 2026 electric and hybrid cars have been excluded from the ZTL. The residents' “VE” permit only covers parking in pay-and-display bays, not entry.

My hotel is in the historic centre: what should I do?

Give your number plate at reception: the hotel passes it on to the local police. No deadline is published, so ask before you arrive. If you are staying outside the centre, the day ticket is the option.

Is there a camera on the way to the beach at Marina di Ravenna?

Yes, on the reserved lane of Viale delle Nazioni: in 2026 from 20 June to 1 September, on days before public holidays and on public holidays from 9:00 to midnight. When the sign shows a green “corsia aperta”, the lane is open to everyone.

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.