Before 1959, prostitution in Italy was fully legal into
so-called case chiuse (closed houses), private houses where prostitution
could be legally carried on. In 1959, the legge Merlin (Merlin Law, named
after its main author, socialist MP Lina Merlin) was approved: this law,
still in force today, revoked the regulation of prostitution in the country,
closed the case chiuse and established a new offence called sfruttamento
della prostituzione (exploitation, solicitation of prostitution) with the
aim to punish pimping. The law, despite its good intentions to give more
rights to dependent prostitutes, caused a notable increase of street
prostitution.
Street prostitution became much more visible in the
early 1990s with the migratory wave from Eastern European countries
after the fall of the Soviet regime. Until 2008, there were no laws
against street prostitution (although other laws concerning public order
and decency could be used, and some places had local ordinances against
street prostitution). At the end of 2008, a new measure outlawing street
prostitution was approved by the Italian Cabinet.
