Start with the notary's certified copy
The atto costitutivo is the deed that brought your company into being. A notary in Florence drew it up and keeps the original in a bound register. You will never get that original out, so ask for a copia conforme, a certified true copy. The notary signs and seals it, and that seal is what every later desk looks for.
Why the court, not the Prefettura
A notary's deed is a notarial act, so the stamp comes from the Procura della Repubblica at the court whose district holds the notary. The Prefettura, the state's local office in each province, handles papers made by town halls. Take a notary's deed there and the clerk will send you away. So knowing how to legalize your Articles of Incorporation starts with picking the right counter.
The consulate step at the end
Once the court has stamped the copy, the file goes to the consulate or embassy of the country that asked for it. Those missions sit in Italy, not abroad, and each keeps its own forms and hours. The embassy legalization of your Articles of Incorporation in Florence is the last stamp in the chain. Book the slot early, because a busy mission can hold a file for weeks.
What you pay and how long it sits
The state fee is a €16 tax stamp, the marca da bollo, bought at a tobacconist and fixed to the file. On top of that the consulate charges its own fee, which each mission sets for itself. Plan on 10–15 business days to legalize your Articles of Incorporation in Florence, or 3–5 business days on the express route. Ask for the consular fee in writing before you pay.
Who asks to see the deed
Banks abroad want the deed before they open an account for your company. Tender offices ask for it when a Florence firm bids for public work. A foreign registry may want it to log a branch or a holding. In each case the reader is not judging your trade, only checking that the paper is real. The consular legalization of Articles of Incorporation in Italy is what closes that question.
Traps, and the one thing nobody here can settle
Whether the full consular chain applies at all rests with the country that will read your file. Some receiving offices take a single-step certification instead, so write to them and get the answer on paper first. Watch the small things too. An embassy attestation of Articles of Incorporation in Florence fails if the copy is loose or a page is missing.