how do you do the Italian Defense

This really doesn't belong under Feedback & Ideas. This subforum is for posting ideas and feedback regarding the chessforums.org web site and forums, not about chess itself. This would be more appropriate under General Chess Discussion or Chess Openings.

But to answer your question, I've never heard of any opening called the Italian Defense. The Italian Game is another name for the Giuoco Piano, though, so maybe that's what you're thinking of. The defining moves of that opening are 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5. There's also the Italian Gambit, which continues with 4. d4, sacrificing the pawn for an open center, in the hopes of getting an attack, but that's not a very popular gambit.

Sometimes you'll see all openings that begin with 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 referred to as the "Italian Complex" or something like that. Besides responding with 3. ... Bc5 to get the Italian Game (Giuoco Piano), black also has good options in 3. ... Nf6 (the Two Knights Defense) or 3. ... Be7 (the Hungarian Defense). Thus, when white plays 3. Bc4, he could end up in any of these openings, which is why they're grouped together. Sometimes, you'll even hear a bishop on c4 called an Italian bishop, as opposed to a Spanish Bishop on b5, which comes from the Ruy Lopez Opening, also known as the Spanish Opening, which begins 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5.

--Fromper