In order to increase the overall performance and appeal of our website, sometimes we install on your browser some small files containing data: these files are called “cookies”. Cookie creation is a standard process for the majority of websites and web services to improve the navigation experience of their users.
You can review and manage the cookies created by this website using our Privacy Preference Center.
For additional info about privacy, check out our dedicated Privacy Policy page.
What are Cookies?
They’re a small text file containing preferences and/or information of a single user. Thanks to these files the website is able to remember your actions and preferences (like login data, language, size of fonts & other GUI and display-related settings) so that you won’t have to manually set them on every visit.
Types of Cookies
Cookies, usually present in users’ browsers in very large numbers and sometimes even with long temporal persistence, are used for different purposes: execution of computer authentication, monitoring of sessions, storage of information on specific configurations concerning users who access the server, etc.
In order to arrive at a correct regulation of such devices, it was necessary to distinguish them since there are no technical characteristics that differentiate them from one another precisely on the basis of the aims pursued by those who use them. For this very reason, the EU Directive 2009/136 – as implemented in Italy – led back to the obligation to obtain a preventive and informed user consent before installing any type of cookie except the technical ones (Article 1, paragraph 5, letter a of the May 28, 2012, n. 69 Italian legislative decree, which amended the art. 122 of the Code). According to that regulation, the Italian Privacy Authority identified two macro-categories to distinguish cookies: “technical” cookies and “profiling” cookies.
Technical Cookies
Technical cookies are those used for the sole purpose of “transmitting a communication over an electronic communications network or required to provide a service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user” (see Article 122, paragraph 1, of the Code). They are not used for other purposes and are normally installed directly by the website owner.
Technical cookies can be split upon:
- Browsing or session cookies, which guarantee the normal navigation and use of the website (allowing, for example, to make a purchase or authenticate to access restricted areas);
- Analytics cookies, similar to technical cookies when used directly by the site operator to collect information, in aggregate form, on the number of users and how they visit the site;
- Functional cookies, which allow the user to navigate according to a series of selected criteria (for example, the language, the products selected for purchase) in order to provide or to improve the service provided.
Installing these types of cookie does not require user consent, as long as they are properly referenced and explained within the website (art. 122, comma 1).
Profiling Cookies
Profiling cookies are designed to fetch & retrieve data regarding the user in order to send customized and/or contextualized advertising messages with the precise aim of matching his/her tastes. Since these cookies can have a major impact within the private sphere of users, EU and Italian legislation require the user to be adequately informed about their existence and usage and also express a valid consent: “the storage of information in the terminal device of a contractor or a user or access to information already filed is permitted only on condition that the contractor or the user has given his consent after being was informed with the simplified procedures referred to in Article 13, paragraph 3 “ (art. 122, paragraph 1).
How we use cookies?
The cookies used on this website are divided into three categories, corresponding to the functions carried out: Required, Analytics and Advertising. An informative text containing a link to the Privacy Policy & Cookie Policy, a comprehensive list of all cookies and the opt-in & opt-out settings for each cookie category, is presented to users upon their first access to the website through a banner overlay which disappears only after an explicit confirmation acceptance.
Each user, after their explicit acceptance, can review and/or modify the consents provided at any time by accessing the Privacy Preference Center (see above).
The overlay banner is automatically shown to each user after 12 months from their last acceptance; the informative text is automatically presented to each user whenever the Privacy Policy or the Cookie Policy are subject to change.
How can you control your cookies?
You can control your cookies and/or learn more info in the following websites:
- aboutcookies.org, a great online resource about cookies containing useful info about how to enable, disable, control and/or optionally delete them.
- Cookies – European Commission, the EU regulation law reference site hosted by the European Commission.
- Cookie – Garante Privacy, the IT regulation law reference site hosted by the Italian Privacy Authority (Garante della Privacy) office.
- HTTP cookie – Wikipedia, the entry on Wikipedia.com (click here for the same entry published on Wikipedia Italia).
How to block all cookies?
It is possible to block all cookies – including the technical cookies – by selecting the appropriate setting of your browser: Visit this page to learn how to do that with the most common browsers, including: Internet Explorer, Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, Opera and so on. Browsing the website should still be possible, although some functions and/or UI elements could cease working.
