I'm not sure about Italy but in France all phones are unlocked.
Not so - earlier this year my 7 yr old SFR SIM Card which I was using in an old Nokia gave up and I went to the SFR shop to buy a new SIM Card. The difference in price of a new SIM Card and a new SIM Card in a new LG KG275 phone was only 8 Euros.I bought the card and phone - but it's locked. If I put an O2 card in it comes up with the caption 'Inserer carte SIM correcte'. I've tried, unsuccessfully, to unlock it myself.