Italy competed at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. 253 competitors, 212 men and 41 women, took part in 140 events in 23 sports.^[1]

The following is the list of number of competitors in the Games.^[2]

Giancarlo Ferrari, competing in his fifth Olympic archery contest, dropped to 33rd place in the field. Fellow veteran Ilario Di Buò advanced to the quarterfinal, nearly missing a semifinal berth. The Italians also just missed the cutoff for the final by one ranking in the team round.

Men's Individual Competition:

• Ilario Di Buò – Quarterfinal (→ 13th place)
• Andrea Parenti – Preliminary Round (→ 28th place)
• Giancarlo Ferrari – Preliminary Round (→ 33rd place)

Men's Team Competition:

• Di Buo, Parenti, and Ferrari – Semifinal (→ 9th place)

Men's 10,000 metres

• Salvatore Antibo

• First Round — 28:09.35
• Final — 27:23.55 (→ Silver Medal)

• Alberto Cova

• First Round — 28:43.84 (→ did not advance)

Men's Marathon

• Gelindo Bordin

• Final — 2"10:32 (→ Gold Medal)

• Orlando Pizzolato

• Final — 2"15:20 (→ 16th place)

• Gianni Poli

• Final — 2"16:07 (→ 19th place)

Men's 3,000 m Steeplechase

• Alessandro Lambruschini

1. Heat — 8:32.59
2. Semi Final — 8:16.92
3. Final — 8:12.17 (→ 4th place)

• Francesco Panetta

• Heat — 8:29.75
• Semi Final — 8:17.23
• Final — 8:17.79 (→ 9th place)

Men's Hammer Throw

• Lucio Serrani

• Qualifying Heat — 70.50m (→ did not advance)

Men's Shot Put

• Alessandro Andrei

• Qualifying Heat – 20.18m
• Final – 20.36m (→ 7th place)

Men's Long Jump

• Giovanni Evangelisti

• Qualification — 7.81m
• Final — 8.08m (→ 4th place)

Men's 20 km Walk

• Maurizio Damilano

• Final — 1:20:14 (→ Bronze Medal)

• Giovanni De Benedictis

• Final — 1:20:14 (→ 6th place)

• Carlo Mattioli

• Final — 1:22:58 (→ 19th place)

Men's 50 km Walk

• Raffaello Ducceschi

• Final — 3'45:43 (→ 8th place)

• Giovanni Perricelli

• Final — 3'47:14 (→ 11th place)

• Sandro Bellucci

• Final — 4'04:56 (→ 32nd place)

Women's Marathon

• Laura Fogli

• Final — 2"27.49 (→ 6th place)

• Maria Curatolo

• Final — 2"30.14 (→ 8th place)

• Antonella Bizioli

• Final — 2"34.38 (→ 23rd place)

Men's Flyweight (– 51 kg)

• Andrea Mannai

• First Round — Lost to Arthur Johnson (USA), 0:5

Men's Featherweight

• Giovanni Parisi

Men's Lightweight

• Giorgio Campanella

Men's Light-Middleweight

• Vincenzo Nardiello

Men's Middleweight

• Michele Mastrodonato

Men's Light-Heavyweight

• Andrea Magi

Men's Heavyweight

• Luigi Gaudiano

Eighteen cyclists, fourteen men and four women, represented Italy in 1988.

Men's road race

• Roberto Pelliconi
• Fabrizio Bontempi
• Gianluca Bortolami

Men's team time trial

• Roberto Maggioni
• Eros Poli
• Mario Scirea
• Flavio Vanzella

Men's sprint

• Andrea Faccini

Men's individual pursuit

• Ivan Beltrami

Men's team pursuit

• Ivan Beltrami
• Gianpaolo Grisandi
• David Solari
• Fabrizio Trezzi
• Fabio Baldato

Men's points race

• Giovanni Lombardi

Women's road race

• Imelda Chiappa — 2:00:52 (→ 15th place)
• Maria Canins — 2:00:52 (→ 32nd place)
• Roberta Bonanomi — 2:00:52 (→ 45th place)

Women's sprint

• Elisabetta Fanton

20 fencers, 15 men and 5 women, represented Italy in 1988.

Men's foil

• Stefano Cerioni
• Mauro Numa
• Andrea Borella

Men's team foil

• Andrea Borella, Stefano Cerioni, Federico Cervi, Andrea Cipressa, Mauro Numa

Men's épée

• Sandro Cuomo
• Stefano Pantano
• Angelo Mazzoni

Men's team épée

• Stefano Bellone, Andrea Bermond Des Ambrois, Sandro Cuomo, Angelo Mazzoni, Stefano Pantano

Men's sabre

• Giovanni Scalzo
• Gianfranco Dalla Barba
• Marco Marin

Men's team sabre

• Giovanni Scalzo, Marco Marin, Gianfranco Dalla Barba, Ferdinando Meglio, Massimo Cavaliere

Women's foil

• Margherita Zalaffi
• Dorina Vaccaroni
• Annapia Gandolfi

Women's team foil

• Dorina Vaccaroni, Margherita Zalaffi, Francesca Bortolozzi-Borella, Lucia Traversa, Annapia Gandolfi

Men's Team Competition

• Preliminary round (group B)

• Defeated Guatemala (5-2)
• Lost to Zambia (0-4)
• Defeated Iraq (2-0)

• Quarterfinals

• Defeated Sweden (2-1)

• Semifinals

• Lost to Soviet Union (2-3)

• Bronze Medal Match

• Lost to West Germany (0-3)

• Team roster

Three male pentathletes represented Italy in 1988. Carlo Massullo won an individual silver and the team won silver too.

Men's Individual Competition:

• Carlo Massullo – 5379 pts (→ Silver Medal)
• Daniele Masala – 5152 pts (→ 10th place)
• Gianluca Tiberti – 5040 pts (→ 17th place)

Men's Team Competition:

• Massullo, Masala, and Tiberti – 15571pts (→ Silver Medal)

Men's 100 m Freestyle

• Roberto Gleria

• Heat – 50.97 (→ did not advance, 18th place)

Men's 200 m Freestyle

• Roberto Gleria

• Heat – 1:49.51
• B-Final – 1:49.28 (→ 9th place)

• Giorgio Lamberti

• Heat – 1:50.47
• B-Final – scratched (→ did not advance, no ranking)

Men's 400 m Freestyle

• Giorgio Lamberti

• Heat – 3:53.29
• B-Final – scratched (→ did not advance, no ranking)

• Roberto Gleria

• Heat – 3:56.33 (→ did not advance, 19th place)

Men's 1500 m Freestyle

• Luca Pellegrini

• Heat – 15:18.80 (→ did not advance, 10th place)

• Stefano Battistelli

• Heat – 15:36.54 (→ did not advance, 20th place)

Men's 100 m Backstroke

• Valerio Giambalvo

• Heat – 59.48 (→ did not advance, 37th place)

Men's 200 m Backstroke

• Stefano Battistelli

• Heat – 2:03.63
• B-Final – scratched (→ did not advance, no ranking)

Men's 100 m Breaststroke

• Gianni Minervini

• Heat – 1:02.86
• Final – 1:02.93 (→ 7th place)

Men's 100 m Butterfly

• Leonardo Michelotti

• Heat – 55.83 (→ did not advance, 22nd place)

• Valerio Giambalvo

• Heat – 56.57 (→ did not advance, 28th place)

Men's 200 m Individual Medley

• Luca Sacchi

• Heat – 2:05.45
• B-Final – 2:05.68 (→ 13th place)

• Roberto Cassio

• Heat – 2:05.88 (→ did not advance, 18th place)

Men's 400 m Individual Medley

• Stefano Battistelli

• Heat – 4:20.43
• Final – 4:18.01 (→ Bronze Medal)

• Luca Sacchi

• Heat – 4:23.37
• Final – 4:23.23 (→ 7th place)

Men's 4 × 100 m Freestyle Relay

• Fabrizio Rampazzo, Giorgio Lamberti, Andrea Ceccarini, and Roberto Gleria

• Heat – 3:23.35

• Roberto Gleria, Giorgio Lamberti, Fabrizio Rampazzo, and Andrea Ceccarini

• Final – 3:22.93 (→ 8th place)

Men's 4 × 200 m Freestyle Relay

• Massimo Trevisan, Fabrizio Rampazzo, Valerio Giambalvo, and Roberto Gleria

• Heat – 7:21.85

• Roberto Gleria, Giorgio Lamberti, Massimo Trevisan, and Valerio Giambalvo

• Final – 7:16.00 (→ 5th place)

Men's 4 × 100 m Medley Relay

• Valerio Giambalvo, Gianni Minervini, Leonardo Michelotti, and Roberto Gleria

• Heat – 3:52.06 (→ did not advance, 15th place)

Women's 100 m Freestyle

• Silvia Persi

• Heat – 58.22 (→ did not advance, 29th place)

Women's 200 m Freestyle

• Silvia Persi

• Heat – 2:04.40 (→ did not advance, 23rd place)

Women's 400 m Freestyle

• Manuela Melchiorri

• Heat – 4:15.40
• B-Final – 4:14.90 (→ 14th place)

Women's 800 m Freestyle

• Manuela Melchiorri

• Heat – 8:40.63 (→ did not advance, 12th place)

Women's 100 m Backstroke

• Lorenza Vigarani

• Heat – 1:03.96
• B-Final – 1:03.88 (→ 13th place)

• Manuela Carosi

• Heat – 1:04.69
• B-Final – 1:03.80 (→ 11th place)

Women's 200 m Backstroke

• Lorenza Vigarani

• Heat – 2:17.35
• B-Final – 2:18.69 (→ 13th place)

Women's 100 m Breaststroke

• Manuela Dalla Valle

• Heat – 1:11.25
• B-Final – 1:10.95 (→ 12th place)

Women's 200 m Breaststroke

• Manuela Dalla Valle

• Heat – 2:30.60
• Final – 2:29.86 (→ 8th place)

• Annalisa Nisiro

• Heat – 2:32.77
• B-Final – 2:31.19 (→ 12th place)

Women's 100 m Butterfly

• Ilaria Tocchini

• Heat – 1:02.07
• B-Final – 1:02.78 (→ 16th place)

• Emanuela Viola

• Heat – 1:03.91 (→ did not advance, 24th place)

Women's 200 m Individual Medley

• Roberta Felotti

• Heat – 2:19.62
• B-Final – 2:19.63 (→ 13th place)

• Manuela Dalla Valle

• Heat – 2:22.85 (→ did not advance, 25th place)

Women's 400 m Individual Medley

• Roberta Felotti

• Heat – 4:49.20
• B-Final – 4:49.53 (→ 9th place)

Women's 4 × 100 m Medley Relay

• Lorenza Vigarani, Manuela Dalla Valle, Ilara Tocchini, and Silvia Persi

• Heat – 4:14.68
• Final – 4:13.85 (→ 8th place)

Men's Singles Competition

• Paolo Canè

• First round — Defeated Milan Šrejber (Czechoslovakia) 6-3 7-6 4-6 6-3
• Second round — Defeated Emilio Sánchez (Spain) 7-5 6-3 6-7 6-4
• Third round — Defeated Javier Sánchez (Spain) 7-6 4-6 6-1 6-2
• Quarterfinals — Lost to Stefan Edberg (Sweden) 1-6 5-7 4-6

• Diego Nargiso

• First round — Defeated Francisco Maciel (Mexico) 4-6 2-6 7-6 7-6 8-6
• Second round — Lost to Tim Mayotte (United States) 6-2 2-6 4-6 0-6

• Omar Camporese

• First round — Lost to Guy Forget (France) 2-6 0-6 3-6

Women's Singles Competition

• Sandra Cecchini

• First Round – Bye
• Second Round – Lost to Chris Evert (USA) 2-6 2-6

• Raffaella Reggi

• First Round – Defeated Liz Smylie (Australia) 7-6 6-0
• Second Round – Defeated Claudia Kohde-Kilsch (West Germany) 4-6 7-6 6-3
• Third Round – Defeated Chris Evert (USA) 2-6 6-4 6-1
• Quarterfinals – Lost to Manuela Maleeva (Switzerland) 3-6 4-6

Men's Team Competition

• Preliminary round (group A)

• Drew with Soviet Union (9-9)
• Defeated South Korea (1-11)
• Defeated Australia (7-5)
• Lost to West Germany (7-10)
• Defeated France (14-8)

• Classification Round (Group D)

• Drew with Hungary (9-9)
• Lost to Spain (9-11) → 7th place

• Team roster

• Paolo Trapanese
• Alfio Misaggi
• Andrea Pisano
• Antonello Steardo
• Alessandro Campagna
• Paolo Caldarella
• Mario Fiorillo
• Francesco Porzio
• Stefano Postiglione
• Riccardo Tempestini
• Massimiliano Ferretti
• Marco d'Altrui
• Gianni Averaimo

• Head coach: Fritz Dennerlein