I'm sure this has come up numerous times before, but

Paul,

the simplest option would be to open a current account at a bank in Italy and communicate the details of the account to the companies that provide the services (electricity, water, gas ..)

In most cases, this operation also includes an Italian phone number

from your surname, it seems that you are an Italian citizen, if you are not, now that you have bought a house in Italy, you can easily apply for <elective residence> in Italy -

more information, here> https://www.lifeinitaly.it/Inglese/italyresidenceguide.htm

Hi we set up a local bank account and had it all automated.

However it stopped after awhile and we ran into the no italian phone number issue.

As a temp work around i paid online via paypal account with no problems. it is not a big problem as our bill is every 2 months.

When there in Italy we bought a cheap mobile (€25<>) and had a PAYG sim with WIND to start with, then TIM simply because things were going that way then. I've so many old mobiles now it would never be a problem here.... Unfortunately pretty soon I don't think you will be able to get by without a "smart" mobile!

to make your bank account work, with a simple mobile phone, simply activate, directly from your current account, or perhaps by sending an email to your bank, the service called OTM
- one time password - with this system your current account, sends a code to your mobile number, with which you authorize the payment - all Italian banks have this system, especially for the elderly, who are not familiar with smartphones - I use it too, it prevents the possibility that someone, haker, is inserted into your smartphone - it usually costs 10 euros per year - and it is very practical. For wind, the receipt of the banking sms has no cost

We had the same issue , my Italian neighbour gave me her mobile number and she received the code which she emailed to me. It seems they just want a number to send a code.Perhaps someone on this forum can help you by giving you their Italian number and finding a set time to send you the code.

Paul  , Ubi banca has joined Banca Intesa - within 2/3 months, you will receive a communication, in which they will tell you that your current account has been transferred to the new bank and you will be assigned a - manager - that is a person who follows you for any necessity. Just send him an email, and he will activate the service on your account - I don't know when melanieclark, he got the code, on a phone number that isn't his - Now, I don't know it's possible - l The only way is for someone to buy a phone sim with your document and do the whole process, with a power of attorney or proxy, at a bank branch, then send you the sim by post. I have been using this procedure, on Banca Intesa, for some years.

Going forward I think it is likely you will need a mobile number for most things. Perhaps longer term Italy (and the UK) will get with it and allow any numbers (not just local). In the meantime there may be a simpler way than the solution I had. It may be possible to get a virtual sim number using the likes of Skype. There are many more out there like "Cloud sim", but they don't yet do Italy, but I'm sure more than Skype will do so.