TheItaly national water polo team representsItaly in men's internationalwater polo competitions and is controlled byFedernuoto (the Italian Aquatics Federation). The national men's team has the nickname of "Settebello" (lit. 'Nice Seven'), the term for the seven of diamonds in the Italian card gamescopa and a pun on a standard water polo team having seven players.
The Italian men's water polo team has won 8Olympic medals, 7World Championships, 5World Cup, 11European Championships medals and 3World League medals, making them one of themost successful men's water polo teams in the world. They have won a combined twelve championships in those five competitions, with the World League, the last competition which Italy won in 2022.
Water Polo became popular in Italy soon after 1899, when an exhibition match was played at the Bath of Diana in Milan, with the match being described in the press as: "like football but more tiring and difficult, requiring energy and strength beyond the ordinary".[1]
Although a domestic league was soon established, the Italy national water polo team did not first compete at the Olympic Games until the1920 Olympics, inAntwerp,Belgium, where they were forced to forfeit their first round match, before losing 5–1 toGreece and being eliminated.
The national team first fulfilled their potential at the1948 Summer Olympics inLondon,England, when they went undefeated for the whole tournament to claim their first gold medal in the discipline.
The Italian team reclaimed the title of Olympic champions in front of a home crowd at the1960 Olympics inRome,Italy. Italy won their third Olympic title at the1992 Summer Olympics inBarcelona,Spain, beating the hosts and tournament favouritesSpain 9–8 after extra time in a thrilling final. OnlyHungary (9), and Great Britain (4) have more Olympic titles.
The Italy national side have also won four World Championships, in1978,1994,2011 and2019, and the World Cup once in1993. Italy also claimed their first European Championship in1947.
| Competition |  |  |  | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Olympic Games | 3 | 2 | 3 | 8 |
| World Championship | 4 | 4 | 1 | 9 |
| World Cup | 1 | 4 | 1 | 6 |
| World League | 1 | 3 | 1 | 5 |
| European Championship | 3 | 2 | 7 | 12 |
| Europa Cup | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Universiade | 4 | 4 | 6 | 14 |
| Mediterranean Games | 6 | 6 | 2 | 14 |
| Total | 22 | 25 | 22 | 69 |
| Year[2] | Position | Pld | W | D | L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 1900 | did not participate | ||||
 1904 | |||||
 1908 | |||||
 1912 | |||||
 1920 | 10th | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 1924 | 11th | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 1928 | did not participate | ||||
 1932 | |||||
 1936 | |||||
| 1948 | | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 |
 1952 | | 8 | 6 | 0 | 2 |
 1956 | 4th | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
 1960 | | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 |
 1964 | 4th | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
 1968 | 4th | 9 | 6 | 1 | 2 |
 1972 | 6th | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
 1976 | | 8 | 4 | 3 | 1 |
 1980 | 8th | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 |
| 1984 | 7th | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
 1988 | 7th | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
 1992 | | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 |
| 1996 | | 8 | 7 | 0 | 1 |
| 2000 | 5th | 8 | 6 | 0 | 2 |
 2004 | 8th | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 |
 2008 | 9th | 8 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| 2012 | | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2 |
 2016 | | 8 | 5 | 0 | 3 |
| 2020 | 7th | 8 | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| 2024 | 7th | 8 | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| Total | 22/28 | 151 | 91 | 18 | 42 |
| Year | Position | Pld | W | D | L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 1973 | 4th | 8 | 5 | 0 | 3 |
 1975 | | 8 | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| 1978 | | 8 | 5 | 3 | 0 |
 1982 | 9th | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 |
| 1986 | | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 |
| 1991 | 6th | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 |
| 1994 | | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| 1998 | 5th | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2 |
| 2001 | 4th | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 |
| 2003 | | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 |
| 2005 | 8th | 7 | 2 | 0 | 5 |
| 2007 | 5th | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 |
| 2009 | 11th | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| 2011 | | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 2013 | 4th | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 |
 2015 | 4th | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 |
 2017 | 6th | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 |
| 2019 | | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 |
| 2023 | 5th | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 |
 2024 | | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 |
 2025 | 7th | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 |
| Total | 22/22 | 153 | 99 | 13 | 41 |
Silver medal Silver medal Bronze medal Silver medal Gold medal Gold medal Bronze medal Bronze medal Bronze medal Bronze medal Gold medal Gold medal Bronze medal Silver medal Silver medal Bronze medal Bronze medal Bronze medal Gold medal Silver medal Gold medal Silver medal Silver medal Gold medal Silver medal Bronze medal Gold medal Gold medal Gold medal Silver medal Silver medal Bronze medalRoster for the2025 World Championships.[3][4]
Head coach:Sandro Campagna
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