Love Hotel in Lombardy, Italy

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. Source: Prostitution Laws (prostitutionlaws.org), https://prostitutionlaws.org/countries/italy/, reviewed 2026-11-03, CC BY 4.0.