Italian Address Format – Easy Explanation Plus Examples

Updated on November 7, 2023

Sending a love note to your partner in Italy?  Writing a quick letter to your Italian pen pal?  Mailing a package to a company in Italy? 

No matter the purpose of your mail to Italy, make sure you have the proper Italian address format! 

It’s true, the Italian postal system has a not-so-stellar reputation.  Sometimes postcards don’t arrive, packages are held at customs, or your enormous moving box of clothing arrives with one high heel missing. 

But you can increase your chances of a proper and timely delivery (and avoid having your letter returned to you) by making sure you format the Italian address correctly. 

Read on to discover:

• how to ensure your note/letter/postcard/package has the proper Italian address format
• how to ‘translate’ a U.S. address to an Italian address format
• special cases of Italian addresses
• where to write the return address on the envelope
• examples of correctly and incorrectly labeled envelopes
• how to find the zip code (CAP) for a city in Italy and vice versa
• helpful vocabulary for labeling mail with the proper Italian address format

and more!

Italian Address Format – The Easy Explanation

When you’re addressing an envelope to send to Italy, you must include the first and last name, street and house number, postal code, city, province, and country. There is also a specific order and way they must be written or typed.

Example Address:

Rossi Gianni
VIA GARIBALDI 26
70043 MONOPOLI BA
ITALIA

In Italian:

[Cognome] [Nome]
[Strada] [Numero Civico]
[CAP] [Città] [Provincia]
[Nazione]

In English:

[Last Name] [First Name]
[Street Name] [House Number]
[Postal Code] [City] [Province]
ITALY

The Proper Italian Address Format

According to the Italian Postal System, the proper format for addressing a letter in Italy is:

LINE	NAME OF LINE	DESCRIPTION	REQUIRED?
1	RECIPIENT	Title, First & Last Name OR Company	YES
2	ADDITIONAL INFO	Anything else that helps specify the recipient	NO
3	BUILDING	Information about the building (apartment, floor #, etc)	NO
4	ADDRESS	Type and name of road, street, etc, plus the house number.  Can also be post office box	YES
5	LOCATION	Postal code, location (city, town, etc) and 2-digit province abbreviation	YES
6	NATION	ITALY/ITALIA if arriving from outside of Italy	NO

The lines MUST be in this order.  It is not acceptable to switch any of them around. 

You may not take up more than one line for any of the lines in the table above.  If the address is too long (more than 30 characters, not including the house number), you can use the official abbreviation). 

So, an Italian address must be formatted with at least:

Line	Name of Line	Example
1	RECIPIENT	Sensi Alessandra
4	ADDRESS	PIAZZA ALBERTI, 22
5	LOCATION	12051 ALBA (CN)

More Information On Parts Of The Italian Address

Required Parts of the Italian Address

The Italian address MUST include the Recipient, Address, and Location:

RECIPIENT	Granchi Martina
ADDRESS	CORSO SAN FRANCESCO 145
LOCATION	50025 MONTESPERTOLI FI
NATION	ITALY*

Recipient

The last name is typically written before the first name.

City

The CITY / CITTÀ (MONTESPERTOLI above) must be written in full, or with the official abbreviation.  You may not abbreviate in your own style.

Province

PROVINCE / PROVINCIA (FI above) is a 2-letter abbreviation for the province.  In the example, Firenze is abbreviated as ‘FI.’  If the city is also the capital city (capoluogo) of the province (for example, the city Firenze is the capital of the province Firenze), you are not required to include province.  However, it’s good practice to include it.

CAP

The POSTAL CODE / CAP (50025 above ) is the codice di avviamento postale, or codice postale.  It’s Italy’s version of the postal code or zip code.  Make sure you use the CAP for your recipient, not the generic CAP for a large city.  For example, the generic CAP for Rome is 00100, but it’s no longer acceptable.  You must use a specific Roman CAP, from 00118 to 00199.

Many larger cities have more than one postal code.  Other smaller cities and towns will be covered by one postal code.  And one postal code can include many cities or towns.

San Marino is an independent republic and has its own postal code of 47031.

Vatican City, the independent Holy See, has its own postal code of 00120.

The Italian city of Campione d’Italia on Lake Lugano is actually inside Switzerland, so you can use either its Swiss postal code (CH-6911) or its Italian postal code (22060).

You do not need to label the CAP with ‘I-‘ or ‘IT-‘ before the number.

Nation

The NATION / NAZIONE (ITALY), may be left out if you are sending the letter from within Italy (including San Marino and Vatican City).

‘ITALY’ can also be written as ‘ITALIA.’  The Italian postal service allows both but prefers ‘ITALIA.’  Either way, make sure it’s written or typed in UPPERCASE letters.

Punctuation In The Italian Address Format

The Italian postal system, Poste Italiane, discourages using punctuation in the address, because it makes it more difficult for their machines to read the address.  However, you may still:

• Place a comma between [Street Name] and [House Number]
• Place the [Province] in parentheses

So, either way of writing this address is acceptable:

Rossi Gianni
VIA GARIBALDI, 26
70043 MONOPOLI (BA)
ITALY

Rossi Gianni
VIA GARIBALDI 26
70043 MONOPOLI BA
ITALY

Note that lines 4, 5, & 6, (the ADDRESS, LOCATION, and NATION) are always CAPITALIZED.  You may also capitalize the recipient if you’d like. 

Which Language To Use When Writing An Italian Address

You will almost always use Italian when writing an Italian address. 

There are a few regions in Italy that use other languages. In these regions, you may use Italian or the region’s other official language(s):

• Trentino-Alto Adige – German/Italian/Ladin
• Valle d’Aosta – French/Italian
• Sardegna – Sardinian/Italian
• Friuli – Friulian/Italian
• Trieste – Slovene/Italian

Translating A U.S. Address To The Italian Address Format

A typical U.S. address might look something like this:

Martin Jones
123 Main Street
Charleston, SC 29407
USA

This address in the Italian format would look like:

Jones Martin
Main Street 123
29407 Charleston SC
USA

Italian Address Format – Special Cases That You May See

LINE	NAME OF LINE	DESCRIPTION	REQUIRED?
1	RECIPIENT	Title, First & Last Name OR Company	YES
2	ADDITIONAL INFO	Anything else that helps specify the recipient	NO
3	BUILDING	Information about the building (apartment, floor #, etc)	NO
4	ADDRESS	Type and name of road, street, etc, plus the house number.  Can also be post office box	YES
5	LOCATION	Postal code, location (city, town, etc) and 2-digit province abbreviation	YES
6	NATION	ITALY/ITALIA if arriving from outside of Italy	NO

While lines 1, 4, 5, & 6 in the Proper Italian Address Format table above are straightforward, lines 2 & 3 (Additional Info on the Recipient and Building) are more ‘flexible.’  You will, however, see some common ‘special cases’ in these lines of the address, including:

Including this is very important if the recipient is in an apartment or large building.  Without it, the letter will only arrive at the building, not to the intended recipient.

Unit Or Part Of House = ‘/’ + Letter Or Number

Example – Lorenzo lives in Apartment A of Building 12 on viale Europa:

Fantozzi Lorenzo
VIALE EUROPA 12/A
50126 FIRENZE FI
ITALY

Attention = C.A.

The abbreviation C.A. stands for Cortese Attenzione (Courteous Attention), similar to the U.S. version c/o (care of). 

Example – Chiara works at Ferrari in Modena:

FERRARI S.P.A.
C.A. FRANZETTI CHIARA
VIA ALFREDO DINO FERRARI 43
41053 MARANELLO MO
ITALIA

Care Of = Presso

You’ll typically see ‘Presso’ when addressing a letter to someone at a company or organization.

Example – Mariangela works at Gucci in Firenze:

Colalto Mariangela
PRESSO GUCCIO GUCCI S.P.A
VIA TORNABUONI 73/R
50123 FIRENZE FI
ITALIA

No House Number = Senza Numero

The recipient’s address may not have a house number.   The address is senza numero (without a number).  It is also sometimes written senza numero civico (without a house number). 

Example – Matteo lives in a house (without a house number) on a piazza in a small village:

Corti Matteo
PIAZZA ALBERTI SNC
02046 LOC. FRANZELLI RI
ITALIA

Description Of The Building

You may need to describe the building in order to ensure the mail gets delivered.  Descriptions include the type of building (palazzo, edificio) and/or parts of the building (scala, quarto piano).

Example – Carlo lives on via Sostegno, in Palazzo 12 on the 3rd floor:

Maccheroni Carlo
PALAZZO 12, PIANO 3
VIA SOSTEGNO 35
10121 TORINO TO
ITALIA

Post Office Box = ‘Casella Postale’ + Box Number

The casella postale (post office box) number must be written in the address line.  The line above it must include the name of the post office.

Example – Giorgio has his mail delivered to box #3145 at the Rome post office 312:

Franchi Giorgio
UFFICIO ROMA 312
CASELLA POSTALE 3145
00184 ROMA RM
ITALIA

Red Number In Florence, Genova, And Savona = House Number + ‘/r’

In some Italian cities, the ‘house numbers’ are either red or black.  The black numbers are typically residential, and the red numbers are usually businesses.  So, someone’s home is VIA REDI 33, while a restaurant is at VIA REDI, 33/r (or 33r). 

Example – Trattoria Sambuca is located on Viale Europa, at 16 red:

TRATTORIA SAMBUCA
VIALE EUROPA, 16R
50127 FIRENZE FI
ITALIA

Kilometer Number = Street Name + KM

Instead of a house number, the location of the recipient may be marked by a kilometer number.  Remember that in Italy, a comma ‘,’ is used for a decimal instead of a period ‘.’.

Example – Filippo lives at kilometer 7.5 on state road 290:

Gatti Filippo
SS 290 KM 7,5
90020 ALIMENA PA
ITALIA

Frazione (Hamlet)

Small hamlets may not have streets in the address, only the name of the hamlet. 

Example – Enrico lives in Frazione Ferro:

Piazzini Enrico
FRAZIONE FERRO, 17
50023 GREVE IN CHIANTI FI
ITALIA

Where To Write The Return Address For A Letter Going To Italy

Always include the return address in the upper-left corner of the envelope.  You will often see MITT or MITTENTE in front of the name.  ‘Mittente’ means ‘sender.’

Example – Teodoro is sending a letter from his family farm, Podere Girasole:

MITT. BRANCACCI TEODORO
PODERE GIRASOLE
VIA COSIMO 117
25121 BRESCIA BS
ITALIA

Examples Of Correctly And Incorrectly Labeled Envelopes

Map Of Italian Postal Zones

The first digit of the CAP stands for one of the 10 main postal zones in Italy. 

Table of Italian Provinces With Their Abbreviations and Numeric Codes

Each of Italy’s 110 provinces has a 2-letter abbreviation and a 2-digit code that is the beginning of the CAP in that province.  For example, Firenze is abbreviated as FI and all CAPs in the province of Firenze begin with ’50.’ 

PROVINCE	ABBREVIATION	NUMERIC CODE
Agrigento	AG	92
Alessandria	AL	15
Ancona	AN	60
Aosta	AO	11
Arezzo	AR	52
Ascoli Piceno	AP	63
Asti	AT	14
Avellino	AV	83
Bari	BA	70
Barletta-Andria-Trani	BT	76
Belluno	BL	32
Benevento	BN	82
Bergamo	BG	24
Biella	BI	13
Bologna	BO	40
Bolzano	BZ	39
Brescia	BS	25
Brindisi	BR	72
Cagliari	CA	09
Caltanissetta	CL	93
Campobasso	CB	86
Caserta	CE	81
Catania	CT	95
Catanzaro	CZ	88
Chieti	CH	66
Como	CO	22
Cosenza	CS	87
Cremona	CR	26
Crotone	KR	88
Cuneo	CN	12
Enna	EN	94
Fermo	FM	63
Ferrara	FE	44
Firenze	FI	50
Foggia	FG	71
Forlì-Cesena	FO	47
Frosinone	FR	03
Genova	GE	16
Gorizia	GO	34
Grosseto	GR	58
Imperia	IM	18
Isernia	IS	86
L’Aquila	AQ	67
La Spezia	SP	19
Latina	LT	04
Lecce	LE	73
Lecco	LC	22
Livorno	LI	57
Lodi	LO	20
Lucca	LU	55
Macerata	MC	62
Mantova	MN	46
Massa-Carrara	MS	54
Matera	MT	75
Messina	ME	98
Milano	MI	20
Modena	MO	41
Monza e Brianza	MB	20
Napoli	NA	80
Novara	NO	28
Nuoro	NU	08
Oristano	OR	09
Padova	PD	35
Palermo	PA	90
Parma	PR	43
Pavia	PV	27
Perugia	PG	06
Pesaro e Urbino	PS	61
Pescara	PE	65
Piacenza	PC	29
Pisa	PI	56
Pistoia	PT	51
Pordenone	PN	33
Potenza	PZ	85
Prato	PO	50
Ragusa	RG	97
Ravenna	RA	48
Reggio Calabria	RC	89
Reggio Emilia	RE	42
Rieti	RI	02
Rimini	RN	47
Roma	RM	00
Rovigo	RO	45
Salerno	SA	84
Sassari	SS	07
Savona	SV	17
Siena	SI	53
Siracusa	SR	96
Sondrio	SO	23
Sud Sardegna	SU	09
Taranto	TA	74
Teramo	TE	64
Terni	TR	05
Torino	TO	10
Trapani	TP	91
Trento	TN	38
Treviso	TV	31
Trieste	TS	34
Udine	UD	33
Varese	VA	21
Venezia	VE	30
Verbano-Cusio-Ossola	VB	28
Vercelli	VC	13
Verona	VR	37
Vibo Valentia	VV	88
Vicenza	VI	36
Viterbo	VT	01

1. Go to the Poste Italiane website for searching for a CAP if you know the city.  The site is in Italian, so you will need to enter the Italian names for the cities (Roma, not Rome).

2. Enter the name of the city for which you’d like the CAP.  Click on the search icon.

3. To continue, you’ll need to click that you’re not a robot.

4. The postal code(s) for the city will be displayed.  In this example, Terranuova Bracciolini has postal code 52028.

If the city entered has multiple CAPs, you’ll be asked to be more specific.  You can enter a street name, or a street name and house number.  For example, Milano is a large city that has many CAPs, so you need to be more specific.

The postal code for the more specific address will be displayed.  In this case, the postal code for via Monte Napoleone in Milano is 20121.

How to Find Out Which City is in a Zip Code (CAP) in Italy

1. Go to the Poste Italiane website for searching for a city if you know the CAP.  The site is in Italian, so you will need to enter the Italian names for the cities (Venezia, not Venice).

2. Enter the name of the CAP for which you’d like the city.  Click on the search icon.

3. To continue, you’ll need to click that you’re not a robot.

4. The cities / towns for the CAP will be displayed.  For example, CAP 50025 includes Montespertoli, Baccaiano, Lucardo, Martignana, Montagnana Val di Pesa, and San Quirico in Collina.

Italian Address Format Vocabulary and English Equivalents

ITALIAN	ENGLISH
nome	first (given) name
cognome	last (family) name
indirizzo	address
città	city
provincia	province
paese	country (can also mean city, town etc.)
codice postale / codice di avviamento postale (CAP)	zip code / postal code
ufficio postale	post office
casella postale	post office box
via	road
corso	main street
viale	avenue
strada	road / street
strada statale	national road
strada provinciale	provincial road
strada privata	private road
strada comunale	town road
superstrada	expressway / motorway
piazza	square
piazzetta	small square
vicolo	alley
appartamento	apartment
piano	floor
scale	steps / stairs
porta	door
cortile	courtyard
borgo	neighborhood
frazione	hamlet / suburb
capoluogo	capital city / town
rione	district / neighborhood
quartiere	district / area
contrada	district
campo	field
podere	farm
tenuta	estate
lungomare	along the sea
lungofiume	along the river
parco	park
ponte	bridge
scalo	slipway
vialetto	driveway
isola	island
poggio	hill
valle	valley

Final Things to Remember When Addressing an Italian Letter

• Include all information – for example, if you don’t know the province, don’t leave it out and hope someone will figure it out and deliver your letter. 
• Make sure your handwriting is legible.  If it’s not, print out an address label.
• Avoid distracting decorations on the envelope, especially near the address.
• Use the correct format and put the information in the correct order (for example, remember that the postal code is at the beginning of the line, not at the end.
• Italian printing and cursive styles are unique.  The best way to ensure your writing is read correctly is to print in UPPERCASE.  Otherwise, use a computer to print an address label.

Italian Address Format FAQ