A civil wedding in Rome: how it works
A civil ceremony in Rome is legally binding straight away, but there is a compulsory paper trail before it. The city offers four official rooms for the ceremony, some of them genuinely beautiful. Here is how it works, in order.
1. The paperwork
It comes in three steps.
Documents. Birth and residence certificates are no longer required: you simply appear with valid identity documents and your Italian tax codes. If either of you is a foreign national, you will need the nulla osta — the certificate of no impediment to marriage.
Publication of banns. You book an appointment at the district office where you are resident, which can be done online through the Roma Capitale portal. The notice stays posted on the online public register for at least eight consecutive days.
Clearance to marry. Three days after the banns come down, allowing for any objections, the city issues the certificate of publication. From that moment you have 180 days to marry, in Rome or in any other Italian town.
2. The civic rooms
Sala Rossa, Campidoglio
The most iconic room and the most requested, on Piazza del Campidoglio. Red velvet and historic furniture: right for a traditional, formal ceremony.
Complesso Vignola Mattei, by the Baths of Caracalla
A deconsecrated convent surrounded by greenery. A quieter, more intimate feeling, and the room I'd choose if you want photographs outdoors immediately after the ceremony.
Villa Lais
In the San Giovanni–Tuscolana district. The room occupies a deconsecrated nineteenth-century chapel inside a public park, with period frescoes. Intimate in tone, and soft in light.
Sala Azzurra, Ostia
In the tenth district, inside the Liberty-style Governorate building. The right choice if you want the ceremony near the coast.
3. What the rooms cost
The fee depends on the day of the week and on whether either of you is resident in Rome. The city's standard bands are these.
| Residency of the couple | Weekdays | Weekends |
|---|---|---|
| At least one resident in Rome | Free, or a minimum fee of around €150 | Roughly €300 to €500 |
| Resident in the province of Rome | Roughly €300 to €500 | Roughly €700 to €900 |
| Neither resident, or foreign nationals | From around €1,200 | Up to around €1,400 – €1,800 |
These fees are set by the city council and they change. Always confirm them with the registry office before you budget. On public holiday weekends the historic rooms, the Campidoglio in particular, are charged at the top of the band.
4. How the ceremony goes
It lasts fifteen to twenty minutes. The registrar reads articles 143, 144 and 147 of the Italian Civil Code on the rights and duties of spouses; you each say yes and, if you wish, exchange rings; then you sign the register together with your two witnesses — one each, and compulsory — and the registrar.
You can make it your own with readings by friends, vows you have written yourselves, and music. All of it has to be agreed in advance with whoever runs the room.