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When do Italy’s sales start in summer 2023?

Italy's retailers are gearing up for their big summer sales in the coming weeks, with start dates varying by region.

Published: 16 June 2023 17:00 CEST
Updated: 1 July 2023 08:55 CEST
When do Italy's sales start in summer 2023?
Discounts during Italy's summer sales (or 'saldi') are usually around 20 or 30 percent but can climb as high as 70 percent in some cases. Photo by Andreas SOLARO / AFP

The law in Italy dictates that shops are allowed just two big saldi, or sales, a year – one in the summer, one in the winter – with dates varying according to region.

The practice aims to boost consumption and give vendors a chance to shift the last season’s stock while ensuring an even playing field between competitors.

The custom actually dates back to the Fascist era, having first been introduced via a 1939 law. It was scrapped for about four decades after the collapse of Mussolini’s regime, but was brought back in an updated form in 1980.

In 1997, the law was revised to hand autonomy over to individual regions, which is why the saldi in different regions have different start and end dates.

They typically last at least a few weeks, and go on for more than two months in some cases.

Here’s when the 2023 sales officially begin and end in each Italian region:

  • Abruzzo: July 6th-August 31st
  • Basilicata: July 6th-September 2nd
  • Calabria: July 6th-August 30th
  • Campania: July 6th-August 30th
  • Emilia Romagna: July 6th-August 31st
  • Friuli Venezia Giulia: July 6th-September 30th
  • Lazio: July 6th-August 16th
  • Liguria: July 6th-August 16th
  • Lombardy: July 6th-August 30th
  • Marche: July 6th-August 31st
  • Molise: July 6th-August 31st
  • Piedmont: July 6th-August 31st
  • Puglia: July 6th-September 15th
  • Sardinia: July 6th-August 30th
  • Sicily: July 6th-September 15th
  • Tuscany: July 6th-August 31st
  • Umbria: July 6th-August 31st
  • Veneto: July 6th-September 30th
  • Valle d’Aosta: July 6th-August 30th

The autonomous provinces of Trento and Bolzano have their own sales periods in which shops can offer discounts for any 60-day period of their choosing.

Italian law states that the items on sale must come only from the season just gone, rather than things that have been sitting on the shelves for months (though the rule is hard to enforce).

Discounts usually start at around 20-30 percent and climb as high as 70 percent.

Shops are required to display both the original and discounted prices, so you should know exactly how much of a bargain you’re getting.

Member comments

    1. Hi Glenn! Thanks for your comment.

      We haven’t included the Trentino region in the main list as shop owners in the provinces of Trento and Bolzano decide the start and end dates of their summer sales autonomously. This means that ‘saldi’ dates are not consistent across the region.

      A line below the list briefly explains this.

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DRIVING

MAP: Where in Italy is car insurance cheapest – and most expensive?

Italy is one of the most expensive countries in Europe when it comes to vehicle insurance – but some parts of the peninsula are far pricier than others.

Published: 10 May 2024 16:08 CEST
Updated: 14 May 2024 09:24 CEST
MAP: Where in Italy is car insurance cheapest - and most expensive?

Car insurance has been in the news in Italy this week following media reports of an emerging insurance evasion tactic that sees growing numbers of Italian motorists dodge steep coverage charges by having their vehicle registered in another EU country, with Poland being the most popular choice. 

The phenomenon, which is estimated to have already led to the presence of over 50,000 foreign-plate vehicles in the country, follows major increases in car insurance costs in recent years, with the average cost of third-party liability insurance (Responsabilita’ Civile or RC in Italian) rising by over 10 percent in the past two years.

But, as consumer groups say these increases are “totally unjustified”, how much does insuring a vehicle currently cost in Italy?

According to the latest available data from Italy’s insurance supervision authority IVASS, the average cost of the compulsory RC coverage – this only covers the costs of damage and injury to other parties – is 395 euros a year. 

For reference, minimum compulsory insurance costs motorists in Germany 304 euros a year on average, whereas drivers in Greece and Poland spend an average of 145 and 120 euros respectively every year, according to data from national auto repair shop association Federcarrozzieri.

READ ALSO: How can you lose your driving licence in Italy?

It’s also worth noting that motorists in Italy often choose to tack on one or more optional insurance policies (these are known as ‘additional guarantees’ or garanzie accessorie) to their basic RC coverage, with additional expenses amounting to somewhere between 400 and 500 euros in some cases.

While there is no publicly available data on how the costs of insurance add-ons vary around the country, IVASS regularly publishes a breakdown of the cost of RC coverage by Italian province.

The latest available report, which refers to data collected in February 2024, shows stark differences in insurance charges around the country, with a 280-euro gap separating the most expensive province (Naples) from the most affordable one (Enna, Sicily).

Besides Naples (569 euros a year on average), the list of ten most expensive Italian provinces for basic RC policies is completed by: Prato (565 euros), Caserta (508), Florence (483), Pistoia (482), Massa-Carrara (480), Lucca (464), Pisa (454), Roma (451) and Genoa (441).

Six of these provinces are located in Tuscany.

READ ALSO: The key vocabulary you’ll need for taking your driving test in Italy

On the other end of the spectrum, Enna (289 euros a year) is followed by: Oristano (297), Potenza (301), Pordenone (312), Vercelli (315), Biella (316), Aosta (316), Campobasso (321), Trento (322), Udine (324) and Gorizia (325).

What’s behind these differences?

The cost of Italy’s RC policy varies depending on the characteristics of the vehicle needing insurance as well as a driver’s personal details, with their location playing a major role in the final bill.

In particular, insurance costs are higher in areas with a high frequency of car accidents (hence why insurance tends to be more expensive in large metropolitan areas than in rural areas) and in areas with high rates of insurance fraud and insurance evasion (an estimated 2.6 million vehicles circulate in the country without the mandatory RC coverage).

Though Giuseppe Conte’s government in 2018 advanced plans to standardise the cost of basic RC insurance and apply the same charge (or tariffa unica) to all motorists around the country, these were later abandoned following consumer groups’ concerns that the new system would ultimately penalise drivers in “the more virtuous provinces”.

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