In this article, a series of techniques and tools necessary for the translation of phraseological units are reviewed. Using Corpas Pastor’s contributions to the literature (2000a, 2000b, 2001) as a point of departure, we examine the assumptions on which they are based, to then go on to review two techniques proposed by Sevilla and Sevilla (2004), and by Sevilla Muñoz (2009), respectively: i.e. the actantial technique and the thematic technique. Finally, we review the major dictionaries in which phrases from Spanish and Italian are collected and highlight their strengths and weaknesses from the standpoint of the translation of the phraseology concerned.