Power to the People

If you are planning to bring electric devices on the trip to Italy, you will need at least a plug adapter, and possibly a power converter (sometimes called a transformer).

Italian electricity is 220 volts/50 hertz.  United States power is 110 volts/60 hertz.  In other words, there is twice as much voltage coming from an Italian electric socket vs. an American one, which can result in fried appliances.  Be especially careful with anything that produces heat, like a hair dryer or a curling iron.  (Note that our hotel provides a hair dryer in each room.)

To know if you need a power converter in order to use your appliance in Italy, look at the manufacturer's information panel on the devise itself.  For example, my laptop AC adaptor says "Input 110 - 240 V ~ 50/60 Hz", so all I need for this is a plug adapter.

A typical wall outlet in Italy looks like this:

To plug into these outlets, you can use either a two prong or a three prong adapter plug, like these:

A power converter, or transformer, is necessary if the information on your appliance indicates that it requires 110v/60Hz.