Euros to Italy

Ask if he/she would accept an electronic transfer through Paypal. Wiring money through a bank service is too pricy.

Your only protection from potential fraud is a credit (not debit) card charge of a small deposit. If he won't take that, walk away from this.

PayPal or credit card only . If he asks for bank transfer , walk away

IF you trust this person and want to wire funds then look into transferwise. Fees are much lower than a bank transfer. I used this for an apartment deposit - the transfer worked quite well and fees were as advertised (low). As far as wiring funds, this certainly could be a scam, be careful! However, the apartment I used was not. Owner said this form of payment was more common in his area of Spain. Not sure if that's true, but the apartment was quite nice and professional so I don't know why he'd lie. However, scammers do use these transfers as well, so...caution!

As Mira suggested transferwise.com is much cheaper than a bank transfer. I just used it the other day for deposit on a apartment in Italy. Easy.

It seems that transferwise use a third party (their account) to send the funds, a bank for instance is certified by law, is this the case with them?
How does the receiver know where the money come from And who send it?

I would never pay in full in advance unless by credit card. How would you know he will show up? What if he/she doesn't. Then what? IMHO.

I have booked quite a few tours online in advance and didn't need to pay up front. Unless for a major site like the Vatican.

Arrange your tour via www.toursbylocals.com and pay with a credit card. TBL connects you with locals who live in the area. We've used it all over Europe and Russia with great success. You get to read about each guide and their tours as well as reviews written by previous travelers who used the guide's services.