Getting Married on the Amalfi Coast

Yes. Italy lets two non-resident foreigners marry on its territory, and the towns of the Amalfi Coast do it every week from April to October. There are three routes, and the first decision is which one is yours.

• A civil ceremony, celebrated by the mayor or a delegate in the town hall or in a venue the town has approved. Legally binding in Italy and recognised in the United States.
• A Catholic ceremony in a church, legally binding thanks to the agreement between Italy and the Holy See, with extra paperwork from your home parish.
• A symbolic ceremony, anywhere you like and led by anyone you like, with no legal effect. Couples who choose it marry legally at home, before or after.

Because neither of you lives in Italy, no banns (the Italian "pubblicazioni") are required. That removes the longest step in the process for Italian couples.

The United States does not issue a certificate that says you are free to marry, so Italy accepts two sworn statements instead. Both have to be made in person, which is why we schedule them into your first trip or the days before the wedding.

• A valid passport.
• The Nulla Osta, a sworn statement (called an affidavit or "Dichiarazione giurata") signed in front of a consular officer at the US Consulate General in Naples, then stamped by the Prefettura of the province where you marry.
• The Atto Notorio, a declaration by two witnesses who are not relatives that nothing prevents the marriage. It can be sworn at an Italian consulate in the US before you travel, or at a court in Italy.
• If either of you was married before: the final divorce decree or the death certificate of the former spouse, with an apostille and an Italian translation.

On the day you need two witnesses and, if you do not speak Italian, an interpreter. We provide both.

Every other nationality needs a Nulla Osta issued by its own embassy or consulate in Italy, or a certificate of no impediment from home legalised for use abroad. The rules differ by country and change, so we check them for each couple before anything else is booked. Couples with two different passports prepare one set of documents each.

Each town celebrates in its town hall and in a small number of approved places. These are the ones foreign couples ask for most.

• Ravello: the town hall, and the belvedere gardens above the sea that the town has approved for ceremonies.
• Positano: the town hall.
• Amalfi: the town hall.
• Sorrento: the fourteenth-century cloister of San Francesco, next to the Villa Comunale gardens.
• The smaller towns of the coast also celebrate civil weddings for foreign couples, with fewer crowds.

The ceremony is in Italian, so an interpreter is required if either of you does not understand it. Two witnesses sign the register. The town hall registers the marriage and issues the certificate, which we have translated and apostilled for use at home.

A Catholic wedding on the Amalfi Coast is legally binding in Italy and needs both the civil documents above and the church file. The file starts at your home parish: the pre-marriage course, baptism and confirmation certificates, and the bishop’s permission to marry abroad, which your diocese sends to the Archdiocese of Amalfi–Cava de’ Tirreni (or Sorrento–Castellammare for the Sorrento peninsula). Allow six months. The Cathedral of Sant’Andrea in Amalfi and the churches of Positano and Ravello celebrate Catholic weddings for foreign couples.

A symbolic ceremony has no legal value and no paperwork, which is precisely its appeal. It can take place on a cliff terrace, on a boat, in a garden or on a beach, at the hour the light is best, led by a celebrant, a friend or a family member. Many of the American couples we plan for marry legally at home a few days before flying and celebrate here. Nobody at the reception can tell the difference.

• Twelve to eighteen months before: choose the town and the venue. Saturdays in May, June and September at well-known venues go first.
• Six months before: start the documents. Book the appointment at the US Consulate in Naples and arrange the Atto Notorio (or, for other nationalities, request the Nulla Osta from your embassy). Start the parish file for a Catholic wedding.
• Four months before: formally request the civil ceremony from the town hall, with the date, the venue and the names of the witnesses.
• Six weeks before: legalisations and sworn translations complete; the Prefettura stamp on the US Nulla Osta is obtained during your first days in Italy if it was not possible earlier.
• The week of the wedding: a short meeting at the town hall to check the file, then nothing else to think about.

The Amalfi Coast has two wedding seasons. Late May and June bring long evenings (sunset around half past eight) and a sea already warm enough to swim. September and the first half of October bring softer light, sunsets around seven, and towns that have exhaled after August. July and August are hot, the coast road is slow and hotels charge their peak rates; we recommend them only for small weddings that never leave the venue.

A few local dates to know: Amalfi celebrates its patron Sant’Andrea on 27 June and 30 November, Ravello hosts its music festival through the summer, and 15 August (Ferragosto) closes half of Italy. Spring and autumn also mean better availability for the photographers and musicians you will want.

Prices on the Amalfi Coast are shaped by three things: how exclusive the venue is, how many guests move by sea and by road, and how many days you celebrate. Rather than quote figures that depend on all three, we ask every couple to place themselves in one of the budget bands of our enquiry form, or to ask for guidance.

• €30,000 to €60,000: the elopement band, for the two of you and your closest people.
• €60,000 to €100,000.
• €100,000 to €200,000.
• €200,000 and above.

Tell us your band and we will say honestly what it buys on this coast, and where the same money goes further, whether that is Sorrento, Tuscany or Umbria.