Money Belt

• Put cash not in an easily-pickpocketed place, either a money belt or around the neck compartment.

Photocopy of Passport

• Kept with numbers to cancel credit cards if your wallet is stolen.
• Keep a copy separate from your passport, in case its lost or stolen. If you lose your passport you must get a replacement (no matter what    the Italian police may tell you) in order to return to the USA. Having a photocopy of the original greatly simplifies the process.
• The U.S. consulate in Florence can get a duplicate in about two hours time for $60, plus the cost of passport photos. You can have new photos suitable for American passports done at Photo 90, Via del Prato 1, Firenze, close to the American Consulate. Tel: 055-2657719.

Light Rainproof Jacket

• Useful if traveling in spring.

Opera Glasses

• Bring them if you have them. You'll find them a tiny addition to your suitcase and an invaluable tool for better appreciating ceiling frescoes and other far-away or detailed objects of art (and, of course, the opera if you plan to attend!).

Stroller

• Yes, if travelling with children who can fit in it and if you normally are big stroller-users. Roll it right up to the plane and let the hostesses stow it. Fight with the people at the Paris airport if they seem not to let you through. (looking desperate generally comes easily to traveling parents in this kind of situation). If space is a concern, bring a cheap umbrella stroller that's light. Use it to schlep bags if child is walking. Changing your mind in Italy can be expensive; you CANNOT buy one here for less than $80!