Fuel prices fall slightly. The weekend gets off to a ‘black alert’ start on the roads
Third day of price reductions. Petrol prices down by four thousandths and diesel prices down by eight thousandths on average across the road network
Key points
A hectic weekend lies ahead on Italy’s roads – to say the least – due both to the summer exodus and the pressure on fuel prices, with the 17-cent discount on diesel having been extended. That said, there are signs that prices are continuing to fall slightly for the third day running.
25 million vehicles on the road
More than 25 million vehicles are expected to be on the move for the holidays on the roads and motorways of the ANAS network between today and next Sunday. This forecast comes from the Road Mobility Observatory of the FS Group company. “Around 2,500 technicians and operational staff, together with operators from the regional control centres and the national situation room, are working to ensure constant monitoring of the network and to guarantee the highest possible level of assistance to users and traffic management,” said Anas’s chief executive, Claudio Andrea Gemme. The number of roadworks sites has also been reduced. Until 7 September, 1,175 roadworks sites – 83 per cent of those currently active (1,414) – will be closed or suspended.
Black-alert Saturday
Friday 7 August is marked by two red alerts for the morning and afternoon due to heavy traffic, with potential for serious disruption. The morning period on Saturday 8 August is marked with a black traffic alert, indicating the most critical times. For Sunday 9 August, the morning period is marked with a yellow traffic alert, indicating heavy traffic, whilst the afternoon is marked with a red alert, indicating heavy traffic with possible disruption.
The post-holiday exodus begins on 16 August
With a long-lasting trend set to continue: holiday departures will continue throughout the week of Ferragosto, and the first phase of the return journey could also begin on Sunday 16 August.
Average diesel price at 2.084 euros per litre
The other area of concern is fuel prices. However, there are some positive signs for the third day running, with the downward trend appearing to be more pronounced. Data from the Price Observatory of the Mimit (Ministry of Enterprise and Made in Italy) show that, for the survey conducted on Friday 7 August 2026, the average price of self-service fuel across the national road network stood at 1.990 euros per litre for petrol (compared with 1.994 recorded on 6 August) and 2.084 euros per litre for diesel (also down slightly from the 2.092 euros recorded on 6 August). On the motorway network, however, the average self-service price is 2.065 euros per litre for petrol (2.072 on 6 August) and 2.159 euros per litre for diesel (2.166 on 6 August).
