Work in Italy | Everything you need to know

Italy has had a huge impact on European art, culture and politics. It offers a high standard of living and many job offers for foreigners. With buzzing social life, delicious food well-known all around the world and nationals opened for expats, starting to live and work in Italy might seem encouraging.

Would you like to know why Italians are so fiercely proud of their country and why this place might appear to be exactly for you? What are the pros and cons of living in Italy? Read the article and find out why Italy is a great destination for expats. 

Basic Facts about Italy

Italy is a country located in the south of Europe with Rome as a capital city. It has a population of around 60 million people spread over an area of 301,340 km2 . Currency is Euro (EUR or €) and the official language is Italian. Almost 40% of this boot-shaped land is mountains and the climate is Mediterranean. This means summers are hot and winters are cold and tend to be wet. In the south, it’s relatively warmer than in the north. 

5 Curiosities about Italy

1. There are three active volcanoes located in Italy, Etna, Stromboli, and Vesuvius
2. It’s the 5th most visited country in the world! Over 46 minion of tourists are visiting Italy every year
3. Espresso machine was invented in Italy back in 1884 by Angelo Moriondo. Can you imagine how many people use it nowadays on a daily basis?
4. Rome, the capital city, is almost 3000 years old!
5. The Italian alphabet doesn’t contain letters J, K, W, X and Y. 

Culture in Italy

The culture in Italy is known for many many things, art, theatre, movies, literature, music, their well-known monuments like the Torre of Pisa along with their architecture and more. It was home of the roman empire, you may have heard of Julius Caesar and their coliseum battles for glory, as you can see Italian culture is very rich with centuries of history. 

Italy was the major centre of the Renaissance era, catalogued as the reborn of philosophy, arts, economics and politics in all Europe, well-known architecture styles like the baroque, roman, neoclassical and of course the renaissance were born in Italy. Also, Italy is the home of the Opera, the most popular operas in the world, “Aida” and “La Traviata” both written by Giussepe Verdi, were made in Italy.

We can take the entire article just to talk about the rich culture in Italy, so we encourage you to find more curiosities about its culture if you’re interested to live in Italy or even travel to Italy. What we can not miss is to talk about their people, Italians are very familiar people, children are reared to remain closer to the family and for them, the family is not just mom, dad and kids but all the members like aunts, cousins, grandparents and even godparents, so it’s very common to see family gatherings in Italy.

Cuisine in Italy

Italian cuisine is something worldwide recognized, with their pasta, pizza and cheese. But Italian food is not only about these dishes, each region in Italy has its own popular meals, in the north, but you may also find fish, potatoes, rice, sausages, pork and different types of cheeses are the most common ingredients, while in the south they have many different ways to cook tomatoes as it’s their most common ingredient. Pasta dishes with tomatoes are very common in Italy and depending on the region you may find different ingredients added. Among the commonly used ingredients in Italy, you will also find capers, peppers, olives and olive oil, garlic, artichokes, eggplant and ricotta cheese.

Meals in Italy are usually accompanied with wine, and they have a specific wine for every dish, Pinot grigio if you’re having a pesto dish, zinfandel for pasta or pizza, chianti works with any Italian dish, chardonnay is perfect for creamy dishes and pinot gris is mandatory to eat seafood. 

There are some practices you must avoid, unless you wish to be burnt at the stake, if you’re with an Italian person cooking, like breaking the pasta before boiling it (or at any moment) or asking for ketchup to your pasta dish, 

Between the traditional Italian dishes we have:

• Risotto Alla Milanese: Carnaroli or Arborio rice is sautéed with onions in butter, then simmered in saffron-flavoured broth and white wine and topped with parmesan cheese.
• Polenta: It’s a corn dish boiled into water or broth until thick.
• Lasagna: This dish famous for being Garfield’s favourite, are noodles layered with tomato and meat sauce, ricotta cheese and topped with mozzarella cheese and baked.
• Ravioli: This is tiny square stuffed pasta, with a savoury filling like cheese with herbs or meat with tomato sauce, then boiled and served with sauce on top.
• Osso buco: It’s a delicious meal of veal shanks braised in a red-wine reduction with vegetables.

Work in Italy

Work in Italy comes with awesome benefits for travel lovers, when you’re free from the work you may visit picturesque places like Positano, a village located in the enclave to the Amalfi coast, Florence with Michelangelo and Giambologna sculptures, Venice and their romantic canals of enjoying of the Murano crystal art in the Murano Island, it’s a sure thing that you won’t run out of places to visit living and working in Italy. To work here, it is important to learn the language, Italian is known as the most romantic language in the world. You can imagine it will be very useful not only for business purposes. 

Italy has a business culture of traditions, it’s hierarchical and formal but also very sociable and flexible. A new trend in the Italian business culture is they are aiming for striking the work-life balance with new practices towards remote jobs and flexible working hours, Italians are productive and the management level tends to work longer hours, the working hours in Italy are 40 hours per week between 9:00 am to 1:00 pm, and 2:30 pm to 6:00 pm. Regarding the minimum wage, Italy doesn’t have a minimum wage by law, so it depends on the market, but wages ensure to be comparable with the quality and quantity of the work and sufficient enough to cover a decent lifestyle.

Work in Milan

Italy is going for a tough time after their many recessions, but it’s been getting steady growth over the last year. In Milan particularly, the salaries are higher and there are more job offers available but it’s still a scarce market. If you’re a skilled worker with professional practice, you may have more possibilities to find a job in Milan. The main markets in Milan are the industrial market, you can see vehicle manufacturing companies from here like Alfa Romeo or Pirelli and their manufacturing market is also known for the quality of their products especially in fashion and food. If you want to give it a try and find a job in Milan, just contact us.

Taxes in Italy

Once in Italy and you decide which city you’re going to live in, it’s important to register in the Italian Revenue Agency in order to obtain your Codice Fiscale certificate, make sure to bring a valid ID or passport and you’re ready to go. After this, you’re ready to start making contributions and your salary is registered to pay a progressive tax at the end of the fiscal year around 23% – 43% depending on your income.

Finding accommodation in Italy

Finding accommodation is always a challenge, and this challenge is even bigger when you are doing it remotely. You can go there first and look for a place to stay in person, but then you have to keep in mind expenses related to renting Airbnb or hotel rooms. Remember that accommodation itself is a large expense while living and working in Italy. 

With looking for an apartment remotely, useful are internet websites with rental offers. You can use for example this one: idealista.it/. Follow Facebook groups with rental offers in a city you are heading to and go through the most recent posts. Maybe somebody is looking for a flatmate and you will be able to save some money. 

One-bedroom apartment in a city centre may cost even up to 1000 euro, outside the city center price is closer to 750 euro. If you would like to use estate agency services, you have to be aware of the obligatory fee for their help. 

Living cost in Italy

Italy is an expensive country to live in, however, a lot depends on the exact location. The North of the country is wealthier than the south, also costs will be higher in big cities. That’s mostly because of the highly developed tourism. 

Public transportation is fine and affordable if you would like to own a car the price for a litre is 1.60 euro. When it comes to groceries, to save some money it’s good to buy only local and in-season food. The same applies to clothes, buy the ones from local chains or on seasonal sales. Regarding food, the most expensive will be restaurants in touristy areas, so look for less conveniently located places somewhere off.  

Below you can take a look at some of the basic everyday expenses to have an overview, for what you should be prepared before departure. 

* Prices can vary depending on the neighbourhood, the number of people living in the apartment and facilities.

**Depends greatly on your diet and which shops you buy food and drinks from.

Expats in Italy

Looking for expat experiences abroad you can find different opinions, that’s because what your experience will look like is up to the exact location you will choose. While on the north the focus is on the big cities fast-paced with business, on the south life is more relaxed and slow. 

Expat community in Italy is large and vibrant, additionally, nationals love to go out, so making new friends shouldn’t be a big problem, especially in cities like Rome or Milan. Be open and socialize a lot and you will see that soon you will feel in a new place like home. Good idea is to join social media groups for expats living in your region and follow ones with events for internationals. In such a  lively and dynamic environment it would be good to speak some Italian, right? In a while, you will learn where and how you can do this. 

With flexible working hours, you will easily find time to see breathtaking places in your area and discover the most interesting corners in your city. And of course, try mouthwatering dishes from many good and recommended restaurants. Some of these recommendations may come from your new colleagues. 

Where to Learn Italian

The Italian language is the closest to Latin among languages and many people learn it for personal reasons. There are many dialects spread all over the country, however, it shouldn’t be any barrier for you. Fortunately, Italian is considered to be easy to learn for English speakers. 

You can start to learn online, on your own even before actually going there. In this case, you shouldn’t have any problem with finding something appropriate on the Internet. Courses are both paid and for free, so depending on how serious you are going to take it, you have a choice. Good alternatives are also video blogs, then you can get used to appropriate pronunciation as well. 

The country also offers free language courses, you can take it while being already on site. You will be familiarized with the language itself, but also with culture, customs and traditions. Another alternative is private teachers, but then you will have to pay for lessons. Find places to learn Italian in Milan here milano.italianostranieri  

And don’t forget to integrate with nationals! There is nothing better for language learning than practice. You can also talk with your international friends in Italian, why not. 

Why Here

Depending where you will decide to start your journey with working and living in Italy, your experience will differ, but undoubtedly each of them will be an unforgettable adventure. It’s a perfect place for those, who except developing careers want to enjoy scenic landscapes, delicious, worldwide famous cuisine and vibrant life. Costs of accommodation and everyday living are high, but the quality, opportunities and hospitality offered by Italy are really appealing. 

Do you still have any questions? Contact our recruiter by clicking HERE and we will provide you with further information.