What the stamp actually certifies
Be clear about the narrow job the stamp does. It vouches for the signature and seal of the official on the sheet you hand in. It forms no view on what the paper says, whether it is the latest version, or whether an office abroad will act on it. Anyone reading up on how to apostille a Last Will and Testament should hold on to that point, because it explains almost every refusal that happens later.
Which counter these facts point to
Italy splits this work between two offices, and the split follows the paper rather than the person. On the facts held for this page you apostille a Last Will and Testament in Italy through the Prefettura (Prefecture), the branch of the state in the provincial capital. Where the sheet you hold is a notarial or a court act, the Procura della Repubblica takes it instead, working by court district. Read the closing signature and seal, then choose.
Paying the state charge
The apostille cost for a Last Will and Testament in Bologna comes down to a €16 tax stamp for the document. Buy the stamp, attach it, and lodge the paper with it. Some papers are let off that charge, so put the question to the desk before you spend. If a reader abroad asks for several papers, each one carries its own stamp, so count the sheets before you budget.
Ask the receiving office first
One letter saves most of the trouble on this route. Write to the office abroad that will handle the matter and ask which form of the paper it wants, how recent it must be, and in which language. Then you can apostille a Last Will and Testament in Bologna once, for the right sheet, rather than twice. Keep the reply in the file, dated, so a clerk at either end can see what you were told.
Handling, and the refusals we see most
Three habits protect the file. Never unbind sheets that an official fastened, never send an unsigned copy, and never let the spelling of a name drift between papers. The legalisation of a Last Will and Testament in Bologna also stalls when the copy is months old and the reader wanted a recent one. Italy has issued apostilles under the 1961 Hague Convention since 1978, but each receiving office still writes its own house rules.