A formal Italian email opens with *Gentile Dottoressa Rossi* (or *Gentile Signor Bianchi*) and closes with *Cordiali saluti*. In between you use *Lei* and avoid a direct tone: formal Italian is more ceremonious than formal English, and sounding brusque costs you more than sounding elaborate.
The opening
Gentile + title and surname is the safe choice in almost any situation: Gentile Dott.ssa Rossi, Gentile Sig. Bianchi, Gentile Professoressa Conti.
Egregio is more formal and now sounds slightly archaic: fine for an official letter, less so for an everyday email.
If you don't have a name: Gentili Signori, or simply Buongiorno, which is now accepted professionally.
Italians use titles far more than English speakers do. Dottore and Dottoressa belong to anyone with a degree, not just doctors — if you know the person graduated, using it is correct rather than excessive.
The body
Use Lei, in the third person: Le scrivo per…, La ringrazio per la Sua disponibilità. The courtesy capitals (Le, Sua) are a mark of respect and worth keeping in formal correspondence.
Formulas that recur constantly: Le scrivo in merito a… (I'm writing regarding…), Vorrei chiederLe…, Resto a disposizione per ogni chiarimento, In attesa di un Suo riscontro (looking forward to your reply).
Avoid the direct tone that works in English. Mi mandi il documento is grammatically fine but reads as an order: better Le sarei grato se potesse inviarmi il documento. The circumlocution isn't inefficiency, it's the register.
The close, and three tells
Cordiali saluti is the standard sign-off and always works. Distinti saluti is more formal and cooler. Un cordiale saluto is slightly warmer, for someone you already know.
First tell: signing off with just Saluti, which is informal and clashes with a formal opening.
Second: mixing registers — opening with Gentile Dottoressa and switching to tu three lines later. If you open with Lei, keep it to the end.
Third: translating your own language's formulas literally. "I hope this email finds you well" has no Italian equivalent — Italians get to the point right after the greeting.
Related questions
Gentile or Egregio?
*Gentile* in the vast majority of cases. *Egregio* is more formal and now reads as dated: it survives in official letters, rarely in email.
How do you close an informal email in Italian?
*A presto*, *Un abbraccio* with friends, or *Grazie e a presto*. *Cordiali saluti* between friends would sound cold.
Updated 2026-07-29