What words do you use to welcome someone in Italy?

The Italian word for "welcome," in the sense of "you are welcome here," is "benvenuto," or "benvenuti" if addressing multiple people. Other greetings include the ubiquitous "ciao," which is used for both "hello" and "goodbye."

There are formal and informal ways to say "pleased to meet you" in Italian. The formal version is "piacere di conoscerti," the informal "incantato," which is, more literally, "enchanted."

Another equivalent to the word "welcome," this time in the sense of "you're welcome" in response to a "thank you" ("grazie") is "prego." "Prego" is also used to answer questions about a person's intended actions in the affirmative, making it the equivalent of saying "please go ahead."