I just returned from a much-needed ten-day family vacation to Italy. When we were there, my family and I visited hundreds of historic sites, went to a dozen museums, drank Aperol Spritz like it was water, and ate enough pasta and pizza to feed a small army. Between Venice, Florence, Assisi, Rome, and Sorrento, I saw hundreds of cop cars, and was astonished that the state didn't appear to have a standard municipal vehicle.
While most of the cop cars in Italy are Italian-built, across Italy's Polizia di Stato, Polizia Locale, and Carabinieri, I saw a wide variety of vehicles from practically every brand, including German and Japanese automakers.
Pretty much every American cop car I've seen in recent years has been a hotted up Ford Explorer Police Interceptor, Chevrolet Tahoe PPV, or the aging Dodge Charger Pursuit. In Italy, however, it seems that cops have their choice of pretty much whatever fits the bill. And it seems as though Italian cops choose practicality over homogeneity, which I appreciate.
10. Undercover Kia Sportage
One of the first cop cars I saw in Rome was this unmarked Kia zooming out of a side street and nearly running into a cab on a crowded shopping street. The Sportage isn't necessarily a very cool car, but I've never seen one used as a cop car, and it definitely took me by surprise. Huh, neat.
9. Fiat Punto
How often do you get a police car styled by Giugiaro? Sharing a platform with Opel's Corsa D, the Fiat Punto was the better looking of the two little hatches (though both were out-pretty'd by Alfa Romeo's MiTo, if you ask me). This probably isn't an extreme-use vehicle, but it can handle the tortures of tight streets and traffic, which is exactly what Rome demands.
8. Land Rover Discovery Armored
If you aren't familiar, the Carabinieri is Italy's military police force, answering to the minister of defense. While most of their vehicles are Italian-built, I noticed this delightfully ancient armored Land Rover. The LR4-generation Disco was built between 2009 and 2016, so this particular vehicle was, at minimum, a decade old. It's probably safe to say the Italian government pinches its pennies a little harder than the U.S. does.
7. Alfa Romeo Giulia Veloce (pictured above)
Another Carabinieri vehicle I appreciated seeing on my trip was the Giulia Veloce. Dubbed the "gazelle" by Italians, this is the car Italy uses for hot pursuit. With the 2.0-liter turbocharged 200-horsepower motor, the Carabinieri purchased 1,770 of these "Radiomobile" vehicles for the nationwide fleet. Specially built by Alfa, these cars feature a rear passenger cell, armored windows and doors, and shatter-proof glass.
6. Alfa Romeo Giulietta
Back in 2016, the company then known as Fiat-Chrysler handed over a fleet of new Jeep Renegades and Alfa Romeo Giuliettas to the state police. I didn't see any of the Jeeps in police blues during my vacation, but I did see this delightful little Alfa hatch. If you ask me, this era of Alfa styling was among the most beautiful cars ever created. I absolutely adore this thing. With a 120-horsepower Multjet 1.6-liter, it isn't the quickest thing around, but it'll do the business.
5. Fiat Panda and Fiat Doblo
One of the great joys of visiting Europe was seeing just how many Fiat Pandas there were around. These little lifted hatchbacks were amongst the cutest little city bombers around. They just made my heart do a little somersault when I saw them. Why? Because they are friend-shaped.
The Doblo in the background makes the list likewise because of its cutesy-ness. A little Euro-centric delivery van, we actually got a version of these in the U.S. that took the form of the Dodge/Ram Promaster City. Naturally, they look cooler as Fiats.
4. BMW R1250 RT
If I were to be a cop, I'd want to be an Italian bike cop. It's very funny to me, however, that the Roman two-wheeled patrol uses the same Beemers that SoCal bike cops use. Couldn't they throw a set of lights and sirens on a Ducati Multistrada or something?
3. Land Rover Defender
Technically not a police vehicle, the Italian Esercito Defender in NATO Camo gets a pass for how cool it is. The Esercito is the land-based branch of the Italian Armed Forces, and they were posted up near one of Italy's main national monuments in this photo. I saw a dozen or so of these Defenders in Rome, and they all felt like way cooler transport equipment than the MRAPs we see on U.S. streets.
2.5. Opel Corsa-e
Back in 2023, the Italian government purchased thirty of these Opel Corsa-e cop cars to expand its "green fleet" in cities with limited traffic zones, green zones, and heavily trafficked by pedestrians. Most of these vehicles went to Rome, though a few went to Milan, and a handful of other Italian cities. With an efficient 136-horsepower motor and a compact 50 kWh pack, these cars will likely spend their lives rolling around at walking pace. It does make me curious, however, just how many times they've needed to charge this car over the last three years.
2. BMW i3
Call this one a tie with the Opel — I was just happy to see a little electric runabout being used as a municipal vehicle. This run of i3s was purchased in 2015 and was assigned to the area around the Vatican during 2025's Jubilee celebrations, which saw an influx of Catholic visitors. A set of four i3 vehicles was purchased for the city's use, as well as six BMW C Evolution electric scooters (which I didn't see, but that's very cool).
1. The police boats in Venice (above)
Our trip began with a flight into Venice, and the very first thing I saw that blew my mind was the state police boats. It makes total sense that the police would have a lot of boats in a city completely surrounded by water, but I hadn't put much thought into it before I arrived. Despite the speed limit in Venice being five knots in the Grand Canal and just three knots in the smaller back canals, the Polizia are allowed to exceed these limits, and often did. As you can imagine, first responder boats are always ready to go quickly when necessary.
DHL and UPS also had a huge fleet of boats and barges in Venice, but that's a story for another blog.