Having Sex in Italy

You've heard of the Latin lover, and that Italian is the language of love. When this page first went up in 2007, two surveys reported in the Italian press seemed to back the stereotype up. Nearly two decades later the story is more interesting. The stereotype survives, but the country also has one of the lowest birth rates in Europe and a housing situation that makes privacy hard to come by. And if you're a traveler, there are a few laws and practicalities worth knowing before your Roman holiday turns into a Roman romance.

What the 2007 surveys said

The first, reported by ItalyMag, polled Italians over 60. It found that 32% of women and 31% of men in that age group made love "regularly" with their partners, and that 10% of men and 2% of women had sex "all the time". The men also claimed to have the more romantic outlook, and just over half said they never or rarely felt attracted to young women. Jessica's verdict at the time: "Yeah, right."

The second claimed Italians "have sex more often, for longer and with more orgasms than people in most other countries in the world": 121 times a year on average, second only to the Greeks at 164, with sessions of about 20 minutes, the longest in the survey. Yet only two-thirds said they were satisfied. Marinella Cozzolino, president of the Italian Association of Clinical Sexology, put it this way:

"The frequency of sexual relations, their length and the ability to reach orgasm do not necessarily mean sexual satisfaction."

Two cautions. Surveys like these are self-reported, often sponsored by condom makers, and people everywhere round up. And yes, Italy really does have an Association of Clinical Sexology, which says something about how seriously the country takes the subject.

The 2026 picture

Whatever Italians are doing, it isn't producing babies. Italy's fertility rate was 1.18 children per woman in 2024, well below the EU average of 1.38 and among the lowest in the world. Economists blame insecure jobs, expensive housing and a lack of childcare far more than any shortage of romance.

Housing is the part visitors notice. According to Eurostat, young Italians moved out of their parents' home at 30.2 on average in 2025, against 26.3 across the EU. When you live with your parents until 30, privacy is a problem to solve, which is why the car parked on a quiet road with fogged-up windows is such a familiar Italian cliché. It also explains why so many Italians meet a new partner's family early: the family is right there.

Attitudes have moved fast in other ways. Same-sex couples have been able to form civil unions since 2016, and a 2025 Ipsos poll found 80% of Italians support legal recognition of same-sex couples.

The law, for visitors

• Age of consent. It is 14, with a close-in-age exception at 13 and a higher limit of 16 where one person has authority over the other (a teacher or guardian, for example). None of that makes sex with a minor legal for a visitor in any other sense: Italy prosecutes abuse of minors hard, and so do most visitors' home countries.
• Consent. Article 609-bis of the penal code punishes sexual acts obtained by violence, threats, abuse of authority or deception with five to ten years in prison. In November 2025 the Chamber of Deputies voted unanimously to redefine sexual violence as any sexual act without "free and current" consent. The bill then stalled in the Senate, where a January 2026 amendment proposed a different wording, so check the Chamber's page on the bill for where it stands. The practical rule doesn't depend on the wording: ask, and take no for an answer.
• Sex in public. Since 2016, obscene acts in a public place have been an administrative offense rather than a crime, but the fine runs from 5,000 to 30,000 euros. Near places where children regularly gather, such as schools and playgrounds, it is still a crime with a prison sentence. The beach at night, the park and the car on the scenic overlook are all public places in the eyes of the law.
• Sex work. Selling sex is legal in Italy. Brothels have been banned since 1958, and so are pimping, running someone else's sex work and profiting from it. Many towns fine both street sex workers and their clients under local decorum ordinances, and trafficking and coercion of migrant women are a documented part of the street trade. Our advice is simple: stay out of it.
• LGBTQ travelers. Same-sex activity has been legal nationwide since 1890 and the age of consent is the same for everyone. Same-sex marriage is not legal; civil unions are. Big cities, especially Milan, Bologna and Rome, have visible gay scenes. Small towns in the south are more conservative, but open hostility toward tourists is rare.

Practicalities

• Condoms (preservativi) are sold in every pharmacy (farmacia, look for the green cross) and in supermarkets, and many pharmacies have a vending machine outside for after hours.
• Emergency contraception. The ulipristal pill (sold as ellaOne) has been available from pharmacies without a prescription since 2015, and since October 2020 that includes under-18s. The levonorgestrel pill is prescription-free for adults. Ask the pharmacist; it is kept behind the counter.
• Sexual health. Hospitals' infectious-disease departments (malattie infettive) and local consultori (family health clinics) do STI testing. EU visitors can use their EHIC; everyone else should have travel insurance.
• If something goes wrong. Call 112 for police or ambulance. The national helpline for victims of violence and stalking, 1522, is free, runs 24 hours a day, and has an English-language site and chat.

As for how to meet someone in the first place, Jessica's guides to impressing an Italian girl and impressing an Italian guy cover the group dates, the family and the dress code. And if you're wondering how many kisses to give when you say goodbye, there's a page for that too.