Flying Your Drone in Rome: A Clear Guide

Ciao!

This guide will explain how to legally fly your drone in the beautiful city of Rome.

Important Restrictions:

• Many areas are off-limits due to historical sites, government buildings, and the Vatican. Safety for residents and tourists is a top priority.
  

Getting Started:

• EU Drone Regulations: All drone flights in Italy must follow European Union (EU) regulations for Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS). The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) establishes these rules.
  

• Pilot Certification: You'll need an EASA pilot certificate, either A1-A3 or the more advanced A2. Here's a link (in English) to get certified (free!):
  

[link to Luxembourg website] https://learningzone.eurocontrol.int/ilp/customs/Reports/RequestForm/DACAccount

• Drone Selection: Choose a drone with the proper European class marking (C0 or C1) for city flights.
  

Examples include DJI Mini 4 Pro, Air 3, Mavic 3 Classic, or DJI Avata 2.
While lighter, self-built drones (under 250g) are technically allowed, but they lack safety features like collision sensors and precise positioning.
Given Rome's crowded environment, a safer drone is recommended.

• Drone Insurance:
  

Obtain insurance that covers any damage caused by your drone to people or property,
especially considering the value of Rome's historical sites.

Registration and Permits:

• Drone Registration: Register your drone (C0 or C1) on the official Italian drone pilot website, d-flight.it (cost:€6).
  

        This site displays a map with different colored zones indicating flight limitations and red "No Fly Zones" (NFZs).

• NFZs: Red zones include airports, military areas, prisons, and areas protecting institutions or parks. For the last  two, you can usually request permission to fly.
  

• Operator QR Code: Registering on d-flight.it generates a unique QR code (Operator QR Code). Print this code and attach it to your drone like a license plate.
  

       in this  italian website you have to dowload the JSON file to use on your drone in order to update the geowarning zone in your drone system .

Obtaining a Permit :

If you need to fly in a red zone, you can:

• Fill Out Permit Form: Download the ATM05B form(link ),
• fill it out  ATM05 with your information  and add 16 euro stamp tax , than include copies of your ID, pilot certificate, and insurance policy.
• Send all of this documents copy via certified mail (PEC) to the specified addresses that you can find in the form
  

• Use a Permit Service: Consider hiring a private agency specializing in obtaining permits for red zones
  

            (recommendation provided, with disclosure of occasional collaboration for courses).
number one in italy  link: : https://360drone.it/en/

• Use a Helpful App:
  

An app can assist you in completing the ATM05B form and identify the correct email addresses for specific zones

link : https://d-space.it/

Upon request and when possible with work commitments, I can try to help those of you who ask.
remember :
police checks are very frequent and the penalties are very severe in Italy
you have to pay fines and it is possible that they will take your drone if you fly without permission



video 1 ) Capitoline Hill



video 2)

Trevi Fountain  - Eternal Dream
the tradition of throwing a coin into the fountain  ---------------------------------
Pantheon - Eternity  this is a building with incredible age and enduring presence , the Pantheon's near-perfect dome and architectural design make it a symbol of perfection ----------------------------------
Capitoline Hill - Power of History The Capitoline Hill has been the seat of Roman power for centuries. the long and rich history of the hill and its buildings.



video 3 ) backstage  How to fly in NFZ and reviw of JSON file (please you can use subtitle in english if you need )



by Alex Carboni

facebook https://www.facebook.com/AlexCarboniVideo/



another very important thing is to submit your permit requests at least 15 days in advance
once you have obtained the permit
check on dji fly safe and follow the unlocking procedure for your drones

Very good guide Alex,   

DAFlys Posted at 8-21 00:51
Very good guide Alex,

thank you very much , I'm happy you like this

Wow, what an excellent and detailed guide.  Absolutely amazing footage in the videos.  Fantastic job Alex.     

DowntownRDB Posted at 8-21 15:15
Wow, what an excellent and detailed guide.  Absolutely amazing footage in the videos.  Fantastic job Alex.

thank you very much , I'm very happy you like ...
I hope this can be useful too for the one that are planning to visit Rome

AlexCarboni Posted at 8-21 15:19
thank you very much , I'm very happy you like ...
I hope this can be useful too for the one that are planning to visit Rome

You're very welcome Alex.  It's a super useful guide for anybody planning drone flying in Rome.  

Very good explanation!

Montfrooij Posted at 9-7 10:16
Very good explanation!

excellent...glad it's helpful

AlexCarboni Posted at 9-8 21:52
excellent...glad it's helpful

You're welcome!

I doubt that any foreign people has access or even knows what PEC is.
PEC exist only in Italy, so how it is supposed foreign people to send the documents to the authorities?

Blackfish6 Posted at 9-11 12:01
I doubt that any foreign people has access or even knows what PEC is.
PEC exist only in Italy, so how it is supposed foreign people to send the documents to the authorities?

actually …
if you need it , you can create a certified email (PEC)  with your account and then you can send your email to request your permissions…
PEC is a online service available from everywhere in the web

Hi,

Your videos were very interesting.  I've flown a few times in Italy, but never in cities with all the famous monuments, never in red zones.

Some questions:

1.  Are the permissions to fly in red zones (which appear mainly to be centro historico) granted by cities or communes or ENAC?

2.  Are the authorities actively checking to see if you have a C0 or C1 drone or only in the red zone areas?  Were those Roman policemen in your videos or is there some other agency which monitors drone use in Italy?

American drone pilots are not certain if the CE label requirement, which started in 2024 is being actively enforced in the EU.  I've flown my Mavic 2 Pro this year in Sicily and some other EU countries.  I'm not trying to break laws but as I explain, Americans can't get drones with CE labels, unless they buy new drones in an EU country.  So we're not sure if we have to buy a new drone in Europe to be able to legally fly in A1 Open subcategory, which they used to be able to do before 2024 with older drones.


I think flying in red zones is going to be difficult for foreign visitors, especially Americans.  DJI in the US will not sell drones with any C0 and C1 labels.  You have to submit requests to them but they will only ship the labels to  EU addresses, not US.  So an American can go to Italy or France and submit the request for labels for their C0 or C1 drone via the DJI Go Fly app but if you don't put in an EU shipping address, they won't send the labels.

The other problem is, Americans and probably anyone from outside the EU can't get drone insurance with coverage in the EU.  In my case, my homeowner's insurance policy in the US covers me for liability caused by my property, which would include the drone. But the policy won't explicitly list drones as being covered, like a specific drone insurance policy would.

So if I'm asked to show proof of insurance, I have emails from my insurance company saying they'd cover it but I don't know if that's sufficient proof in Italy or any other EU country.

BTW, someone linked this thread to Mavic Pilots, so your guide is very helpful.

https://mavicpilots.com/threads/pro-4-and-rules-for-italy.147994/

fansf3575fa1 Posted at 9-13 16:53
Hi,

Your videos were very interesting.  I've flown a few times in Italy, but never in cities with all the famous monuments, never in red zones.

Hello
answers

1.
In Italy there are different types of red zones (no fly zones).
This are all managed by ENAC which is the national civil aviation agency in Italy.
to check the maps and the different NFZs, as written in this post, there is an institutional website, "d-flight.com", but there is also a very well-made app that uses the same cartography and is called "d-space".
In addition, there are private agencies that deal specifically with drones and obtaining permits.
For example, in Rome, in the historic center, there is a large red zone that was established to protect institutional buildings, such as the Senate, Chamber of Deputies etc etc.
this area was requested by the Prefecture of Rome and therefore the permission to fly in these areas must be requested primarily from the Prefecture of Rome which is the entity that requested the restriction to ENAC and in Copy also by ENAC
(everything is explained very well in the ENAC circular, ATM05b).

however the NFZ (no fly zones) can also be of different types and requested by other entities.
So from time to time, you need to check and understand who to request the permits from.
(NOTE : you can easily check this through the d-space app, which in addition to checking what type of zone, can help you fill out the permit and also provide you with the necessary addresses to forward the request to)

2.
All law enforcement agencies and in the all  Italians territory...
police, local police, carabinieri (military police), can check your drones, your documents and if you have the necessary authorizations.
obviously, in urban areas the checks are very frequent, while if you fly in peripheral areas, they will probably be less.

some officers have been trained and therefore have the knowledge and know what to check, others only check the permits when necessary.
Consider however, that all requests for permission to fly in NFZ must be requested from the entity that established the NFZ and also by Cc (knowledge in copy) to ENAC, which will check if you comply with the regulation and therefore also the type of drone used and if it will be compliant for that type of area.

----
as regards the label with the European class marking, you should continue to request it (insisting) with DJI.
You are absolutely right and DJI should provide this European marking also to drone sold on the American market.
The drones are the same, identical ... why can't DJI send you the marking outside of Europe?

while for the insurance policy, you could think about making an online one, maybe temporary, only for the period that you will visit Italy so that it is also convenient and economical.

in any case, to simplify all this bureaucracy, you can also decide to contact a private agency, like 360drone.it ([url]https://360drone.it/en/)[/url]

I have worked with them, and I must admit that they are very efficient and professional.
they will take care of solving all these problems that you have listed and then if you want, they will also bring you during your flights, they will take care of speaking to the agents during the checks and will make your experience much more pleasant

Thanks for the information.

I haven't flown over centro storico of the cities and towns which have all the beautiful duomos and piazzas.

Obviously I'd like to but if they allow some people to do it, it would get out of hand and you'd have almost as many drones as people holding up phones in these places to take photos.

Next time I visit Italy, I may look into seeing if I could get permission but you often contact city government (not in Italy) and they know little about drone laws or they just refer you to the national civil aviation authority.

But first I have to buy a drone with CE class label.  I don't know if the situation has changed but earlier this year DJI said they will not send the labels to outside the EU.  In fact there are threads on this forum of people trying to get the labels and not having success.

fansf3575fa1 Posted at 9-16 10:58
Thanks for the information.

I haven't flown over centro storico of the cities and towns which have all the beautiful duomos and piazzas.

when you decide to return to Italy, try to contact me and let's try to see together how to solve these problems ...
I'm pretty sure that we can solve and find a legal and safe way to let you fly to the most suggestive places here in Italy ...
maybe is better if you can  do it well in advance, giving me time to find solutions and obtain permits from the competent authorities for your needs ...

I hope to hear from you soon