I'm sure you'll be fine especially in Northern Italy. We did a vintage Fiat 500 wine tour in Tuscany a few years ago. Yes they rented us a car and then took us on a drinking tour of wineries! Welcome to Italy!
We stopped at a scenic overlook for a picture and an older Italian guy pulled up in a Ferrari 456. He came up and started a conversation with me in Italian until I told him I didn't speak Italian. He switched to heavily accented English and told me he used to have a '65 Fiat 500 just like mine, white with red interior and he was going to buy a new 500 just like it. I complimented his Ferrari and his parting comment to me was, "be careful, that's the most dangerous car ever made"
