Summer exodus, first weekend in August: traffic up 4.5 per cent on last year

The weekend of journeys to holiday destinations has drawn to a close with the first ‘black alert’ of summer 2026, but without the problems that the increase in traffic might have led people to fear. According to figures released by Anas (part of the FS Italiane group), between Friday and Sunday, traffic volumes on the national road network rose by 1.35 per cent compared with the previous weekend and by 4.5 per cent compared with the same period last year. The sharpest increase was in the South, where traffic rose by 3.26 per cent.

This morning, Sunday 2 August, the most significant increases were concentrated on the A2 “Autostrada del Mediterraneo” at Sicignano degli Alburni, on the SS16 “Adriatica” at Falconara Marittima and on the SS18 “Tirrena Inferiore” at Vibo Valentia. Traffic delays were reported in Sicily, on the A29 Palermo–Mazara del Vallo and on the western ring road around Catania, as well as in Lazio on the A91 Rome– Fiumicino motorway towards the airport and on the SS 148 Pontina towards the coast, and in Lombardy on the SS 36 del Lago di Como towards the Swiss border.

Traffic counts on individual sections confirm the heavy traffic on routes leading to holiday destinations: on the A2, 273,900 vehicles passed through Pontecagnano Faiano, 231,000 through Salerno and 196,061 through Battipaglia. In Lazio, the Grande Raccordo Anulare recorded between 272,814 and 326,473 vehicles, depending on the section, with the peak between Laurentina and Castel di Leva; on the Pontina, there were 152,067 vehicles. In Puglia, on the SS 16 Adriatica in Bari, 330,939 vehicles were counted, the highest figure among those released by ANAS.

At regional level, the highest figures are for Emilia-Romagna, with over two million vehicles detected by the sensors, and Puglia, with almost 2.4 million; followed by Calabria (almost two million), Veneto (627,857) and Piedmont (over 714,000).