What is the role of an Italian Notary public (“Notaio Pubblico”) in Italian real estate transactions?

1. ITALIAN PUBLIC NOTARY (“NOTAIO PUBLICO”)
What is the role of an Italian Notary
public (“Notaio Pubblico”) in Italian real
estate transactions?
Italian Public Notaries are public officers
who play a fundamental role in Italian
conveyance.
In Fact, any contract transferring the
ownership of a property, in order to be
validly executed, needs to be signed in front of a Public Notary as well as countersigned by the
Notary.
The Notary will verify the parties’ identities as well as conduct a review of all the documentation
concerning the property that is being sold. The Public Notary will also verify the selling and
buying parties’ respective powers and entitlement to be part of the transaction.
In addition, according to the Italian Law, Italian Public Notaries are responsible for
calculating taxes applicable to the transaction, as well as collect them from the parties upon
execution of the final contract of sale and timely pay them on behalf of the parties.
After the execution of the Purchase Contract, the Public Notary files the property title with the
local Land registry (“Conservatoria dei Registri Immobiliari”). Only after such filing the
transaction is officially public.
Once taxes have been paid and the deed has been filed with the “Conservatoria”, the Public
Notary keeps the original on his/her books and makes true copies available for the parties.
Common practice holds that the Notary is chosen and paid by the purchaser. An important point
to remember is that the Notary is an Italian officer fulfilling an official role and does not work on
behalf of the buyer or the seller, but serves as a neutral party.
Check this article at http://italianrealestatelawyers.com/learn/italian-public-notary/