Get the oath witnessed first
An affidavit is a written statement that you swear is true. On its own it is just your words on a page, and no foreign office will act on it. A public officer must watch you sign it and add a seal. The stamp you get later stands behind that officer, not behind your claims.
So the order matters. This page sets out how to apostille an affidavit once the oath itself is done, and the oath has to come first. You can apostille an affidavit in Italy only after a notaio or a court clerk has signed and sealed it. Draft the wording, read it twice, then book the officer.
Procura, not Prefettura
A sworn statement counts as a notarial act, and those go to the Procura della Repubblica. That is the prosecutor's office sitting inside the court. Papers born in a town hall or another state office go to the Prefettura instead, the arm of the state in each province. Send an oath to the Prefettura and it will be handed back.
The court district decides where you queue. You can apostille an affidavit in Messina when the notaio or clerk who witnessed you works in that district. Staff match the seal against a sample they keep on file, so only the right court is able to run the check. Swear the oath here and the whole job stays here.
What it costs and how long it takes
The apostille cost for an affidavit in Messina begins with a tax stamp. The marca da bollo runs at €16 per document, and some papers are free of it. You buy the stamp at a tobacconist and carry it in with you. Notary work is billed on its own, so ask that officer for their figure up front.
Waiting time is the part nobody can promise you. Counter hours are short, some weeks are busier than others, and a file with a missing seal starts again. Leave slack in your plan. If a deadline abroad is close, say the date out loud at the desk and ask what the queue looks like that week.
What people use these oaths for
The reasons vary a lot. Some people swear that they are single. Others swear that they pay for a student's keep, or that a name on an old record is their own. A few set out plain facts for a case abroad. Banks, estate lawyers and visa desks all ask for such papers, and each wants its own wording.
Older forms still call for the legalisation of an affidavit in Messina, a phrase left over from the long consular route. Between countries in the Hague scheme the apostille does that work in one step, so no embassy stamp is added on top. Where the country reading your file sits outside that scheme, ask them what they want.
Slips that send the file back
Four slips come up again and again. A date left blank beside the signature. A photocopy where the signed original is wanted. A statement that names a paper you did not bring with you. And a text in one language only, when the office abroad reads another, so ask them which language they need.