Italy is the first EU country with a national AI law
The AI Act is a European regulation: it applies directly in all member states, Italy included. But Italy chose to go a step further, pairing it with a comprehensive national law.
It's Law no. 132 of 23 September 2025, in force since 10 October 2025. With this law Italy became the first country in the Union to adopt national legislation dedicated to artificial intelligence, which complements the European rules with internal governance and specific sector principles.
For an Italian company this means two levels to hold together: the European regulation and the national law. The good news is that 132/2025 doesn't contradict the AI Act, it completes it.
What Law 132/2025 adds to the AI Act
The Italian law doesn't rewrite the AI Act: it moves within the spaces the European regulation leaves to member states. It sets out underlying principles, a human-centric, transparent and secure approach, with attention to innovation, cybersecurity, accessibility and privacy protection.
It then intervenes in areas of public interest: healthcare, work, public administration, justice, education. It introduces delegations to the Government for the implementing decrees, which are gradually defining the operational details.
In other words, while the AI Act sets the general European rules, 132/2025 grounds those principles in the Italian context and lays the ground for the detailed rules.
Who supervises in Italy: AgID and ACN
A practical point companies need to know is who the reference authorities are. The law (Article 20) identifies two bodies.
AgID, the Agency for Digital Italy, is responsible for promoting and developing AI, as well as for the notification and accreditation procedures for the bodies that verify the conformity of systems.
ACN, the National Cybersecurity Agency, is the market surveillance authority: it handles inspections and enforcement, and is the single point of contact with the European institutions.
The law also provides for a National Artificial Intelligence Strategy, updated every two years, and promotes training: AgID itself organises training initiatives for public administration, businesses, universities and citizens.
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The training obligation seen from Italy
For most Italian companies, the most concrete and immediate requirement isn't one of the big governance topics: it's the obligation to train staff.
This obligation stems from Article 4 of the AI Act, has been in force since 2 February 2025 and applies to anyone who uses AI at work. We've explained in detail what the AI literacy obligation involves and how to structure the training in practice.
The Italian framework reinforces this direction: 132/2025 places skills and training among the levers for safe and effective use of AI. For a company, starting here is the most sensible move: it's the obligation that's already active, it's within everyone's reach and it produces real value, not just compliance.
The deadlines that matter for an Italian company
Putting the two levels together, these are the dates to mark.
Since 2 February 2025 the AI Act's training obligation has already been in force. It's not the future: it's now.
Since 10 October 2025 Law 132/2025 has been in force, with the national governance and the principles that the implementing decrees are detailing.
From 2 August 2026 the supervision and penalties tied to the AI Act begin, handled by the national authorities. In Italy, market oversight falls to ACN.
The takeaway is clear: there's a window, still open, to arrive prepared for the controls instead of chasing them.
What to do now
Faced with two regulatory levels and a series of implementing decrees on the way, the risk is paralysis: waiting for everything to be defined before moving. That's a mistake.
The most important part is already defined and already in force: training your staff. It's the requirement every company can tackle right away, without waiting for further decrees, and it has the advantage of producing a concrete benefit beyond compliance.
Companies that want to adopt AI seriously can turn an obligation into an opportunity: genuinely train people, govern the use of the tools, build internal skills. This is what we work on with our clients. You'll find the full picture on the page dedicated to AI Act training and, if you want a reference on adoption in Italy, in our guide to Claude for Italian companies.