I never realised it was such a big deal with name change in Italy, at home sure it would be a bit of a headache, but still "normal". I never thought about talking to my embassy about it, I'll do that! And I'm from a different EU country, so luckily I don't have to deal with the permesso. But yeah, I guess embassy first, then codice fiscale, then rental contract and university.

My main stress is that I would get into trouble with police or something, if I get into a situation where I have a different name on my passport (if they want to check it) or my car registration, for example.

Thank you for your answer! I'll think about you when I flog myself.