HIV care in Italy is excellent, fully funded by the SSN, and managed through specialized Malattie Infettive departments at public hospitals. You will receive an exemption code (Esenzione 020) that covers all HIV-related blood tests, specialist visits, and antiretroviral therapy (ART) without ticket co-pays. Organizations like LILA and Arcigay, as well as the Checkpoints, provide invaluable peer support and navigation assistance.

🩺 The Diagnosis Pathway

If you receive a preliminary positive result at a community Checkpoint or with a home testing kit, your first step is a confirmatory blood draw at a public hospital or public laboratory. Once confirmed, your care is managed by a hospital's Infectious Diseases department (Malattie Infettive).

Italy follows a rapid-start model for ART — your clinical team will aim to start your medication as soon as possible after diagnosis.

💊 Getting ART: Access & Cost

To make your treatment free, you need the 020 exemption code (Esenzione 020). It eliminates ticket co-pays for all HIV-related blood tests, specialist appointments, and ART through the public system (SSN).

How to get it: your HIV/infectious-disease centre issues a certificate confirming the diagnosis; you take that to your local ASL (Azienda Sanitaria Locale) exemptions office, which registers the 020 code. It has unlimited duration.

If you're undocumented: you can still access ART. Request an STP code (Straniero Temporaneamente Presente), issued free by the ASL — HIV treatment is guaranteed to everyone in Italy regardless of immigration status.

Your Malattie Infettive department is where your ART is prescribed and managed — that's your hub for supplies and monitoring, not your GP.

⚖️ Disclosure & the Law

U=U is the medical baseline. On treatment with an undetectable viral load, you cannot transmit HIV sexually — this is settled science, and it underpins everything below.

Italy has no HIV-specific law forcing you to disclose your status. However, prosecutors have used general "bodily harm" laws (Articles 582 and 583) to charge people who engaged in condomless sex with a detectable viral load without disclosing, treating it as reckless (dolus eventualis). Fortunately, Italian courts are increasingly recognizing U=U: recent rulings in 2017 and 2024 have acquitted individuals because their suppressed viral load meant the transmission risk was essentially zero. The law on HIV disclosure and criminalisation varies between countries and can change. Don't take your legal position from apps, partners, or rumour: if you're unsure where you stand, get current, confidential advice from LILA (lila.it) or your clinic's HIV team — they track the local legal position and can tell you exactly what applies to you.

🫂 Peer Support & Social Care

You don't have to navigate the system alone — the peer network here is strong and used to the ASL bureaucracy.

  • LILA (lila.it): national HIV organisation — peer support, legal advocacy, and hands-on help navigating diagnosis and the exemption paperwork.
  • Arcigay: the main national LGBTQ+ organisation, with local chapters offering community and support.
  • Checkpoints: community sexual-health centres for testing, linkage to care, and lower-pressure navigation than a hospital.

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