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About this tool
Italy runs 230 V at 50 Hz on type L, F and C sockets — check whether your plug fits and if you need a converter.
This guide answers one question about Italian mains power: does your device need a shape adapter, a voltage converter, or nothing at all. Italy supplies 230 V at 50 Hz under the harmonised CENELEC HD 60038 standard, and its sockets are the Italian type L (CEI 23-50, in 10 A and 16 A patterns), the German Schuko type F, and the two-pin type C Europlug that mates with both. Enter your plug shape and the voltage range printed on the label and you get the verdict plus the current the device will pull.
Open Plug and Voltage Guide for Italy on AltFTool — it loads instantly in your browser.
Add your input to the workspace.
Adjust the options until the result looks right.
Copy or download the output and put it to work.
Reads the label range against 230 V instead of leaving you to guess.
Italian type L comes in two sizes; the tool says which one your load needs.
Shows amps drawn and what is left of the standard 3 kW Italian domestic supply.
A type L adapter, or a Schuko type F adapter for newer rooms. Italy's official socket types are C, F and L, so a two-pin Europlug fits everywhere, while UK type G, US type A/B and Australian type I plugs all need an adapter. If you only carry one, choose a type L adapter, because a Schuko plug will not enter an older 10 A Italian socket but a type L plug fits the modern bipasso socket.
230 V at 50 Hz. EN 50160 allows the supply to sit anywhere within 230 V plus or minus 10 percent, which is roughly 207 V to 253 V, so an appliance labelled for a maximum of exactly 230 V has no margin. Anything marked 100-240V 50/60Hz is fine as it stands.
Only if the label says 100-240V. Chargers for laptops, phones, cameras and most electric shavers are dual-voltage and need only a plug adapter. A single-voltage 120 V device — typically a hair dryer, straightener, kettle or travel iron — will be damaged on 230 V and needs a step-down transformer sized above its wattage, which for a 1,875 W dryer is heavy enough that buying a 230 V one in Italy is usually simpler.
Italy has three fittings in circulation: the small 10 A type L with 4 mm pins on 19 mm centres, the larger 16 A type L with 5 mm pins on 26 mm centres, and Schuko. Newer buildings often fit a 'bipasso' universal socket that accepts all three. Older rooms may only have the small 10 A pattern, which is why a bare Schuko plug sometimes will not go in.