Are there any laws in Italy about head coverings I should be aware of?

Question

I'm visiting Rome in September with my wife who wears a head scarf.

Are there any rules or customs we should be aware of?

Answer 1

In short: you have nothing to worry about.

The only Italian law which is somehow related to your case is for public security, it prohibits wearing or doing things that make a face difficult to be recognised if there is not a rightful reason to do it. So:

1. A headscarf, as far as I understand the term, does not cover the face so it's not a problem at all
2. Religion is considered a rightful reason to cover one's face. _{(but when I stop at the fuel pump, for example, I have to remove both my helmet and the eventual helmet lining)}

And, to be honest, many Italian women wear an headscarf while in Rome both to show respect when entering churches and to protect themselves from the sun, so it's not something unseen either.

---

Law references (but still, I'm not a lawyer)

Testo unico della legge di pubblica sicurezza, articolo 85, decreto regio 18 giugno 1931, n. 773

prohibits to

comparire mascherati in luogo pubblico / appear masked in a public place

and then

Legge 8 agosto 1977, n. 533, Disposizioni in materia di ordine pubblico, Articolo 2

prohibits

l'uso di caschi protettivi / use of protective helmets

or

qualunque altro mezzo atto a rendere difficoltoso il riconoscimento della persona, in luogo pubblico o aperto al pubblico, senza giustificato motivo / any other mean aimed to make difficult to recognise a person, in a public place [e.g. a square] or open to the public [e.g. a museum or a bar], without a justified reason

As I stated before religion is actually considered a justified reason; the only current pitfall is that as of August 2017 the county of Veneto seems to have declared illegal the use of Niqab and Burka -but I can't find the exact law, and on top on that I'm not even sure if such a law can be recognised on a national level, sounds more like the stuff that local administrations do to show off to their electors.