Plugs and electricity in Italy

Italy runs at 230 V, 50 Hz, with Type C, F, L sockets.

Data status: two general references agree.

What you need, coming from…

Two devices that behave oppositely. A charger takes any supply, so only the plug shape matters. A hair dryer is built for one voltage, and the wrong one destroys it.

Packing something else? Check your exact device →

Socket types used here

• 
  Type CType C (CEE 7/16 Europlug) · 2 pins · not earthed
• 
  Type FType F (CEE 7/4, Schuko) · 2 pins · earthed
• 
  Type LType L (CEI 23-50, Italian) · 3 pins · earthed

Plug photographs from Wikimedia Commons, cropped and resized. Credits and licences.

Earthed plugs in Italy’s sockets

A plug that fits is not always a plug that earths. Into Type C, Type F and Type L sockets, Type E or Type K plugs go in and lose the earth connection, while Type F or Type L earth normally.

Arriving with	Type C socket	Type F socket	Type L socket
Type E	does not fit	earth lost	does not fit
Type F	does not fit	earth kept	does not fit
Type K	does not fit	earth lost	does not fit
Type L	does not fit	does not fit	earth kept

A travel adapter only carries the earth through if it is built to. What earthing protects against →