Power Sockets and Plug Converters for Electricity in Italy
 | Here's an Italian power outlet of the type you might find in a kitchen. On the left is a typical power socket, in the middle is a Schuko Grounded socket for large appliances. On the right is a power switch. An adapter plug will fit into the two outer holes of either socket. |
 | Here is a normal Italian power socket. To access it with an adapter that connects to a typical American power plug, you'll need an adapter like the one shown below. |
 | Have many chargers? Need more outlets than the common hotel room has available? A simple plug expander might do the trick. You can buy these in Italy at any hardware store for a few Euros. |
 Euro-AdaptersOf course you can buy elaborate Euro-adapters designed to receive North American, UK and normal Euro plugs, and to fit into hermaphroditic French sockets as well as into other European outlets: Fancy multi-adapter: what you need if you travel in the United Kingdom and other European countries as well as in France... The Simple Adapter SolutionHowever, if you're only going to travel in France and other continental countries (not the UK), a simple 2-prong adapter solves several problems at once, and less expensively. This sort of flat 2-prong adapter works in French outlets as well as in those of other European countries: | This plug adapter is all you need to convert the US rectangular pronged plug to the round prong Italian power plug used in most Italian homes and hotels. This adapter is ungrounded, which is why it doesn't have a third, center prong. This is fine for devices which are insulated (having a plastic body, for instance |
