About your last question, let me add something to [Federico's answer](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/165689/20058). Unless you are a lawyer, and I'm not one, in Italy it is frequently difficult to properly navigate and understand the constraints imposed by the law but, as far as I understand, both the RTD-A and RTD-B positions<sup>1</sup> require a PhD or equivalent title<sup>2</sup>. These are the current entry points if you want to aim at a tenured position.

Probably the only position that in Italy does not require a PhD is the _assegno di ricerca di tipo B_ (the _tipo A_, instead, is a post-doc position), which is the typical way used to hire someone who has finished the standard three-year PhD period but hasn't yet defended the title. But if you don't have a PhD, you cannot go beyond this, and this position cannot be turned into a permanent one. Without a PhD you're also quite at risk of not being selected if someone with a PhD applies too.

<sup>1</sup><sub>See [this answer](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/46009/20058) and [this one](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/159713/20058) for a more detailed description of these positions.</sub>

<sup>2</sup><sub>If you open a _bando_ (the application rules), you will likely find that the first 1-2 pages just list the relevant laws, decrees and university regulations on which the _bando_ is based, and it's a daunting task to trace back the origin of a certain constraint.</sub>