Strikes and the Winter Olympics

If there is one word in the Italian language you should know like a native speaker--a word so powerful, experienced travelers tremble uncontrollably at its mere mention--it is "sciopero." Pronounced SHO-per-o, it means "strike."

Italian unions make their points through short work stoppages, often a few hours long, but seldom longer than a day. And things stop cold when they do.

In my experience, seldom do Italian desk clerks announce to departing guests that the local rail station or airport is likely to be crippled by a transportation strike at that very moment. Seems that your ears have to be attuned to the word, because you can bet locals will be talking about strikes happening that day. When directly confronted, desk clerks will answer cheerfully with something like, "Why, yes, now that you mention it, you are likely to be sitting on the steps of the rail station with your ridiculous amount of baggage stacked like cordwood for a good six hours or so. Not to worry, you'll have plenty of company."

The good news: If you're going to the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, a strike truce seems to have been negotiated:

On Wednesday the unions agreed to suspend industrial action throughout the Olympic period, from January 31 to March 23 ~ Strike Truce for Turin Olympics.

Travel Recources: Turin Travel Essentials | Turin Airport Information | Ski Piemonte