Prostitution laws in ItalyItalia
Italy follows an abolitionist model set by the Legge Merlin of 1958, which closed the licensed brothels and forbids any registration of people who sell sex. Selling and buying are legal for adults; brothels, recruitment, aiding and exploitation are crimes punished with two to six years' imprisonment. In 2019 the Constitutional Court upheld the offences of recruiting and aiding even where prostitution is voluntary. Street-based prostitution is shaped mainly by mayoral ordinances that fine sex workers and clients in designated areas. A 2025 Senate bill to repeal the Merlin law and license brothels has been assigned to committee but not examined In 2025 the new ATECO statistical classification prompted a public debate on escort work; ISTAT clarified that it covers only lawful activities.
Legal model
Legal, organisation banned. Selling and buying are legal, but brothels, procuring and organising are criminal offences.
Legge 75/1958 (Legge Merlin) abolished state-regulated brothels and the registration of women in prostitution. Selling and buying sex between adults are not offences, but keeping a brothel, recruiting, aiding (favoreggiamento) and exploiting the prostitution of others are crimes. Soliciting 'in a scandalous or harassing manner' is an administrative offence, and mayors can add local street rules by ordinance.[1][2]
Regional differences
- Municipalities (mayoral ordinances): Mayors may issue reasoned, contingent and urgent ordinances to protect 'urban security' under art. 54(4) TUEL; art. 54(4-bis) lists the 'exploitation of prostitution' among the phenomena such ordinances can address. Many towns use them, often seasonally, to ban offering or negotiating paid sex on specified streets, with administrative fines. Example: Rimini's 2025 ordinance (26 May 2025 to 31 January 2026) allowed fines of up to EUR 500 for offering paid sex on listed roads and also barred people from seeking or agreeing such services there.[3][4]
At a glance
| Question | Status | In short |
|---|---|---|
| Selling sexual services | Restricted Breach: administrative offence | Selling sex is not an offence. Inviting people to 'libertinaggio' in a public place in a scandalous or harassing manner, or following people in the street to do so, is an administrative offence (decriminalised in 1999). Local ordinances add street bans in many towns.[1] |
| Buying sexual services | Legal | No national law makes it an offence for an adult to buy sex from another adult. Many municipal ordinances, however, ban clients from negotiating paid sex on specified streets, and drivers who stop or manoeuvre dangerously to make contact can be fined under traffic rules.[1][3][4] |
| Brothels and managed venues | Illegal Criminal offence | Running brothels ('case di prostituzione') is prohibited. Owning, running, managing or financing one, letting premises for one, or habitually tolerating prostitution in a hotel, bar, club or other venue open to the public is punished with two to six years' imprisonment and a fine.[1] |
| Third parties profiting (procuring / pimping) | Illegal Criminal offence | Recruiting a person for prostitution, inducing or facilitating it, procuring, and 'in any way' aiding (favoreggiamento) or exploiting the prostitution of others are crimes (two to six years, doubled with aggravating factors). In judgment 141/2019 the Constitutional Court upheld recruitment and aiding as offences even where the prostitution is voluntary.[1][2] |
| Advertising sexual services | Restricted Breach: criminal offence | Procuring ('atti di lenocinio') through the press 'or any other means of advertising' is a crime. Sex workers advertising their own services is not an offence in itself. The Court of Cassation has held that merely publishing escort ads on a website is not aiding, but active help in preparing the ads can be.[1][5][6] |
The law in detail
Selling sexual services
Selling sex is not an offence. Inviting people to 'libertinaggio' in a public place in a scandalous or harassing manner, or following people in the street to do so, is an administrative offence (decriminalised in 1999). Local ordinances add street bans in many towns.[1]
Art. 5 of Legge 75/1958 originally made public soliciting a minor criminal offence (arresto). L. 205/1999 and D.Lgs. 507/1999 converted it into an administrative fine imposed by the Ministry of the Interior. Art. 7 forbids the police, health or any other authority from registering people who sell sex or issuing them health cards or special documents. Since D.Lgs. 507/1999 the administrative fine is ITL 30,000 to 180,000, i.e. €15.49 to €92.96 at the fixed conversion rate.
Checked 30 October 2026
Buying sexual services
No national law makes it an offence for an adult to buy sex from another adult. Many municipal ordinances, however, ban clients from negotiating paid sex on specified streets, and drivers who stop or manoeuvre dangerously to make contact can be fined under traffic rules.[1][3][4]
Checked 30 October 2026
Brothels and managed venues
Running brothels ('case di prostituzione') is prohibited. Owning, running, managing or financing one, letting premises for one, or habitually tolerating prostitution in a hotel, bar, club or other venue open to the public is punished with two to six years' imprisonment and a fine.[1]
Checked 30 October 2026
Third parties profiting (procuring / pimping)
Recruiting a person for prostitution, inducing or facilitating it, procuring, and 'in any way' aiding (favoreggiamento) or exploiting the prostitution of others are crimes (two to six years, doubled with aggravating factors). In judgment 141/2019 the Constitutional Court upheld recruitment and aiding as offences even where the prostitution is voluntary.[1][2]
The Court of Appeal of Bari had argued, in a case involving paid 'escorts', that punishing recruitment and aiding of freely chosen prostitution breached the harm principle and economic freedom. The Constitutional Court declared the questions unfounded (decided 6 March, filed 7 June 2019), describing paid sex as an economic activity subject to limits under art. 41 of the Constitution. It added that criminalising these 'parallel conducts' is not constitutionally required and that Parliament may choose a different strategy.
Checked 30 October 2026
Advertising sexual services
Procuring ('atti di lenocinio') through the press 'or any other means of advertising' is a crime. Sex workers advertising their own services is not an offence in itself. The Court of Cassation has held that merely publishing escort ads on a website is not aiding, but active help in preparing the ads can be.[1][5][6]
Art. 3(1) no. 5 L. 75/1958 punishes anyone who commits acts of procuring personally in public places or through the press or any other advertising medium. In Cass. pen. sez. III n. 4443 of 2 February 2012 the Court overturned a conviction of a website operator who had received ads and photos from escorts and sold them premium listings. Following Cass. n. 26343/2009, it compared mere publication to newspapers running such ads, a service to the person rather than to prostitution. It added that concrete, detailed cooperation (e.g. organising photo shoots or writing the ads) can amount to aiding under art. 3(1) no. 8. Legal press reports that Cass. sez. III n. 47583/2024 (filed 30 December 2024) again held that mere publication is not criminal.
Confidence: medium. The Cassation case law is cited from a third-party transcription (civile.it) and a legal news report (NJus.it). The official Italgiure texts were not checked. Case law here is fact-specific and not uniform; platform liability turns on how far the operator goes beyond publication.
Checked 30 October 2026
Key legislation
| Law | What it does here | In force |
|---|---|---|
| Legge 20 febbraio 1958, n. 75 – Abolizione della regolamentazione della prostituzione e lotta contro lo sfruttamento della prostituzione altrui Law no. 75 of 20 February 1958 (Legge Merlin): abolition of the regulation of prostitution and fight against the exploitation of the prostitution of others Art. 1 · Art. 3 · Art. 4 · Art. 5 · Art. 7 | Core statute: closes brothels, bans registration of sex workers, defines the procuring, aiding and exploitation offences and the administrative soliciting offence.[1] | 19 March 1958 |
| Decreto legislativo 18 agosto 2000, n. 267 – Testo unico delle leggi sull'ordinamento degli enti locali, art. 54 Legislative Decree no. 267 of 18 August 2000 (Consolidated Act on Local Authorities), art. 54 Art. 54(4) · Art. 54(4-bis) | Legal basis for mayoral 'urban security' ordinances used to ban street solicitation and fine sex workers and clients.[3] |
Pending and under review
In parliament · updated 2 July 2025
Senate bill S.1523 'Disposizioni in materia di esercizio della prostituzione' (Fazzone, Forza Italia)
Private member's bill filed on 5 June 2025 to regulate prostitution, including licensed premises, in place of the Legge Merlin. On 2 July 2025 it was assigned to the Senate Justice and Constitutional Affairs committees in 'redigente' mode; no examination had begun by the last recorded entry.[7]
Timeline
- 20 February 1958Legge Merlin (L. 75/1958) adopted: state-regulated brothels abolished and procuring, aiding and exploitation made crimes.[1]
- 1999L. 205/1999 and D.Lgs. 507/1999 convert the public-soliciting contravention in art. 5 of the Legge Merlin into an administrative offence.[1]
- 2 February 2012Court of Cassation (n. 4443/2012) holds that merely publishing escort ads on a website is not aiding prostitution.[5]
- 7 June 2019Constitutional Court judgment 141/2019 upholds the offences of recruiting and aiding prostitution, including voluntary 'escort' work.[2]
- 10 April 2025ISTAT clarifies that ATECO code 96.99 applies nationally only to lawful activities, after controversy over escort services in the new classification.[8]
- 5 June 2025Senate bill S.1523 to regulate prostitution and replace the Legge Merlin is filed.[7]
Sources
- Legge 20 febbraio 1958, n. 75 – Abolizione della regolamentazione della prostituzione e lotta contro lo sfruttamento della prostituzione altrui (Law no. 75 of 20 February 1958 on the abolition of the regulation of prostitution and the fight against the exploitation of the prostitution of others). Normattiva (Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato), 20 February 1958. legislation · accessed 30 October 2026
- Corte costituzionale, sentenza n. 141 del 2019 (6 marzo – 7 giugno 2019) (Constitutional Court, judgment no. 141 of 2019). Gazzetta Ufficiale della Repubblica Italiana, 1ª Serie Speciale – Corte costituzionale, 12 June 2019. case law · accessed 30 October 2026
- Decreto legislativo 18 agosto 2000, n. 267 – Testo unico delle leggi sull'ordinamento degli enti locali, art. 54 (Legislative Decree no. 267 of 18 August 2000, Consolidated Act on Local Authorities, art. 54). Normattiva (Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato), 18 August 2000. legislation · accessed 30 October 2026
- Rimini. Da lunedì 26 maggio torna l'ordinanza contro la prostituzione su strada: pene fino a 500 euro alle prostitute (Rimini: ordinance against street prostitution returns from 26 May, fines up to EUR 500). Rimini Notizie, 16 May 2025. news · accessed 30 October 2026
- Corte di cassazione, sez. III penale, sentenza 2 febbraio 2012, n. 4443 (annunci erotici e responsabilità del gestore di bacheca elettronica) (Court of Cassation, 3rd Criminal Section, judgment no. 4443 of 2 February 2012 (erotic ads and liability of a website operator)). civile.it (transcription of the judgment), 2 February 2012. case law · accessed 30 October 2026
- Favoreggiamento della prostituzione: la mera pubblicazione degli annunci non rileva penalmente (Aiding prostitution: mere publication of ads is not criminally relevant). NJus.it, 30 December 2024. news · accessed 30 October 2026
- S.1523 – Disposizioni in materia di esercizio della prostituzione (Senate bill 1523 – Provisions on the exercise of prostitution (parliamentary tracker)). Openpolis – Openparlamento, 5 June 2025. ngo · accessed 30 October 2026
- Chiarimenti in merito al codice ATECO 96.99 "Altre attività di servizi alla persona n.c.a." (Clarifications on ATECO code 96.99 'Other personal service activities n.e.c.'). ISTAT – Istituto nazionale di statistica, 10 April 2025. statistics · accessed 30 October 2026