Italian alley on the Italy map in Counter-Strike 2

Italy Guide for Counter-Strike 2

Callouts, hostages, timings, weapon ranges, and skins.

Italy is a hostage rescue map. Two hostages start on the T side, one by the T Spawn houses and one in Wine Cellar, and the CTs have to bring them back to the rescue zone at their own spawn. The game files mark 17 named places on it - the official callouts shown by the radar and in team chat. The closest hostage spot is about 93 metres from the rescue zone along the map.

A CT gets from spawn to the nearest hostage spot in about 15 seconds with the knife out. A T gets there about 5 - 10 seconds earlier. Both are measured along the map, around the walls - more in Timings. This page goes through the callouts, the hostages and the rescue zone, the timings, which guns suit the distances here, and the skins.

Italy Map Overview

Where the map came from, and what the game files say about it.

Italy came out on 8 June 2000 in Counter-Strike Beta 6.5. Glen "glenC" Cooper built it, with textures by Jaison "DigiChaos" Green - at the time both played in a clan called [HOTSHEEP]. The idea came from the 1998 film Ronin and its narrow streets and crowded market, although the film was shot mostly in France. Cooper has said he never visited Italy.

This is the map that brought chickens into Counter-Strike: they first walked its streets in Beta 6.5. The CS:GO version kept the joke going with two chickens hanging in the Market. Cooper also picked the music on the radio himself - the duet "E il sol dell'anima" from Verdi's Rigoletto and the opening of Giuliani's Rossiniana No. 2.

Valve eventually removed Italy from CS:GO altogether. It returned with the CS2 Limited Test on 15 August 2023, in Casual and Deathmatch: new lighting and textures, updated hostage models, and two new connector areas that were not there before.

Italy map logo in Counter-Strike 2

The map

Type	Hostage rescue
Map code	`cs_italy`
Created by	Glen "glenC" Cooper, textures by Jaison "DigiChaos" Green
Released	8 June 2000, Counter-Strike Beta 6.5
In CS2	Since the limited test, 15 August 2023

From the game files

Named places	17
Spawn points	15 T, 15 CT
Buy zones	2
Hostage spawn spots	6, in two groups
Rescue zone	464 × 208 u (11.8 × 5.3 m)

Sources: Counter-Strike Wiki, Italy Weird Italy, history of cs_italy Znews, Glen Cooper on the music The Loadout, Italy removed from CS:GO HLTV, August 2023

CS2 Italy Callouts

The 17 official names from the map files and the ones players use.

The left map shows only the 17 names stored in the map files. In the lists below they carry an official tag. The right map shows the player callouts, and every untagged name in the lists is a player-used callout. The hostage spots and the rescue zone have their own section, Hostages.

One name is ambiguous: the game's Stairs is the short flight from T Spawn down to Middle, while players usually call that T Stairs and use Stairs for the long staircase on the left side of the map. Five of the official names, from Upstairs to Front Door, are parts of one building, T House.

The 17 official place names from the map files, on the in-game radar

CS2 Italy callouts map showing T Start, CT, Market, Long, Middle, Left Street, Right Street, Apartment, Stairs, Wine Cellar, and hostage locations — Callouts players use on Italy

CS2 Italy CT Spawn Callouts

CT Spawn official: Where the CTs start the round. The hostage rescue zone is here - see Hostages.
Left Alley official: The left of the two alleys from CT Spawn, leading up to Stairs and Below Stairs.
Right Alley official: The right of the two alleys from CT Spawn, leading to Apartment and Market.
Apartment official: The building between Right Alley and Long, with Bridge at its top end. One of the common T rush routes.

CS2 Italy Market Callouts

Market official: The large open square on the right of the map, between Right Alley and Long Hall.
Trash Corner: A closed-off space between the building and the alley wall, a common T spot during a Market rush. The name comes from CS:GO, when the spot was full of trash.
Tunnel official: The short passage from Right Street down into the north side of Market.
Right Street: The street from Market to Middle, used by Ts on the way to Wine Cellar.

CS2 Italy Middle Callouts

Middle official: The central street of the map, running between and parallel to Long and Long Hall.
Bridge: The bridge from the top of Apartment to Long. The game files count it as part of Apartment.
Left Street: The passage from Below Stairs to Middle, a T route for a flank.
Connector official: The straight tunnel between Long Hall and Middle, used for rotations on both sides.
Mid Boost: A small recess at the end of Middle, where a T can catch players coming through Right Street from Market.

CS2 Italy Stairs Callouts

Stairs: The long staircase on the left of the map, the upper way from Left Alley to Long. Not the game's Stairs - that one is T Stairs.
Below Stairs: The lower way from Left Alley to Long, under Stairs.
Stairs Balcony: The balcony at the end of Stairs, above Left Alley.

CS2 Italy T Spawn Callouts

T Spawn official: Where the Ts start the round, between T Stairs and T House.
T Stairs official: The stairs from T Spawn down to Middle. In the game files: Stairs.
T House: The two-storey building on the right of T Spawn, where one of the hostages can start. The game files split it into Upstairs, Downstairs, Window, Balcony and Front Door.
Upstairs official: The upper floor of T House.
Downstairs official: The ground floor of T House.
Window official: The window in T House, a T sniper spot looking down Long Hall.
Balcony official: The balcony of T House, to the right of Window.
Front Door official: The way into T House under Balcony.
Long Hall official: The long passage between T House and Market.

CS2 Italy Wine Cellar Callouts

Wine Cellar official: A two-level building with the other hostage spot, entered from Long and Middle.
Long: The way from the Apartment exit up towards T Spawn, a T sniper spot covering the exits from Apartment and Stairs.

Italy Hostages and Rescue Zone

Where the hostages start, how far they are from each side, and where they have to go.

The map files hold six spots where a hostage can start, in two groups: four in T House and two in Wine Cellar. Each round two hostages appear, one in each building, on a random spot of its group. The rescue zone is a single box at CT Spawn.

The rules in CS2: a CT unties a hostage in 4 seconds (1 with a Rescue Kit), carries it on his back and moves noticeably slower while he does. One CT carries one hostage, and one rescue is enough to win the round. The round is 2 minutes, and the first hostage untied adds another minute.

Hostage spot	CT Spawn → spot, u (s)	T Spawn → spot, u (s)	Spot → rescue zone, u
T House, ground floor	4,860 (19.4)	528 (2.1)	4,727
T House, Window	4,553 (18.2)	500 (2.0)	4,419
T House, Upstairs	4,961 (19.8)	910 (3.6)	4,834
T House, Balcony	4,430 (17.7)	753 (3.0)	4,302
Wine Cellar, lower level	3,876 (15.5)	976 (3.9)	3,783
Wine Cellar, upper level	3,748 (15.0)	1,312 (5.2)	3,656

Rescue zone

Size, game files	464 × 208 u (11.8 × 5.3 m)
Area	62 m²
Where	CT Spawn

Distances are measured along the map, from the middle of each spawn. Times are with the knife out, 250 units a second - more in Timings. The last column is the way back to the middle of the rescue zone; it has no time, because a CT carrying a hostage is slower and I could not find an exact figure for how much.

CS2 Italy map showing hostage spawn locations — The six hostage spots on the in-game radar. Red - T House, orange - Wine Cellar, green box - the rescue zone.

T House

Four spots on two floors, two to four seconds from T Spawn. For the CTs it is the far building: 4,430 to 4,961 units from spawn, the whole length of the map, and the same again back to the rescue zone.

Wine Cellar

Two spots, one on each level. Wine Cellar is the closer hostage for the CTs: about 15 seconds from spawn, and 3,656 units back to the rescue zone from the upper spot - more than 600 units less than from anywhere in T House. The Ts still get there first, 4 to 5 seconds after the round starts.

Italy Timings

How long the runs take - straight through the walls and along the map.

Every route below has two distances. Straight line is the gap between the two points, walls and all. Along the map is the way you actually run, around the walls on the in-game radar. Time is the second distance divided by run speed: 250 units a second with the knife, 215 with an AK-47, 200 with an AWP. Stairs, height, boxes and drops are not counted, so treat the seconds as a close estimate, not a stopwatch. Times are measured from the middle of each spawn. Depending on where you start, a T time can vary by about 0.5 seconds and a CT time by about 0.7. Hostage routes are covered in Hostages.

Route	Straight line, u	Along the map, u (m)	Knife, s	AK-47, s	AWP, s
T Spawn → top of Stairs, through Long	1,667	1,788 (45.4)	7.2	8.3	8.9
T Spawn → Left Street exit	1,857	2,275 (57.7)	9.1	10.6	11.4
CT Spawn → top of Left Alley	1,921	1,929 (49.0)	7.7	9.0	9.6
T Spawn → top of Apartment, through Long	1,723	2,429 (61.6)	9.7	11.3	12.1
CT Spawn → bottom of Apartment	1,601	1,715 (43.5)	6.9	8.0	8.6
T Spawn → Right Street, through Middle	1,438	1,711 (43.4)	6.8	8.0	8.6
T Spawn → Long Hall exit	2,234	2,385 (60.5)	9.5	11.1	11.9
CT Spawn → Market	1,645	1,918 (48.7)	7.7	8.9	9.6

Straight lines miss the most on the T runs that go round through Long: into the top of Apartment it is 2,429 units against 1,723 in a straight line.

CS2 Italy map timings and routes for T and CT sides — The routes from the table on the in-game radar. Blue - CT routes; orange - T routes to Left Alley, red - to Apartment, green - to Market; dashed - what each side sees of the other.

What the numbers mean

At the top of Left Alley a CT covers two exits at once. He gets there at 7.7 seconds with the knife, and with an AWP ready at about 9.0 (1.25 seconds to deploy). The T who runs over the top through Long comes out at the top of Stairs at 7.2 with the knife, 8.3 with an AK, about 28 metres away - with knives out he is half a second early. The T who runs underneath reaches the Left Street exit at 9.1 with the knife, 19 metres from the CT and well after him.

In Apartment the CT is first by a long way. He is at the bottom at 6.9 seconds; the T who comes through Long and down into the top of Apartment gets there at 9.7, about 19 metres up the same line.

In Market the CT runs to the middle and is there at 7.7 seconds. From there he sees two ways in. Up Tunnel to Right Street it is about 28 metres, and the T coming down Middle is already there at 6.8 with the knife. The Long Hall exit by Trash Corner is about 18 metres away, and the T running through Long Hall reaches it at 9.5, almost 2 seconds after the CT.

Weapons on Italy

Which guns fit the distances on this map, and which don't.

Every gun in CS2 has an accurate range - how far its first shot, fired standing still, stays tight enough to rely on. Italy has fixed distances between the spots where fights happen. Compare the two and you get a useful picture of which weapons suit each sightline. The distances below are straight lines between positions on the in-game radar that can see each other, so they are approximate. Height is not counted either, so on the lines that run up or down stairs the real distance is a little longer. The accurate range figures are from the game update of 18 March 2026.

Duel	Distance, u (m)	Area
Long Hall, end to end	1,487 (37.7)	Long Hall
Long → top of Long Hall, along the top street	1,417 (36.0)	Long
Left Alley exit → CT Spawn	1,354 (34.4)	Left Alley
Long → Apartment exit	1,206 (30.6)	Long
Market → Right Street, through Tunnel	1,201 (30.5)	Market
top of Left Alley → Gelateria	1,159 (29.4)	Stairs
Right Street → Bridge	1,100 (27.9)	Middle
Market → Stop	1,035 (26.3)	Market
Market exit → CT Spawn	937 (23.8)	Right Alley
top of Left Alley → Left Street	810 (20.5)	Left Alley

CS2 Italy map weapon duel distances — The duels from the table on the in-game radar. Straight lines between the two positions, in units with metres in brackets.

Accurate range is only one number. The guide for each gun has the rest: damage at every distance, how many hits it takes through armour, movement, and the spray pattern for every single bullet. The links are on the gun names below.

Italy is often called a close-quarters map, but its streets are not. Half the lines in the list are 30 metres or longer, and the shortest one, 20.5 metres, is already past every SMG - the best of them, the MP9, is accurate to 15.9.

Long Hall and the top street: scope distance

Long Hall end to end is about 38 metres, and the street along the top of the map, from Long to the top of Long Hall, is 36. The AWP (69.3 m), the SSG 08 (47.2 m) and the AUG scoped (38.3 m) cover both. The SG 553 scoped (37.1 m) covers the top street and falls about a metre short in Long Hall.

The alleys: meeting the hostage carriers

Both alleys end at CT Spawn, and this is where Ts waiting at the rescue zone meet CTs bringing a hostage in. From the Left Alley exit to CT Spawn is about 34 metres: the scoped AUG and SG 553 cover it, and so does the FAMAS in burst mode (35.5 m). From the Market exit down to CT Spawn it is 24 metres - M4 distance (M4A4 27.7 m, M4A1-S 28.2 m with the silencer), with the AK-47 (21.7 m) about 2 metres short.

Market: two ways in

From Market up through Tunnel to Right Street is about 30 metres, past every rifle without a scope - the M4A1-S and the AK crouched stop at 28.2 m. The other way in, at Stop where Long Hall comes out, is 26 metres: the M4s cover it, the AK is almost 5 metres short.

The left side and Long

From the top of Left Alley two exits are in view: Left Street at 20.5 metres, AK distance, and the Gelateria - the little ice-cream kiosk on the upper level - at 29.4, scope distance again. Down Long to the Apartment exit it is about 31 metres. Right Street to Bridge is 27.9: the M4A1-S and the AK crouched just reach it, the M4A4 is 20 centimetres short.

On a pistol round only two fights in the list are within reach. The Desert Eagle (24.6 m) covers the Market exit and Left Street, the USP-S with its silencer (23.8 m) the same two, the Market exit right at its limit. The Glock-18 (20.1 m) is short of both.

Shotguns are left out of the table: their accurate range is 2-3 metres by design. Inside Apartment, where the rooms are tight, they are a good pick.

Rule of thumb: a scope suits Long Hall, the top street, Left Alley and the line from Market to Right Street, the M4s cover the rest, and SMGs are out of range on every line in this list.

Common Mistakes on Italy

Seven common mistakes, each tied to a measurement above.

Each point below links back to the measurement behind it.

Dry Stairs: Running up Left Alley to Stairs Balcony with nothing thrown at Stairs. The CT gets there at 7.7 seconds, the first T is at the top of Stairs at 6.9 with the knife - he is already waiting, 32 metres up. Timings
Late Market: Walking into Market from the Middle side as a T. The CTs are set there at 8.5 seconds, the first T arrives at 9.5 with the knife and 11.1 with an AK. Timings
Slow Apartment: Pushing through Apartment to Bridge as a CT. You are there at 11.6 seconds, the Ts hold Bridge from 7.1 - early in the round Bridge is T ground. Timings
Far hostage: Going for the T House hostage when Wine Cellar is open. From Wine Cellar it is 3,656 to 3,783 units back to the rescue zone, from T House at least 4,302 - and the carrier is slower all the way. Hostages
No Rescue Kit: Going for a hostage without the kit. Untying takes 4 seconds without it and 1 with it - three more seconds standing still next to the Ts. Hostages
Rifle up an alley: Peeking up Left Alley or Right Alley from CT Spawn with an AK-47. Both lines are about 37 metres, 15 past the AK's 21.7 - only scoped guns are accurate there. Weapons on Italy
Stairs or T Stairs: The radar says Stairs on the short flight by T Spawn, but the Stairs players mean is the long staircase on the left. Calling it off the radar sends help to the wrong side of the map. Callouts

Italy Skins & Collections

Italy skins by market listings and price, and how to get them now.

Italy has no case of its own. Its skins come in one collection, The Italy Collection, released on 27 November 2013.

The collection below has three tabs. Most listed are the skins with the most offers across the markets I track. Prices update every 15 minutes, and the range on each card runs from the cheapest variant to the most expensive one, wear and Souvenir variants included.

The Italy Collection

15 skins, and nothing above Restricted. The top one is the AWP | Pit Viper - an AWP skin for a map where the longest lines, down Long Hall and up both alleys, are scope distance. See Weapons on Italy.

Consumer Grade

AUG | Contractor

$0.01 - $15.00

View prices →

Consumer Grade

FAMAS | Colony

$0.01 - $22.19

View prices →

Consumer Grade

Tec-9 | Groundwater

$0.01 - $11.11

View prices →

Consumer Grade

PP-Bizon | Sand Dashed

$0.01 - $14.99

View prices →

Consumer Grade

Nova | Sand Dune

$0.02 - $6.37

View prices →

Industrial Grade

M4A1-S | Boreal Forest

$0.07 - $7.35

View prices →

Industrial Grade

Nova | Candy Apple

$0.11 - $10.63

View prices →

Mil-Spec Grade

Glock-18 | Candy Apple

$0.99 - $11.36

View prices →

Every skin with a price for every wear is on the Italy Collection page.

How to get them now

The collection has never been in a case. According to the drop list on CSDB it is in the weekly drop pool; beyond that there are trade-up contracts and the market.

Browse all collections and all CS2 cases, or check what your own skins are worth with the Inventory Value Calculator.

Sources: CSGOSKINS.GG, The Italy Collection CSDB, The Italy Collection CSDB, weekly drop system

Italy Data Download

Every number on this page in one file, with the method behind it.

The data this guide is built on is in one JSON file: the 17 official callouts with the coordinates of all 21 zones from the map files, the 10 player callouts, all 30 spawn points, the six hostage spots with their distances and the rescue zone, the route timings straight and along the map, and the duel distances from Weapons on Italy. Each part says how it was measured.

Use it in a video, a tool or your own guide - it is free under CC BY 4.0, as long as you link back to this page. Checked against CS2 build 1.41.8.8.

Download cs2-italy-data.json (JSON, 19 KB)