I’d be sure you could get the passport first.  Try contacting an Italian Embassy. 
 
It would definately help with work but I don’t think it would matter going from country to country.  When you cross borders you show a passport no matter where you are from.

If you want to work in the EU and are from outside the EU you need a visa and work permit which is not easy to get, unless your employer gets it for you.
 
If you can indeed get an EU passport that should help tremendously.  However, I still am unsure if you have to prove that you are a resident by providing an address, ID card or driver’s license from Italy, etc.
 
Good luck!

Hell ya get it! Should be a no-brainer. There are loads of people who’d kill for an EU passport… well maybe not kill, but you never know. If you have any thought in your head that you might want to work it’ll obviously make life much easier. Working in Italy should be pretty straghtforward and you’ll be permitted to work in other EU nations as well, although this might take some initial paperwork. It’ll make travelling between counties easier as well as you’ll be considered a citizen of the EU and will get to whick through customs. But that’s just a little bonus, the main thing is that you won’t be hassled when you fly in and out of a place. For example, I live in London and have lots of Aussie mates who come over on two year working holidays to teh UK. The minute their work visa expires and they’re on a regular tourist visa they get questioned like crazy whenever they come and go from the UK. I’ve also know of a Canadian girl who got denied entrance to the UK because she didn’t have a flight out and couldn’t prove her funds. These are rare occasions probably but it’d suck having stuff like this in the back of your mind. Having an EU passport is your ticket to go where you want, when you want in the EU without any agro and you’ll be able to work, to boot. Get it, get it, get it.