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I studied using the practice exams. [link under review]

In chrome you can translate with a click so I went back and forth between the languages. I took the practice exams so many times I had memorized some of the questions.

I signed up for the required class and the instructor let me skip attendance. 

I paid a young friend to go with as my interpreter for the 6 hours of mandatory driving lessons.

I failed the first theory test and passed the second time with missing only one question.

When it was my turn for the practical test I didn't wait for the guy to ask about the engine or tires and just started pointing to the oil, gas, water. telling him what I know with a couple of words. He chuckled and stopped me, as he said, because I knew my stuff. I would not have understood any questions he would have asked. There are only a few things you need to know about the vehicle.

I have some learning glitches and zero memory so learning the language is difficult. I still don't speak enough Italian to have a conversation but I have my license.

Best of luck.

@Huckleberry2025

I just saw your post. Trusting it’s recent. My husband and I live in Italy x 16 months. We are not proficient enough at this point to think we’d pass the DL test.

My husband is better than myself. Our atty’s American paralegal tells us it’s a nightmare!

My searches tell me, 1) be brave, 2) memorize, 3) find a school where you will be living that will teach in English so you can learn in Italian?, 4) unless you want to test with a manual transmission, make arrangements for an automatic w/ school, 5) 10 months, give it 10 months… and for me know there’s a module re: mechanics of the vehicle?

If this is your first year in IT, drive on your US DL with an International DL from AAA…

Do not buy a car without your DL and understand you will be restricted to the type of car you can drive x 10 years.

Lease if you can… my 2 cents!

@kathyje

Genius!

I really admire your creativity in obtaining your license.

I,  like you, have a learning disability when it comes to languages and still cannot understand Italian when spoken. This after many years of studying and living here.

Bravo

@Huckleberry2025

It took me about a year of studying with a tutor to understand enough to pass the test. One thing you can try (I did) is to enroll in a driving school-which you will need to do anyway, and arrange for private theory lessons with an English speaking instructor. The advantages are several-they will be able to arrange the test which is 90% impossibile independently, and they know what's important. Good luck and don't give up!

@Huckleberry2025 I was supposed to exchange my licence from a UK issued item to the Italian. U unfortunately it took so long that the option expired. I enrolled in a local driving school, and frankly, as helpful as they were it seemed to be unnavigable. Ashamed to say, I surrendered and went another route. In my defence, another person taking the test had superb language skills and also found it a challenge. Not trying to dissuade you but dont underestimate the time or commitment required, or skill level.

Why not take your test in Ireland, if that’s at all feasible? It’s a fully English-speaking country and the license issued would be valid across the EU. I believe you can then ‘swap’ an Irish License for a license for any other EU country that you declare yourself resident in or get a visa for (as far as I recall).

@Huckleberry2025 the quiz apps provided by the schools has an English setting so you can practice in English then switch to Italian. You wont be able to sit the exam until you pass the quizzes in Italian. The actual exam is a bit tricky as it is almost a grammar test. Try to leave any preconceived notions about America rules behind and think like an Italian, especially when it comes to the right of way and rotunda questions! The driving test is tricky too…the instructor rides in passenger seat and Testor in back. They can ask questions before about various warning lights, oil and water, first aid questions, etc. You instructor is rooting for you and they already have your license printed before the final driving exam. ***Neither are required to wear seatbelts but I asked them too just in case it was a trick. ***

@ronhealyx

We decided to do exactly that but in Cyprus. Great minds think alike!

@EuroDwell

HA! No seatbelt, wow. Thanks for the tips. We have been living in Spain and the test questions are outrageous there too. The one that got me was that if you are wearing a giant puffy winter coat you don't have to wear your seatbelt because in a braking situation you could slide under it. WHAT?

All fun stuff! As to Ireland, good idea but they used to require residency. I ended up getting mine in Poland through a service and was spoon fed the questions!

@Huckleberry2025 Ciao! My friend, an expat has the book and she said you’ll really want to study. Someone said they studied for three months and it’s notoriously difficult. I’m told it’s much more expansive than U.S. exams.  Some people do thousands of exam questions to help understand the format.   It’s  like going back to being a teenager with driver limitations for three years.  You might want to consider attending driving school. That’s what I plan to do even with my knowledge of the language.  In bocca al lupo. 

I studied for 3 months, 1 to 2 hours a day "playing" (taking) practice exams like a game. It's 40 TRUE/FALSE questions each test and I only did them in Italian. I only looked at the English translation after I had answered a question. I learned quite a bit of Italian this way, plus I passed the test with 40/40. It didn't hurt that this was during COVID so I couldn't do much else.

I also enrolled in a driving school but only went to a few classes. The school was necessary for the behind the wheel classes, plus they handled all the paperwork. 5 stars.

Note: there were about 35 people taking the test, 3 foreigners and the rest mostly young Italians. All foreigners passed and about half of the Italians didn't. There were lots of tears. The instructor at the driving school said that Americans were more successful because we take so many tests for a grade when we are in school and Italians don't and are less skilled in test taking.

The funniest part was even though I had been driving for over 50 years I still had to take behind the wheel lessons!

Good luck!