testazione

Testazione is an Italian noun derived from Latin testatio, through testare meaning to witness. It denotes the act of attesting or bearing witness, and the document or statement produced as a result. In Italian legal and administrative use, testazione refers to the formal attestation of authenticity, origin, or conformity of a document or fact by an authorized person, such as a notary public, a clerk, or an archival custodian. Examples include testazione di conformità or testazione di copia conforme, whereby the official certifies that a copy is a true and faithful reproduction of the original.

In civil law contexts, testazione is often contrasted with testimonianza (testimony given by a witness in a proceeding), which is a verbal statement of facts by a person who has observed them. Testazione, by contrast, concerns the verification or certification performed by an officer or institution to certify documents, copies, or facts.

In archival and institutional practice, the term is used to indicate provenance, integrity, and the authority of a recorded fact. It can also appear in religious or historical documents to denote a formal declaration.

Despite its recognized meaning, testazione is less common in everyday language; attestazione or certificazione are more widely used to express similar notions of certification or authentication. The exact meaning and process vary by jurisdiction and context, reflecting different legal or administrative traditions.