I thought you would like this notice, which was posted at intervals alongside a very nice cycle lane somewhere south of Giovinazzo.
Showing various famous Italian cyclists, it contains suggestions such as cyclists: I will run red lights with caution; pedestrians: I will jaywalk with caution; and generally: don’t be a jerk. Splendid stuff.
Says all you need to know about Italian traffic rules really.
And actually once you realise this, the chaos of town driving simply resolves into a sequence of free-form one-on-one interactions – no obvious rules are followed but somehow everyone gets around without too much hooting, shouting, or gross physical injury.