Anyone seriously considering an international move — remote workers, families, retirees, founders. You know you want to leave; you just haven't found where you'd actually feel at home.

How is this different from just asking ChatGPT?

ChatGPT gives you an opinion. We give you a score from open data: climate normals, OECD tax tables, WHO healthcare index, Ookla internet speeds. Every number has a source. The quiz learns your trade-offs and ranks accordingly — no generic 'Portugal is great' advice.

How do you score countries?

Ten dimensions (climate, cost, tax, visa, healthcare, safety, language, internet, family, banking), each scored 0–10 from open data. We combine them geometrically, meaning one bad dimension really matters — it can't be averaged away. Hard deal-breakers exclude a country entirely.

Will more countries get a detailed map like Italy?

Yes. Italy is our proof of concept — 8,000 places, comune-level climate, prices, internet, demographics. Portugal, Spain, and UAE are next. Subscribe in the atlas to be notified per country.

Climate normals are 1991–2020 (the WMO 30-year standard — the most meaningful baseline). Tax, visa, and language data refreshes annually. Every number shows its source and year inline — nothing is hidden.

🇮🇹Italy · Infrastructure

Italy — Infrastructure

What to wire up in Italy: fibra/FWA, operators, prices; electricity, gas, water, waste; PEC; 5G and mobile. Speeds by city, tariffs, real timelines.

A stylised utility stack of Italy: at the top three weaving fibre lines labelled FIBRA, in the middle a row of five electricity pylons under power lines labelled RETE 230 V, at the bottom five coloured waste bins (glass, paper, plastic, organic, residual), a PEC postal stamp, a 5G antenna, a tap with a water drop (acqua), and an Italian Type L plug — A utility stack: what wires up in the first week

Italy has finished its fibre rollout: 73 % of households are in the fibra footprint, with a median fixed broadband speed of 198 Mbps (Ookla 2026). , the legally binding e-mail, costs € 9/year and is required for government correspondence. Tap water is drinkable. Waste sorts into five streams or you get a 25-500 € fine. This chapter sets out what to wire up, and in what order, during the first week in a flat.

Italy as a utility stack

Italy in 2026 is a country of completed infrastructure modernisation. Open FTTH (Open Fiber plus the carriers) reaches 73 % of the housing stock; 5G covers 96 % of urban areas; digital identity (SPID, CIE) is mandatory for public services. In parallel, Italian particularities remain: PEC as legally binding e-mail, separated waste collection with fines, autonomous gas boilers in every other flat.

What gets wired up in the first week (standard set): internet (fibra or FWA), electricity (free market), gas (if you have a caldaia autonoma), water (handled by the comune, usually already on), waste (TARI declaration at the comune), mobile, PEC. Most of it is online via app or operator website with a codice fiscale.

Indicative monthly cost for a Milan flat: internet €25-35, mobile €5-15, electricity €70-150, gas €100-280 in winter, water €15-30, TARI €15-30 (billed annually). Total €230-540/month before rent.

Internet: fibra, FWA, operators

(fibre) splits into two types. FTTH (Fiber to the Home), fibre to the flat, up to 2.5 Gbps real speed. FTTC (Fiber to the Cabinet), fibre to the street cabinet then copper to the flat, usually up to 200 Mbps. Operators (TIM, Open Fiber, Fastweb) flag the type during the address check. Aim for FTTH; the stability difference is significant.

(Fixed Wireless Access) is the wireless alternative for areas without fibre. A rooftop receiver works over the operator's 4G/5G network; speeds 30-200 Mbps depending on tower distance. Covers most rural areas and southern outskirts. Installation €30-60, no digging.

Major operators:

TIM (formerly Telecom Italia), the former monopolist. Widest FTTH footprint, traditional service. Fibra €30-45/month. Good for the south where alternatives thin out.
Vodafone Italia, premium service, English-speaking support in Milan and Rome. €30-40/month fibra.
WindTre, mid-range coverage, aggressive bundles with mobile. €25-35/month.
Iliad, French disruptor since 2018. Lowest prices, transparent tariffs, no hidden fees. €23/month fibra where available. Footprint still limited.
Fastweb, fibre-first operator. Strong service, good Milan coverage. €27-35/month.
Sky Wifi, TV provider with an internet bundle. €30/month, fits if you are already a Sky customer.
Tiscali, regional Italian operator. Sometimes the only fibra option in a small southern town.

Activation. Typically 5-10 business days (if a line already exists), 2-4 weeks for a new install. The technician arrives by appointment, free (included in activation). Standard contract is 24 months with a €30-100 early-termination fee. Iliad and Fastweb offer contract-free tariffs.

Fixed broadband speed by city

Real speed depends not only on the tariff but on the connection type at the address. Ookla publishes city-level median speeds every quarter; for Q1 2026 the picture is the following.

Read it carefully. Milan (385 Mbps median) is nearly all FTTH; Palermo (112 Mbps) still lives on FTTC plus a small FTTH zone in the centro storico. Before signing a lease, check the address on each operator's site (TIM, Open Fiber, and Fastweb run a "verifica copertura" form) and ask the landlord "c'è la fibra ottica?"; if neither fibre nor FWA reaches, you will spend a year on slow DSL for the same price.

Speed check. The Ookla Speedtest app is free with native clients. If your tariff says 1 Gbps but the test shows 200 Mbps, you most likely have FTTC or a weak Wi-Fi router. A 5 GHz Wi-Fi link rarely passes 700-900 Mbps even on a gigabit line.

Mobile and 5G

The Italian mobile market reshaped after Iliad entered in 2018. Current players: TIM, Vodafone Italia, WindTre, Iliad, Fastweb Mobile (virtual on Vodafone), PosteMobile (virtual on WindTre). A base "unlimited minutes + 100-150 GB" plan runs €8-15/month in 2026. Iliad holds the lowest floor at €€ 5/month for 100 GB.

5G coverage. 96 % of Italian urban area is on 5G (AGCOM 2026). North and centre run mid-band (3.5 GHz, up to 1 Gbps) widely; the south still relies more on low-band (700 MHz, 200-400 Mbps). DSS mode (5G NR on 4G spectrum) reaches almost everywhere but delivers little above 4G.

SIM or eSIM. All four major operators support eSIM: activate by QR code, no shop visit. For a physical SIM you go in with a passport, codice fiscale, and permesso (or just a passport for tourists); registration is 10-15 minutes. Since 2024 every SIM must be tied to an Italian codice fiscale within 5 days, on pain of blocking.

Number portability (MNP) is free and takes 1-2 business days. No charge from the old operator; you only need a "codice di migrazione" from its app. Iliad makes migration especially smooth: enter the number in the form and MNP kicks off automatically.

Electricity, gas, water

Electricity. Since 1 July 2024 the free market (mercato libero) covers all households. The old regulated "Maggior Tutela" has been retired; you must pick a supplier. Major operators: Enel Energia (the ex-monopolist, the best-known name), Edison, Eni Plenitude, Iren, A2A, Sorgenia, Octopus Energy. The average kWh runs € 0; the spread between the best and worst tariff is around 30 %. Switching is free and takes a month.

Tariffs split into "fisso" (fixed per-kWh price, usually 12 months) and "variabile" (price tied to PUN, the Italian power exchange). Fisso is safer if prices climb; variabile wins on a stable market. Smart meters are deployed at 95 % of households, with automatic readings.

Gas. If the flat has an autonomous gas boiler (), you pay an operator directly: €100-280/month in winter, €30-60/month in summer. Suppliers are the same as for electricity; a "dual fuel" bundle (electricity + gas from one provider) often shaves 5-10 %. If the building runs central heating (), gas is folded into the condominio fee.

Water. The connection is municipal (handled by a local utility, e.g. MM in Milan, ACEA in Rome, ABC in Naples). Tariff €15-30/month for a two-person flat. 99 % of Italian tap water meets WHO standards (acqua del sindaco, "the mayor's water" in slang). Rome, Milan, Bologna run hard water; the taste is fine but a Brita filter improves tea and coffee. The contract switches automatically when residents change, through the comune.

Post and PEC

is the national postal operator. Standard letter delivery 3-7 days domestic, 7-21 days international. Registered mail (raccomandata) with delivery confirmation 5-7 days. Poste also operates a large bank (BancoPosta, about 8 M customers), parcel pickup through PuntoPoste (in tobacconists), and the kit postale process for permesso di soggiorno renewals.

(Posta Elettronica Certificata) is a uniquely Italian technology: e-mail with the legal weight of a registered letter with delivery receipt. PEC messages are digitally signed and delivery is logged in the system. No government office, INPS, the tax agency, schools, the comune, will correspond without PEC.

Where to open. Aruba (€€ 9/year, the cheapest, market leader), Poste Italiane (€8/year), Legalmail, Register.it. Opening is online with a passport + codice fiscale, activation 24-48 hours. The address looks like "[email protected]" or similar.

When to use PEC. Employment contract (companies send via PEC), a state invoice, a filing with the comune, a fine appeal, correspondence with a lawyer. Plain Gmail or personal e-mail does not carry legal weight; a government office will not accept a complaint without PEC.

Waste sorting and TARI

Italy is an EU leader in separated waste collection (): national average 65 % in 2024, reaching 80 % in Veneto and Trentino. Most comuni mandate 5 sorting streams.

Carta e cartone (paper and cardboard), blue or light blue bin. Newspapers, cardboard boxes, paper bags.
Vetro (glass), green or brown. Bottles, jars without lids.
Plastica e metallo (plastic and metal), yellow. PET bottles, aluminium cans, polystyrene, milk-product packaging.
Organico / umido (organic), brown or grey. Food scraps, coffee grounds, tea bags. In compostable bags (compostabili).
Indifferenziato / secco (residual), grey or black. Whatever did not fit the first four.

Schedules (calendario rifiuti) vary by district: one day organic, another plastic, another glass. The calendar is downloadable from the comune site or the local operator app (AMSA in Milan, Hera in Bologna, AMA in Rome). Non-compliance fines 25-500 € via Polizia Locale; door-to-door comuni enforce strictly, comuni with centralised containers run looser.

Payment. TARI (tassa rifiuti) is the municipal waste fee, 150-400 €/year for a 60-90 m² flat. Calculated by area and number of residents. Billed annually or in 2-3 instalments via the F24 form. Door-to-door systems with good differentiation can knock TARI down by 30 %.

First-week hook-up plan

A sensible order:

Day 1. Iliad eSIM (€5-10/month) or TIM at the shop; you need codice fiscale + passport. Italy without a SIM regresses into a 1990s country; every meeting runs over WhatsApp.
Day 2-3. Open a PEC via Aruba (€€ 9/year). It is needed almost immediately: permesso filing, agency contract, bank correspondence.
Day 3-5. Order fibra (Iliad, Fastweb, or TIM at the address). Coverage check online; activation 5-10 business days.
Day 5-7. Switch electricity and gas to a new supplier if the flat already had a contract (just transfer with a SIM + the prior tenant's contract), or open a new one (Enel Energia, Eni Plenitude, Octopus Energy). All-in via app, no paperwork.
Week 2. File the TARI declaration at the comune if it is not already on the new tenant. Pick up the raccolta differenziata calendar.
Week 3-4. If you plan long-term work and contact with the state, add Apple Pay or Google Pay to the main account, and request a CIE (electronic ID card) at the comune for SPID-free login to public services.

What to defer. Switching mobile operator can wait a year, MNP is free. Switching electricity or gas supplier in the first months is pointless, the difference is €5-15/month. Buying an Italian phone is unnecessary, your existing one works with a local SIM.

Frequently asked

Which internet provider should you pick?

Iliad and Fastweb top for price (€€ 23-30/month fibra, no long contract). TIM has the widest FTTH footprint, particularly on the south where alternatives thin out. Vodafone and WindTre offer premium service with English-speaking support in Milan and Rome. Tiscali is often the only fibra option in a small southern town. Run "verifica copertura" on each operator's site for the exact address before signing; FTTH and FTTC zones differ by 5× in real speed.

How do you open a PEC and why?

(Posta Elettronica Certificata) is a uniquely Italian technology: e-mail with the legal weight of registered post. Without PEC no government office, INPS, tax agency, school, or comune, will correspond with you. Open through Aruba (€€ 9/year, the cheapest), Poste Italiane, Legalmail, Register.it. Online sign-up with a passport + codice fiscale, activation 24-48 hours.

Is tap water safe to drink?

Yes: 99 % of Italian tap water meets WHO standards (acqua del sindaco, "the mayor's water" in slang). Hard, especially in Rome, Milan, Bologna; taste varies by region. A Brita filter improves taste and removes residual chlorine. Hard water hastens kettle and washing-machine scale but causes no health issue. Most trattorias serve a bottle of mineral water (acqua minerale, frizzante or naturale) for €2-4, a tradition, not a necessity.

What plug shape is used in Italy?

Standard Italian Type L (three round prongs in a row), 230 V / 50 Hz. Schuko (EU) plugs are also installed in newer buildings, often as hybrid "schuko-italian" outlets. UK plugs (Type G) need an adapter. Apple chargers (Type C ground) fit Italian Type L sockets directly. The Apple USB-C 20 W block ships with a Type C blade that slides into a Type L socket freely. Older Italian Type L sockets come in 10 A and 16 A variants with different prong diameters; you need the matching plug.

What is raccolta differenziata?

is Italian separated waste collection: 5 streams (glass, paper, plastic-metal, organic, residual). Most comuni run a calendario rifiuti; non-compliance fines 25-500 € from Polizia Locale. Bags often signal the stream by colour: light blue paper, yellow plastic, brown organic, green glass, grey residual. The calendar is downloadable from the comune site or the local operator app (AMSA in Milan, Hera in Bologna, AMA in Rome). The municipal TARI fee runs 150-400 €/year for a 60-90 m² flat.

How does the free electricity market work?

Since 1 July 2024 the mercato libero covers every household: you pick a supplier yourself. The regulated "Maggior Tutela" tariff has been phased out. Major operators: Enel Energia (the ex-monopolist), Edison, Eni Plenitude, Iren, A2A, Sorgenia, Octopus Energy. The average kWh on the free market is €€ 0; the spread between the best and worst tariff is around 30 %. Switching is free and takes a month. Tariffs come as "fisso" (fixed per kWh) or "variabile" (tied to PUN, the Italian power exchange).

Verified · 2026-04-01

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