Metadata
Title
About Italy
Category
general
UUID
c0f3b4dfc33c438e9a5db627363d207e
Source URL
https://www.unipd.it/en/about-italy
Parent URL
https://www.unipd.it/en/welcome-padova
Crawl Time
2026-03-20T05:41:29+00:00
Rendered Raw Markdown

About Italy

Source: https://www.unipd.it/en/about-italy Parent: https://www.unipd.it/en/welcome-padova

About Italy

Banks

Banks can be found all over the city, especially in the city centre and they are generally open every morning from Monday to Friday until 1 pm and in the afternoon from 3 pm until 4 pm.

Debit and Credit cards are not accepted everywhere so you had better bring some cash with you.

Currency

Italy has been in the Eurozone since 2002

Denominations of the euro:

Banknotes: 5 · 10 · 20 · 50 · 100 · 200 · 500 euro

Coins: 0.01 · 0.02 · 0.05 · 0.10 · 0.20 · 0.50 · 1 · 2 euro

For current exchange rates consult www.ecb.int

Electricity

Italy uses Europlugs – two-pin plugs found all over Europe. The electricity supply is 200V/50Hz

Emergency numbers

Police 113\ Carabinieri/Military Police 112\ Fire Department 115\ Ambulance 118**City Police 049 8205100**

Public Holidays

1st January: Capodanno (New Year’s Day)\ 6th January: Epifania (Epiphany)\ Lunedì di Pasqua (Easter Monday)\ 25th April: Festa della Liberazione (Liberation Day, 1945)\ 1st May: Festa dei Lavoratori (Labour Day)\ 2nd June: Festa della Repubblica (Republic Day - Birth of the Italian Republic, 1946)\ 13th June: Sant’Antonio (Saint Anthony’s Day, patron saint of Padova)\ 15th August: Assunzione (Feast of the Assumption)\ 1st November: Ognissanti (All Saints)\ 8th December: Immacolata concezione (Immaculate conception)\ 25th December: Natale (Christmas Day)\ 26th December: Santo Stefano (Boxing Day)

Smoking

Since January 2005, Italy operates a non-smoking policy in all public buildings including cafés, restaurants and offices.

Tax system

The Italian tax system is nationally managed by Agenzia delle Entrate (Revenue Agency); taxes are levied nationally, regionally and locally. They are grouped into two categories:

Besides the main national taxes, there are also local taxes (e.g., tax on municipal solid waste management). All workers are subject to taxation of their income or benefits. The amount of tax to be paid varies according to the type and duration of work contracts.

Tax code (codice fiscale)

The Italian tax code (codice fiscale) is an alphanumeric code which allows Italian authorities to identify any person. The tax code is essential if you need to sign a contract in Italy,  to open a bank account, and to access many public services (including health services).

The official tax code is NOT needed at application stage. The online application system will automatically generate a tax code for all non-Italian citizens. The official code is however needed to enrol at the University of Padova.

The tax code is issued by the Italian Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate). You can apply for a tax code following one of the procedures detailed below:

OR

Telephoning

Calling Italy from abroad

  1. Dial the international access code (00)
  2. Dial the country code (39)
  3. Dial the number including the area code (Padova: 049)

Calling abroad from Italy

  1. Dial the international access code (00)
  2. Dial the two digit country code
  3. Dial the number including the area code

Time

Italy is in the Central European Time zone, 1 hour ahead of GMT (Greenwich Mean Time). In summer (last Sunday in March to last Sunday in October) Italy is 2 hours ahead of GMT.

Visas and residence permits