Italy has enacted the national measure adapting its law to the EU Artificial Intelligence Act. Legislative Decree no. 179 of 7 October 2026, titled Adeguamento della normativa nazionale alle disposizioni del regolamento (UE) 2024/1689, was published in Gazzetta Ufficiale no. 234 of 8 October 2026 and enters into force on 23 October 2026. The text is enacted law rather than a draft, adopted under the delegation conferred by Article 24, paragraphs 1 and 2, of Law no. 132 of 23 September 2025.
Article 1 sets the institutional map. It names the Agenzia per l'Italia Digitale and the Agenzia per la Cybersicurezza Nazionale as the national authorities for artificial intelligence, with AgID as the notifying authority, and it lists the national market surveillance authorities as the Agenzia per la Cybersicurezza Nazionale, Banca d'Italia, CONSOB, IVASS and the Garante per la protezione dei dati personali. Capo II carries the operative provisions across Articles 2 to 35: authority designation and coordination, the notification system at Article 13, market surveillance powers at Articles 14 to 18, penalties at Articles 19 to 25, and regulatory sandboxes at Articles 26 to 31.
Providers and deployers of artificial intelligence systems on the Italian market now have identified supervisors rather than one generalist regulator. Banks and investment firms answer to Banca d'Italia and CONSOB for artificial intelligence used in supervised activity, insurers to IVASS, and controllers processing personal data through artificial intelligence systems to the Garante. Firms outside those sectors face the Agenzia per la Cybersicurezza Nazionale as market surveillance authority, while AgID handles notification of conformity assessment bodies. Inspection powers and penalty exposure apply from 23 October 2026.
Two features deserve attention before that date. Capo II, sezione VI, at Articles 26 to 31, builds the Italian artificial intelligence sandbox alongside the existing FinTech sandbox created by Article 36, paragraphs 2-bis to 2-novies, of Decree Law no. 34 of 2019, so financial sector testing may run through either route. Capo III, at Articles 36 to 51, reaches artificial intelligence in training pathways, the regulated professions, employment, healthcare and public administration, which carries the decree beyond product compliance into professional and workplace duties.
Licentium advises providers, deployers and financial institutions on Italian and EU artificial intelligence compliance. Work we undertake includes mapping which Italian market surveillance authority supervises a given artificial intelligence system, preparing conformity and notification documentation, assessing penalty exposure under Articles 19 to 25, and preparing applications for the Italian artificial intelligence sandbox and the FinTech sandbox.
Source: Decreto legislativo 7 ottobre 2026, n. 179, Gazzetta Ufficiale n. 234 of 8 October 2026 (Normattiva)