cell phone plug adapter for Italy

What type of phone? And is it Dual Voltage?

If you have a newer smartphone most are dual voltage but check the phone to be sure. If you have a dual voltage phone then all you need is a Adapter. The store on Rick's site has them for $1 plus shipping. You can get them locally at stores too. You want to Continental Version if you order from RS. It has the 2 round pins that fit into the wall sockets in Italy.

http://travelstore.ricksteves.com/catalog/index.cfm?fuseaction=product&theParentId=126&id=24

If you phone is not Dual Voltage then you will need a Power Converter which is heavy and adds weight to your bag.

I use the $1 adapter for my iPhone, iPad and Canon Power Shot camera. Okay, $3 altogether. I keep the adapter attached to each device's charger so I don't have to look for it.

You're covered with the advice above.

To begin with, It's VERY important to verify that the cell phone charger is designed for operation from 100-240 VAC. You can check that by looking for the words "Input Voltage" on the Charger. If the charger is designed only for 115 VAC, it will self-destruct immediately as soon as you connect it to the outlet in Europe using your shiny new Plug Adaptor!

The second point to consider is whether your cell phone will even work in Europe. If it's an older model with Verizon or Sprint, it may only be equipped with CDMA technology which WON'T work at all. If it's an older AT&T or T-Mobile model, it may only have the two North American frequency bands, and again WON'T work in Europe.

Regarding Plug Adaptors, this is the model for connecting ungrounded appliances in continental Europe.....

http://www.magellans.com/magellan-s-european-style-adapter-plug

I'd suggest packing at least two, as they're small and easy to misplace.

I bought that RS Universal Adapter. It intrigued me, i think it's genius.

Anyway I am glad I had the RS Universal Adapter with me in Italy because often the charger on my iphone 5 was not adequate enough to make a charge.

I had to attach the iphone charger to the charger from the RS Universal Adapter, and then attach that charger to the adapter. And that worked.

One other thing to think about is if you have more than one thing to charge overnight. I carry a "cheater plug" it has 3, 110 outlets and a single plug. I plug it into the adapter in Europe, right at the wall outlet and then can plug in my phone, camera and tablet into the cheater plug at the same time. The plugs cost a couple of dollars at Home Depot and are small and weigh virtually nothing.