Despite the existence of two targeted national programmes (ï¿1⁄2Bonus gasï¿1⁄2 and ï¿1⁄2Bonus energiaï¿1⁄2) in Italy there is no official definition of energy poverty (EP). The purpose of this study is to provide the reader with a set of indicators to fill this gap. We present a range of poverty measures which estimate that between 5 and 20 per cent of households was in EP in 2012. A selection based on qualitative criteria suggests the use of a low-income/high-costs indicator modified to include the economically vulnerable households with no heating expenses. According to this statistic the proportion of households in EP during the period 1997-2012 was broadly stable at around 8 per cent. Our simulations indicate that the tools available to counter EP in Italy would have yielded a modest reduction in energy vulnerable households.