It's nice to have a mobile (as they say in Europe) or cell (as
they say in the US) phone in Italy. It's great to have an unlocked phone.
Prepaid mobile phone are the norm in Europe. In 2009 we were able to get cheap
pre-paid phones to use.

Recently I've unlocked that phone and my Samsung Mythic. See
here.

So the idea is to get pre-paid SIM cards to go into these phones.

Here is what Rick Steve's writes about this here:
http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/tips/mobilephones.htm

Buying SIM Cards If you have an unlocked phone — whether brought
from the US or purchased in Europe — you can buy a SIM card to make it work in
Europe. Remember that a SIM card is a small, fingernail-size chip that stores
your phone number and other information. If your phone is unlocked, getting your
own European phone number is easier and cheaper than you might imagine.

While you can buy European SIM cards online from the US, they're usually
overpriced — just buy one when you arrive in Europe. Each country has various
service providers, all of whom sell their own SIM cards. Since these companies
are very competitive, they're pretty much the same — just look for a good deal.
Most SIM cards cost around $5–15. They come with a European phone number and
starter credit. You can buy additional prepaid credit as you go: Buy a printed
voucher from that provider at a mobile-phone shop or newsstand, then punch in
the numbers from the voucher to add the time to your phone. There are various
ways to keep track of your credit (depending on the provider) — sometimes your
remaining credit is automatically displayed after each call, or you might have
to call or text a service number to find out.

Flavio Tebaldi <<worlds>>
writes:

There are four main mobile operators in Italy (TIM, Vodafone, 3HG
and Wind). 3HG works only with 3G phones, it's the cheapest and works in roaming
with TIM coverage when there is no 3G signal.

http://www.tre.it/public/tariffe_ricariche.php

If Your mobile phones are not 3G, I think that the best solution in Monte Cucco
is TIM, http://www.tim.it, it
covers the 99% of the Italian population and the 95% of the territory.

When I asked him about the possibility of getting SIM cards he
wrote:

It's very easy to find TIM cards in the Sigillo area. The prepaid
simcards are much cheaper that in France. Now it's not sure but we are working
to provide the simcards (5€ credit included) for all the pilots included in the
registration fees. (Sure for the worlds, maybe for the pre worlds).

I'll inform you as soon as we'll decide something about it.