Curling Irons and Hair Dryers

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Our Airbnbs have hair dryers…but there are 9 of us.   I have a 240 watt hair dryer for my trips.   If you don’t travel much, you will probably be fine without.

If you really think you can’t do without one, you can order a voltage-compatible travel hair dryer that will fold up small, such as this one rated up to 240V:

Conair 1600 Watt Compact Hair Dryer for Rome with Folding Handle, Dual Voltage Travel Dryer

Conair 1600 Watt Compact Hair Dryer with Folding Handle, Dual Voltage Travel Dryer

Or this Hot iron rated to 240V:

Curling Iron, 6-in-1 Curling Wands

Curling Iron, 6-in-1 Curling Wands, Hair Curling Wands for Long Short Hair PTC Ceramic Curling Tongs with Adjustable Temperature Dual Voltage with Glove & 2 Clips

And this travel clothing iron rated to 240V:

Steamfast SF-717 Mini Steam Iron with Dual Voltage, Travel Bag, Non-Stick Soleplate, Anti-Slip Handle, Rapid Heating, 420W Power, White

What appliances will work in Italy?

Most smaller consumer electronics such as laptops, tablets, and cellphones will be compatible with the higher voltage. They run on DC which is derived from a small transformer inside the plug or adapter. Mst of these transformers can convert voltages from 110V-240V, so will work fine in Italy with no voltage alteration.

You can tell if they’re rated for higher voltage by looking at the small print on the device. Verify 100% before you try them.

What to look for to check if a device is rated for the Italian voltage level

What kind of sockets and plugs does Italy use?

Italy has unfortunately never managed to standardise itself following each attempt at modernization, so there are three different socket standards running in parallel: small two or three-pin Italian (C), large three-pin Italian (L), and large robust two-pin European type (F, also known as Schuko, with no earth pin) that facilitate easier import of electrical goods from other parts of Europe.

Each basic socket is not compatible with any other plug, which can create great confusion in domestic settings, with various sockets of differing sizes in different parts of properties.

Builders and electricians adopt various different strategies used to attempt to mitigate the incompatibility of the various plugs, and different combined solutions are being produced all the time by manufacturers. 

Depending on the age of the property you may find various different socket configurations built into the wall, from F to C to L to various hyper-modern combination sockets that attempt to allow all three plugs, plus USB charging. 

Typical domestic socket solution in Italy. The left-hand socket is compatible with C and L plugs, while the right is compatible with C and F plugs.

The good news is that both three-pin sockets will allow two-pin plugs to be inserted into them, which in turn means that a two-pin Italian C plug will work in any of the three potential socket types. 

Repeat: a 2-pin Italian C plug will fit all Italian sockets.

Do I need an adapter at all?

There are circumstances in which you may not need an adapter at all. Bearing in mind that you must take into account the voltage rating of your appliance:

If you just need USB charging on your visit, you can buy cheap USB chargers with an Italian two-pin C plug (thus fully compatible with all sockets), anywhere in the street in Rome or in the Chinese casalinghi (housewares) stores all over the city, for like €2 or €3. These will likely be low quality but will usually suffice during your stay.

Or you can order slightly more robustly tested versions from any of the electronic retail chains (Euronics, Unieuro, MediaWorld, Expert City) with higher power ratings for €12-€20.

The caveat to this is that Apple devices are a bit fancy and may require higher power output than a regular USB charger. Or Apple may want to charge you $150 for a new cable. In that case you will need a socket adapter.

If you have a device that uses charger with a generic fitting that’s rated for all voltages, you can also just buy the Italian equivalent. For example the pictured Lenovo laptop charger is rated 1o0V-240V and takes a universal “clover leaf” plug. This author has three “clover leaf” cables: one with a US plug, one for the UK/Ireland, and one for Italy – each bought for around €5. It’s easy enough just to switch cables, since the transformer unit works at any voltage.

What to look for to check if a device is rated for the Italian voltage level

You can buy such cables from the electronics chains mentioned above, branches of which are all over Rome.

What plug adapter should I get?

The best socket adapter we’ve ever owned is made by Skross. It can plug into 90% of the world’s sockets, and can receive 90% of the world’s plugs. It also has two USB charging sockets. 

Universal travel adapter for use in Italy

Warning – again, it’s not a transformer – it is a plug/socket adapter. It will transmit as many volts as you plug it into! For Italy it provides the two-pin Italian C plug that works in all sockets, and can work with UK and US two-pin plugs (though not three-pin, nor Australian plugs). Finally, if you have a lot of devices, you could also get a multi-socket outlet cable like this and plug that into the Skross adapter above, then plug all your devices into that. As long as you’re not drawing too much power (e.g. just charging your devices) then you’ll be fine. Here’s an example for US devices: 

Multiple socket extension with two pin plug for use in Italy