All the words you need to know to live in Italy: useful words

  • Assistenza sanitaria

    Health care. It is the citizen’s right to receive benefits from the health care system.

  • Bancomat/Carta di credito
    Debit card/Credit card. It is the name of the card used for payments and money withdrawals.
  • Bonifico bancario
    Bank wire transfer. It is a very popular method of payment used to move money from one bank account to another via bank.
  • Cambio valuta
    Currency exchange. E.g. Dollars exchanged for Euros.
  • Cittadinanza
    Citizenship. It represents the legal affiliation of a person to a state.
  • Cittadini extracomunitari
    Extra-EU citizens. This indicates people hailing from a country that is not part of the European Union (EU).
  • Codice di Avviamento Postale (CAP)
    Postal Code/ZIp code. It is a number identifying a specific location used for postal delivery services.
  • Domicilio

    Domicile. It is the place where one’s professional life or study takes place (residence and domicile may be the same). For example: if a person typically lives in Milan but moves to Rome to study for a specific period, the domicile is the home in Rome (while the residence remains in Milan). Your domicile does not have to be registered at the municipal office. However, it may be a good idea to notify the university or the authorities of your temporary domicile so that you may receive official communications promptly.

  • Indirizzo
    Address. It provides information on a specific location, listing in order: street, street number, town, municipality, province and postal/zip code.
  • Iscrizione anagrafe
    The Vital Statistics Register. It is the register of the resident population in a location and its offices are located within the municipalities.
  • Prefisso telefonico
    Area code. It is a numerical code starting with 0 that identifies a geographical area to make phone calls, for example the “prefisso telefonico” for Rome is 06 and precedes all other digits of the telephone number. For mobile phones, the “prefisso telefonico” starts with the digit 3 and the most common ones are 347, 348, 339, and 338.
  • Residenza

    Residence. It is the official place where one lives. Your residence must be registered at the municipal offices. It is in the municipality of residence that one pays taxes and chooses a family doctor. For example: if a person is from Rome, even if they travel and often spend long periods in other cities, their residence remains their home in Rome.

  • Scheda telefonica
    It is the SIM card with the associated phone number.
  • Via
    The name of a street.