You Need to Know How to Open a Playground Project In Italy

Foreword: Opening an indoor children's playground or trampoline park in Italy is currently experiencing a period of rising demand and market activity. While Italian families don't have particularly high entertainment budgets, they have a clear and growing demand for high-quality, safe indoor activity spaces. The market is also showing a trend of shifting from single-purpose entertainment to "comprehensive solutions," emphasizing the integration of social interaction, sports, technology, and experiences.

Multi-functional experiences are the mainstream: Successful projects are no longer just single trampoline parks, but comprehensive entertainment centers integrating sports, social interaction, dining, and parties.

Differentiation and theming: To stand out from the competition, themed design (such as a space theme) and precise positioning (such as a sports and social trampoline park targeting children aged 5-15) are becoming new trends.

Promising return on investment: According to some project plans, the return on investment cycle for a clearly positioned indoor playground may be around 1.2 to 1.8 years.

Opening Process: Key Steps

The opening process in Italy is mainly divided into three parts. However, due to the more detailed regulations in Italy, there are some points that require special attention.

Step 1: Company Registration and Administrative Licensing

This is the foundation for legal operation.

Business Registration: First, you need to complete company registration with the Italian Chamber of Commerce (Camera di Commercio) to obtain your VAT number (Codice Fiscale) and business license (Partita IVA).

Applying for Key Permits: In Italy, indoor children's playgrounds and trampoline parks are explicitly classified as "public entertainment venues" (locali di pubblico spettacolo), therefore, a "Public Entertainment Venue Occupancy Permit" (Licenza di Agibilità) issued by the Municipal Oversight Committee (CCV) is required. This is the most crucial permit. • The CCV is a panel of experts from multiple departments, including mayoral representatives, local police, health department doctors, municipal structural and electrical engineers, and provincial fire brigade commanders. It is responsible for technically assessing and approving the stability, safety, and especially the evacuation capacity of emergency exits of the site.

More Detailed Document Preparation: When applying, you need to prepare detailed technical documents covering all aspects of the site's structure, electrical system, and fire safety, and you must make an appointment in advance to submit them.

Food Business License (if required): If you plan to provide catering services within the park, an additional food business license is required, along with establishing a HACCP food safety management system that complies with EU requirements.

Step 2: Site and Safety Compliance Italy has very strict safety and hygiene requirements, making this a crucial area to focus on before opening.

Site Selection and Rent:

Ideal Location: Shopping malls, areas near middle- to high-income residential areas, or tourist cities are popular choices.

Rental Reference: Rents are higher in the city centers of major cities (such as Milan and Rome), approximately €50-100/square meter/month; costs are lower in suburbs or second-tier cities, approximately €20-40/square meter/month.

Site Design:

Functional Zoning: Clearly defined areas are needed: a toddler area (0-3 years old, soft play equipment), a children's area (4-8 years old, climbing and slides), a parent-child interaction area, and a parent rest area.

Safety Exits: Italy places extremely high importance on fire safety; fire safety is a "veto" item in the approval process. Compliance with the Fire Protection Code: The park's fire protection design and equipment configuration (such as emergency exits, fire extinguishers, and smoke detectors) must comply with the Italian Fire Protection Code (Codice dell’Incendio). Required safety exits must be provided, for example, at least one emergency exit per 50 square meters, with a width of no less than 1.2 meters.

Facility Safety Standards – Paramount Importance:

Core Standard: All amusement equipment must comply with the EU EN 1176 series of safety standards (latest being UNI EN 1176-1:2024) and be CE certified.

Equipment Procurement: Suppliers must be required to provide compliance certificates conforming to the EN 1176 standard during procurement.

Step 3: Operational Preparation and Localization

Insurance and Personnel: Public liability insurance (Responsabilità Civile Generale) covering visitor accidents must be purchased, and employees must be enrolled in mandatory insurance from the National Social Security Agency (INPS). Employee training must include first aid skills.

Respecting Local Customs:Lunch Break Culture: Italians value lunch breaks (Pausa Meridiana). Consider adjusting business hours, such as 10:00-13:30 and 15:30-19:00.

Summer Strategy: Many families go on vacation in July and August. Offer activities such as "summer camps" to attract families staying behind.

Services for Parents: Provide a comfortable parent lounge, coffee bar, and Wi-Fi to align with the Italian preference for "social parenting."

Summary and Recommendations: 

In short, the formula for success in Italy might be: compliant safety standards + a diversified business model + meticulous local operations.

1. Hire Local Professional Consultants: Given the complexity of administrative processes, it is strongly recommended to hire a registered architect, engineer, or accountant familiar with local regulations to assist in preparing the complete set of technical documents required for CCV and handling the formalities.

2. Procurement of Compliant Equipment: From the initial equipment procurement stage, require suppliers to provide CE certification and compliance certificates that comply with the latest version of EN 1176 or related standards. Suppliers with successful implementation cases in Italy or the EU should be given priority consideration.

3. Establish contact with local authorities: In the early stages of the project, proactively communicate with relevant municipal departments in the project location to understand if there are any additional localization requirements. This helps avoid detours later on.

While the Italian market has higher entry barriers, it also means that once successfully entered, the competitive barriers are relatively higher. If you have further questions about any aspect, such as the specific document list for the CCV application, or the details of the EN 1176 standard, please feel free to ask.

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