Before you start

Codice fiscale
Passport or ID, plus permesso di soggiorno for non-EU nationals
An unlocked or eSIM-capable handset
An address, and some knowledge of the building for a fixed line

Step-by-step

1
Buy the SIM in a shop with your documents
Operators must record an identity document and codice fiscale against every SIM. Bring the passport and the tax code — a photograph of either is often refused. The line works the same day.
In personWho: YouWeek 1
2
Use a low-cost operator
Iliad and the incumbents' second brands — Ho. Mobile, Kena, Very Mobile — run on the same networks for a fraction of the price with no minimum term.
In personWho: You
3
Test the mobile signal inside the flat at the viewing
Not on the street outside. In the caruggi and on the hillsides, coverage can differ sharply between the doorway and the back room, and networks differ from one another at the same address.
In personWho: You
4
Check FTTH by exact civic number
Coverage tools resolve to a specific address, and Genoa historically used two civic numbering series — red for commercial premises and black for residential — so make sure you are checking the right one.
OnlineWho: You
5
Establish who holds the fixed-line contract
In subdivided and shared flats the internet contract is often in a previous tenant's or the landlord's name. If you work from home, find out at the viewing rather than after the move.
OnlineWho: You
6
Keep your number when you switch
Portability is a legal right and takes a few days using the SIM serial and your codice fiscale. Never cancel the old plan first.
OnlineWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Codice fiscale
Passport or ID card
Permesso di soggiorno or receipt
Proof of address, for fixed lines

Things most newcomers don’t know

Genoa's two civic numbering series will trip up an address check.

The city historically numbered commercial premises in red and residential doors in black on the same street, so 'via X 12' can be two different places a few doors apart. Coverage checkers, delivery drivers and utility installers all resolve to a specific civic number, and picking the wrong series produces a confident answer about the wrong building. When you check fibre availability or give an address to an installer, confirm which series the number belongs to.

Source: community-reported

Terrain, not technology, is what determines mobile signal here.

A city built on hillsides, threaded with road and rail tunnels and stacked with buildings six and seven storeys deep along alleys a couple of metres wide, is a difficult radio environment. Coverage maps are averaged over areas much larger than the variation, so they are close to useless at the level of a specific flat. Test inside the rooms you will actually use, on the network you intend to use, before signing anything.

Source: community-reported

There is no anonymous SIM in Italy, so the tax code gates your phone number.

Every SIM, prepaid included, is registered against an identity document and an Italian codice fiscale under anti-terrorism rules. A newly arrived visitor cannot simply buy a working Italian number on landing. The tax code is free and same-day, which is one more reason it should be the first errand of the move.

Source: AGCOM; Ministry of the Interior

'Fibra' in a shop window covers fibre to your door and fibre to a cabinet down the road.

The regulated labels distinguish FTTH from FTTC, but advertising shorthand does not, and FTTC over a long copper run in a dense old district delivers a fraction of the headline speed. Ask which of the two serves the address, in those words, and get the answer in writing if your income depends on the connection.

Source: AGCOM