![pi_fp_italiefr.png](/assets/f1440x800-q70/8e609f28/pi_fp_italiefr.png)
Italy
Capital city — Rome
Country population
i2021Incarceration rate (per 100,000 inhabit…
93The NPM report st…
i2022Type of government
Human Development Index
0.895(30/191)
iHomicide rate (per 100,000 inhabitants)
Name of authority in charge of the pris…
Total number of prisoners
56,127This number does…
i31/05/2023/ ministry of Justice, Detenuti presentiAverage length of imprisonment (in mont…
i2020/ Council of Europe, SPACE I – 2021 Report, p. 124.Prison density
i30/01/2023/ ministry of Justice, Detenuti italiani e stranieri presenti e capienze per istituto (in italian).Total number of prison facilities
i31/01/2020An NPM has been established
Female prisoners
i31/01/2023/ ministry of Justice, Detenuti presenti (in Italian).Incarcerated minors
i15/01/2023/ Ministry of Justice Minorenni e giovani adulti in carico ai Servizi minorili (in Italian).Percentage of untried prisoners
27.5 %This number does…
i31/01/2023/ ministry of Justice, Detenuti presenti (in Italian).Death penalty is abolished
yes, since 1994The death penalty…
Living conditions
Accommodation
The law establishes a minimum standard for living space per prisoner
yes
Non-binding regulations from the Ministry of Health on housing have existed since 1975. It stipulates that an individual cell must measure 9m² and a 2-person cell at least 14m².
The prison administration establishes a minimum of 3m² per prisoner in a shared cell, following multiple convictions from the ECHR. Around 39% of the facilities visited by the NGO Antigone in 2022 do not meet the minimum space standard of 3m² per person in a collective cell.
In 2016, the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) reported that 16% of the prison population share cells with a surface area of less than 4m² per person. The CPT recommends a minimum of 6m² for single cells, and 4m² per person in collective cells, and shall exclude the partitioned toilet block.1
European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, “Report to the Italian Government on the Visit from 8–26 April 2016”, 2017. ↩
Prisoners are accommodated in single cells
in some facilities
Prisoners sleep on
a bunk bed
Cells are usually equipped with a table, chairs and storage.
All the prisoners are provided with bedding
All cells have a window with security bars and sometimes slatted floors. Sometimes artificial lighting stays on all day to compensate for the lack of light.
The cells/dormitories are provided with electric lighting
yes
The cells/dormitories are equipped with heating and/or air conditioning
no
There is no mechanical ventilation or heating in most cells. Walls have no insulation, whether they are concrete or stone — making the atmosphere stifling in summer and cold in winter. According to the NGO Antigone, at least 15 prisons in the country do not have heating systems.
Prisoners can smoke
in shared spaces
A majority of the detainees smoke. Tobacco is particularly prevalent in prison. Only electronic cigarettes are allowed in cells.
Hygiene
Prisoners have access to water
in their cell
In 2022, Antigone noted that 44% of the prisons visited do not have reliable in-cell access to hot water.
Showers are located in the cells/dormitories
in some facilities
Most of the cells do not have showers. Showers are often found in passageways. The layout of the premises and its overcrowding means there is very little privacy.
More than half of the prisons visited by Antigone in 2022 do not have a shower in the cell.
Prisoners are generally allowed two to three showers per week. Those who work can shower at the end of the day
Types of sanitary facilities
toilets
In 2021, Antigone reported that in at least five prisons, the toilets are located in the same room as the living quarters of the prisoners.
Sanitary facilities are clean, adequate and accessible
-
The upkeep of toilets is the responsibility of occupants.
In 2022, Antigone observed that in 9% of cells in the prisons visited, toilets are not located in an area separated from the rest of the cell by a door. The privacy of prisoners is therefore not protected.
The prison service provides personal hygiene products free of charge
yes
The prison administration is responsible for providing hygiene products to detained persons. This provision is not respected. Oftentimes outside associations compensate for this.
The prison service provides cleaning products free of charge
yes
Providing cleaning products is the responsibility of the prison administration. This provision is not always respected.
Beddings are refreshed
yes
The law stipulates that the prison administration must provide adequate clothing for detained persons who do not have it. Much of this clothing is brought by volunteers or relatives. Wearing expensive clothing is prohibited. The administration provides uniforms to detained workers.
Most establishments have laundry facilities which also serve to provide work for inmates. Others are freely accessible and detainees also wash their own clothes.
The maintenance of cells is the responsibility of its occupants. The maintenance of collective spaces is the responsibility of the prison administration.
Food
Drinking water is free and available in all areas of the facilities
The NPM indicated that water accessible to prisoners is poor quality.1
In 2022, prisoners at the Santa Maria Capua Vetere prison have access to drinkable running water for the first time in 26 years. Drinking water had previously been distributed in bottles or stored in cisterns.
National guarantor of the rights of persons detained and deprived of their liberty, Norm and normality. Criminal detention (Norme e normalita. L’esecuzione penale detentiva degli adulti), 29 January 2018, pp. 25-26 (in Italian). ↩
Number of meals per day
3
Three meals per day. Minors are entitled to an additional snack.
Daily cost of meals per prisoner
5 euros
Food services are managed by
- the prison service
- private services
- prisoners
Central kitchens in prison facilities are often managed by outside companies. Some inmates work in the kitchens.
The prison service is required to meet nutritional standards regarding quality and quantity
The right to adequate food is the subject of an increasing amount of research and political discussions. The Ministry of Health imposes several standards in terms of nutritional quantity and quality. A commission including detainees supervises the organisation of meals.
The prison service provides food that respects special dietary needs
Specific diets are offered to people suffering from medical ailments, such as diabetes.
Several facilities offer halal meals. Muslims are allowed to have their meal after sunset during Ramadan. The NGO Antigone reports 75 out of a hundred prisons visited in 2018 offer a halal diet.
Prisoners eat their meals in
their cell
Meals are eaten in cells. Prisoners whose cells are furthest from kitchen are often served cold meals.
Prisoners can buy food products
Prisoners can have access to a refrigerator
yes
Not all cells have a refrigerator. Regional prison and civil authorities are responsible for installing them.
In November 2019, the prison administration installed 400 refrigerators in Poggioreale’s Neapolitan prison cells. This decision was made in response to the ad hoc visit carried out by NPM a few months earlier.1
Garante nazionale dei diritti delle persone detenute o private della libertà personale, Visita ad hoc Casa circondariale Poggioreale - Giuseppe Salvia di Napoli, 30 June 2019. ↩
Prisoners are allowed to cook in their cells or in a shared space
yes
Detainees may have portable stoves in their cells for cooking. Some stoves are already in cells while others must be purchased from a commissary.
Prisoners are allowed to receive food parcels
yes
Part of the prisoner's food is produced by the prison
in some facilities
Only the colonie penali (penal farms) produce their own food.
An orchard was inaugurated inside the prison of Monza. This initiative would create jobs for prisoners. They would look after about 30 plum trees whose fruit would be eaten in the prison canteen.