The trick to doing anything of the appointment needing sort of thing in Italy, is to leave very early and plan for any and all sorts of problems or delays.  Really this applies to anything where one needs to be in a specific place at a specific time.  Leaving an hour early this morning for a medical appointment gave me time to:

avoid the Friday market that closes all of the street in the center of town but not necessarily the same streets as last week.

find a parking space in a nation where there is 1 space for every 10 cars because the urban planning didn't keep up with it's fixation with cars.

pay for the parking when the ticket dispensing machine is broken, (since September), and the next nearest is 2 blocks away.

fight the swarms of elderly folks who use medical centers and doctor's offices as social clubs and are constantly having testing and check-ups.  This keeps them healthy and active as they are out of the house for hours every week going back and forth to these various appointments, chatting with friends and neighbors who are doing the same, and not plunked in front of the t.v., (as well as the obvious preventative benefits).  Unfortunately for those on a schedule it clogs up the system big time.

wait with these hordes of white haired old biddies who gossip and tsk on the long wooden benches.  They all dress alike in dark wool coats, dark skirts and sensible black shoes on their tiny feet.  They jump up and down every time the ping goes off for the next patient to be called up to the reception, checking the screen to see if it's their number, thus also getting plenty of exercise.  (Scary thing is that I am no longer that much younger than them.)  The wait today was 20 minutes.  Not bad.  xxoo me