You can have a friendly conversation every morning in Italy and still have nobody to call on Saturday. The barista recognizes your order, a neighbor asks how you are settling in, and someone at a language exchange recommends a restaurant. These encounters make a place feel welcoming. Turning them into friendships takes another step.
For students, newcomers, and longer-stay visitors, the most useful approach is to build routines that bring you back into contact with the same people. Choose activities you enjoy, return regularly, and make small, specific invitations when a connection develops.
Making friends in Italy does not require perfect Italian or an outgoing personality. It does help to create opportunities for a second conversation—and then a third.
Start With Places You Can Return To
A busy social calendar can produce plenty of introductions without much connection. If every event involves a different crowd, you may spend weeks repeating where you come from and why you moved.
Instead, choose two regular commitments: perhaps a weekly language exchange and a photography course, or a reading group and a volunteer shift. Add somewhere nearby where you enjoy spending time.
Before joining an activity, ask:
- Does the same group meet regularly?
- Can newcomers join, or is registration limited to the beginning of a course?
- Is there time to talk before or afterward?
- Can I realistically keep coming, considering travel time and cost?
An activity close to home that you attend consistently may be more useful than an exciting event across town that you rarely reach.
Language Exchanges: Give the Conversation a Future
Search for scambio linguistico, tandem linguistico, or aperitivo linguistico, followed by your city. Check university associations, language schools, cultural venues, and recent local event listings.
A language exchange gives people a clear reason to begin talking. However, the most useful format depends on your personality. A large standing event can be lively but difficult to follow. A smaller seated group may offer more time to finish a conversation.
Ask the organizer whether beginners are welcome and how the languages are balanced. At a one-to-one exchange, you could suggest spending half the meeting in Italian and half in your partner’s language.
You do not need remarkable conversation starters. Ask about something you can return to:
“How did your exam go?”
“Did you try that restaurant?”
“Are you coming again next week?”
These follow-up questions show that you remember the person, rather than simply using the meeting to practice vocabulary.
If you get along, suggest another meeting with a clear purpose: “Would you like to practice again over coffee next Wednesday?”
For more structured support, see our guide to learning Italian after moving, including local classes and everyday practice.
Students: Build Connections Beyond Welcome Week
For international students, ESN Italia’s local sections provide a starting point for finding student activities. Individual sections organize their own programs, which can include language exchanges and social events. Check current listings and eligibility; some activities require registration or an ESNcard.
Welcome events help you meet people quickly. The next task is choosing which connections to continue.
Sit beside someone you have already spoken to. Suggest lunch after a lecture. Form a small study group that meets at a regular time. These arrangements create contact even when nobody has the energy to organize a night out.
Look beyond international events, too. A university choir, theater group, sports club, or student publication can bring you together with people who share an interest.
Keep the international friendships you enjoy. At the same time, make room for activities involving people who expect to remain in the city after the semester ends.
Join a Club Where You Have Something to Do Together
Shared activities take pressure off conversation. During a ceramics class, a rehearsal, or a board-game evening, you already have something to discuss.
Useful searches include corso di teatro, gruppo fotografico, coro, giochi da tavolo, and associazione culturale, followed by your town.
The ARCI club directory lets you search for local circles. The network includes cultural and social associations, but individual venues have different programs. Check the activity calendar and membership arrangements before attending. A membership card may be required, and course or event charges can be separate.
A useful question is: “Avete attività settimanali aperte a chi viene per la prima volta?”—“Do you have weekly activities open to first-time visitors?”
Choose something you would enjoy even if friendship develops slowly. That makes returning feel worthwhile and gives other participants time to know you.
Try Sports and Walking Groups With a Regular Schedule
If sitting across a table and making conversation feels tiring, consider an activity where you can talk while moving.
Look for beginner running groups, recreational volleyball, dance courses, walking groups, or cycling outings suited to your ability. A recurring class offers more continuity than visiting a gym at unpredictable times.
For hiking, the Club Alpino Italiano’s directory of local sections helps you find nearby branches. Ask the section about suitable outings, registration, membership, and insurance arrangements for guests.
Choose the activity for its actual demands. A difficult mountain outing is a poor setting for conversation if you spend the day struggling to keep up.
The social opportunity may also come afterward: a coffee following a walk, a snack after training, or a few minutes while everyone puts equipment away. Leave some space in your schedule for these moments.
Libraries and Reading Groups Offer a Quieter Start
Friendship does not have to begin in a crowded bar. Libraries, bookshops, and cultural centers can provide calmer settings with a shared subject.
Search for gruppo di lettura or circolo di lettura. For example, Bologna’s public library network lists reading groups and directs readers to further groups across the city.
Before attending, ask which book the group is discussing, whether booking is required, and whether someone still learning Italian would be comfortable participating.
You might understand more than you can contribute at first. Preparing one observation or one question can make joining the discussion easier.
If reading an entire Italian novel feels ambitious, look for another shared interest, such as photography, drawing, or a film discussion. The best setting is one where you can participate without feeling continually tested.
Volunteer Where You Can Make a Real Commitment
Volunteering can create connections through shared responsibility. You get to know people while doing something useful together.
CSVnet’s volunteering resources connect visitors with local volunteer guidance and opportunities. Start by checking what organizations in your area need.
Be clear about your availability, language level, and length of stay. A regular weekly commitment may suit someone settling permanently. A newcomer staying six weeks should look for a role that genuinely accommodates that timeframe.
Ask whether training is necessary and whether you would work alongside a regular team. Be reliable, and choose a cause you care about.
Friendship may develop naturally, but the organization’s work should remain the reason for being there.
Make Everyday Neighborhood Life Part of Your Routine
Not every connection begins with an organized activity. You may gradually recognize people at a neighborhood café, market, community garden, or local event.
Go somewhere because you like it. Greet people, learn names when introductions happen, and allow familiarity to grow without forcing it.
A brief exchange can become a longer conversation when both people have time. However, friendliness from someone working is not automatically an invitation to socialize. Notice whether the other person asks questions, remembers previous conversations, and chooses to continue talking.
In a smaller town, ask the library or municipal information office about local associations. Search the town’s website for associazioni, eventi, or corsi. A nearby community center may be more useful than a social app with few active local users.
Turn “We Should Meet” Into a Small, Specific Plan
The move from acquaintance to friend often requires someone to suggest spending time together outside the original setting.
Keep the invitation simple and connected to something you already share:
- After class: “I’m getting a coffee nearby. Would you like to join?”
- After a language exchange: “Shall we practice again next Thursday?”
- After a reading group: “Would you like to visit that bookshop on Saturday?”
- After a walk: “Are you doing the next outing? We could meet at the station.”
A specific invitation is easier to answer than “We should hang out sometime.” It also gives the other person room to suggest an alternative.
An Italian aperitivo can provide a relaxed setting for a first meeting outside a group. Coffee, a daytime walk, or a nonalcoholic drink work equally well.
If you suggest an apericena, check the venue’s format and prices first so everyone knows what to expect.
Useful Italian Phrases for Following Up
You do not need elaborate Italian to make a friendly invitation.
| Italian | English |
|---|---|
| Vieni anche la prossima settimana? | Are you coming next week too? |
| Ti va di prendere un caffè dopo? | Would you like to get a coffee afterward? |
| Ti va di scambiarci i numeri? | Would you like to exchange numbers? |
| C’è un gruppo WhatsApp per gli incontri? | Is there a WhatsApp group for the meetups? |
| Io ci sono giovedì. Tu puoi? | I’m free on Thursday. Can you make it? |
| Sto ancora imparando l’italiano. Puoi parlare un po’ più piano? | I’m still learning Italian. Could you speak a little more slowly? |
After exchanging details, send a short message that identifies you and refers to the conversation: “Hi, it’s Alex from the photography class. I enjoyed talking about the exhibition. Are you going on Saturday?”
Ask before adding someone to a group chat. If a person repeatedly declines without suggesting another time, leave the invitation open and put your energy into other connections.
Give Friendship Time, but Look for Reciprocity
A welcoming conversation and a close friendship are different stages of knowing someone. People may already have busy schedules, longstanding friendships, or family commitments.
Avoid turning one disappointing encounter into a conclusion about an entire city or about Italians generally. Experiences differ between groups, neighborhoods, workplaces, and individuals.
Look for small signs of mutual interest. Does the other person remember what you discussed? Ask how something went? Suggest a plan? Contact you occasionally?
You can initiate without carrying every interaction. Over time, friendship should give both people room to contribute.
Reciprocation need not involve money. Share a useful event, remember an important date, introduce two people with a common interest, or suggest the next meeting yourself.
Adapt Your Approach to the Length of Your Stay
If you are visiting for several weeks, choose activities you can attend immediately and repeatedly. Be honest about when you leave. A friendship does not have to be permanent to matter.
If you have moved for work, build at least one routine outside your workplace. Remote workers can ask coworking spaces about recurring community activities before paying for membership.
If you expect to stay for years, consider a longer course, a regular team, or a volunteer role. These give relationships time to develop through ordinary life.
Older newcomers can use the same principles, while choosing settings that suit their interests and pace. Our guide to building a social life when retiring in Italy explores that experience in more detail.
A Manageable First-Month Plan
Week one: Identify two recurring activities and contact the organizers. Check language expectations, access, timing, and total cost.
Week two: Attend and introduce yourself to a few people. Learn a name and ask whether they usually come.
Week three: Return to the activity you enjoyed most. Follow up on an earlier conversation and suggest coffee afterward if the moment feels right.
Week four: Keep the routine that suits you. Follow up on one promising connection, and change activities if the group feels unwelcoming or impractical.
This is a way to create opportunities, not a deadline for finding close friends. Some connections will remain pleasant acquaintances. Others will gradually become people you see outside the group.
The important change comes when you are no longer starting from the beginning every time. Someone remembers your name, you remember their story, and there is already a reason to meet again.
External Sources
- ESN Italia: Find a local section
- ARCI: Find a local club
- ARCI: Membership information
- Club Alpino Italiano: Local sections
- CSVnet: Find volunteering opportunities
- Bologna Libraries: Reading groups
