What the founding deed proves
Your atto costitutivo is the deed a notary drew up on the day the company was born. It lists the founders, the share capital and the first officers. A registry abroad asks for it because the deed proves the firm exists in law. Below you will see how to legalize your Articles of Incorporation so a foreign office will accept and file it.
Two papers usually travel together. The deed sets the company up, while the bylaws that follow say how it runs. Banks and tender boards abroad often want both in one bundle, so ask the notary for two certified copies at the same visit and save yourself a second trip.
Start with a copy the state can stamp
No office will stamp the loose sheets in your drawer. You need a copia conforme, a certified copy that the notary who keeps the original signs and seals. The Camera di Commercio can also issue a copy of the deed it holds on file. Either way, the copy should be fresh and carry a real seal, not a photocopied one.
A notarial act goes to the Procura
Here Italy splits the work between two offices. The Prefettura, the state's local arm in each province, stamps papers born in a town hall or another public body. A deed signed before a notary counts as a notarial act, so it goes to the Procura della Repubblica at the court in whose district the notary works. Pick the wrong counter and you lose a week.
The Procura clerk checks the notary's signature against the register, then adds the legalization stamp. That stamp says nothing about what your deed contains. It only tells the next reader that a real Italian public officer signed it. Embassy legalization of your Articles of Incorporation in Rome cannot begin before this stamp exists.
The consulate stage
The last stamp belongs to the country that will read the file. Its embassy or consulate in Italy looks at the Procura's seal and adds its own. Consular legalization of the Articles of Incorporation in Italy always ends at that desk. Some missions take papers by appointment only, and some want the company's tax number written on the request form.
Embassy attestation of the Articles of Incorporation in Rome closes the chain. Ask the mission what else it wants attached: many list a covering letter from the company, a copy of the officer's passport, and a short reason for the request. Ask as well which form of payment the desk takes, so nobody is sent away at the window.
What it costs and how long it sits
Budget for a €16 tax stamp (marca da bollo) plus the consular fee, which each mission sets on its own. Count on 10–15 business days end to end, or 3–5 business days where the express route is open. Court and consulate queues move at their own pace, so book the slot early rather than late.
Where company files come unstuck
Most delays are small ones. A copy older than the foreign registry allows, a missing page from the annexes, or a founder's name spelled two ways will each stop the file at a counter. Check that every sheet carries the same seal. You can legalize your Articles of Incorporation in Rome in one pass when the bundle is clean.
One thing is worth settling first. Whether the destination wants the consular stamp at all depends on that country's own rules, and only the receiving authority can say for certain. Ask them in writing, then keep the reply with the file. A short answer up front decides whether you need one stamp or three.