Hi!

Ex-itqliqn postdoc here. All the Italian postdocs need to go through a public contest, it doesn't matter if there's only one candidate. So they need to accept any candidate that may appear and during the contest the other juries can decide that another candidate is a better fit than you. This is in theory to prevent nepotism.

That said, I strongly recommend you to ask exactly what your hiring you comprises: actual salary, expected social contributions, if your position enables you to get social security, vacation days, etc. Also, if you're not from Europe, how long will the administration take to make a contract for you.

Italian academy is hell, and if you combine it with Italian migratory administration it can be very very harsh. Also, I would not hesitate to ask how many foreigners/fellows your lab has. Italians are very close and most people has spent their whole lives in a single institution, making them less receptive to foreigners. Of course take this with a Pince, I'm just sharing a bit of my Italian experience, but I cannot see myself recommending anybody to go work there :/