Last updated: 12 July 2025
When you are going on a trip to Italy, be sure to pack the appropriate travel plug adapter that fits the local sockets. But what do those electrical outlets look like? In Italy, types C and L are the official standards. In line with much of Continental Europe, it has also adopted the German type F system, but those outlets are not available everywhere yet.
Just like the rest of Europe, the voltage in Italy is 230 volts and the frequency is 50 Hz.
On the left the bipasso socket, on the right the Schuko-bipasso socket.
The Italian grounded plug/socket standard, CEI 23-16/VII, includes two styles rated at 10 and 16 amperes. Both plug top styles consist of three rounded pins placed in a straight line. They differ in terms of contact diameter and spacing, and are therefore incompatible with each other. The 10 amp version has three 4 mm round pins, measuring 19 mm in length. The centres of the line and neutral pins are spaced 19 mm apart. The distance between the centres of either of the two outer prongs and the centre of the ground pin is 9.5 mm. The 10 amp style socket also accepts type C plugs.
The 16 amp version has three 5 mm round pins, measuring 19 mm in length. The centres of the line and neutral pins are spaced 26 mm apart. The distance between the centres of either of the two outer prongs and the centre of the ground pin is 13 mm. Since both plugs are symmetrical, they can be inserted in either direction, which means they are unpolarised.
Nowadays there are also universal sockets available, of which there are two kinds: first, there is the so-called bipasso receptacle (literally: twin-gauge outlet), a very commonly used socket which accepts C plugs as well as both styles of L plugs. Second, there is the Schuko-bipasso receptacle, which even adds compatibility with plug types E & F.
