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In Italian there are two verbs have just one equivalent in English: stare and essere. They are not interchangeable, though. Let’s start by saying that in 98% of the cases, the verb to use is essere. However, there are cases where using stare is expected and mandatory. In this article, I clarify when using essere and especially when it is necessary to stare .

Essere
Essere indicates the state of being and it used to identify:

yourself and your nationality: sono Serena e sono italiana.
your job: sono un’insegnante di italiano per stranieri.
origins: sono di Milano.
physical appearance and personality: sono alta e simpatica
describing locations: Roma è una bella città.
describing objects: la mia casa è grande e luminosa.
locating objects: dove è la mia borsa? E’ sulla sedia
Essere is also widely used in combination with “ci” in the verb esserci (c’è – ci sono, in English there is, there are). Esserci states the existence of someone or something.

C’è un ragazzo nuovo a scuola – there is you a new kid in the school
Ci sono quattro sedie in cucina – there are four chairs in the kitchen
Stare
Stare has a variety of uses, some of those are idiomatic expressions. We can generally say that stare indicates location, health, appearances. It is also used in a great deal of idiomatic expressions and with the present continuous.

LOCATION
In this case stare means also rimanere (to remain, to stay in English)

Oggi sto a casa – today I stay home
HEALTH

come stai?
sto bene
sto male
sto meglio
APPEARANCE
Stare bene and stare male mean that something (e.g. a piece of clothing) is looking great on you or not. Other possible translations into English are to suit, to fit.

Questa giacca mi sta benissimo – this jacket looks great on me!
Quel capello ti sta male – that hat does not suit you
IDIOMATIC EXPRESSIONS
Stare means to be in a variety of idiomatic expressions, as in the following examples

Stare in piedi – to be standing
Stare seduto – to be sitting
Stare zitto/a – to be quiet
Stare attento – to pay attention
Stare calmo – to stay calm
Stare a cuore – to have at heart
Stare con – to be in a relationship with someone
In some of the above expressions, stare and essere are interchangeable. There is a subtle difference between them, though. ESSERE would state a quality or being a statement, while STARE would rather indicates a voluntariness in the action described.

sono in piedi – I stand / sto in piedi – I voluntarily stand
sono seduto – I sit / sto seduto – I voluntarily sit
sei calmo – you are calm person (quality) / stai calmo! – please, try to stay calm (voluntarily)

PRESENT CONTINUOUS
The present continuous describes an action that is happening at the moment that you speak, right now. The present continuous in Italian is expressed by the present tense of the verb stare plus the gerund.

Sto cucinando – I am cooking
Sto parlano al telefono – I am on the phone with Maira
STARE PER + INFINITIVE
When stare appears in a sentence in a combination with per and an infinitive, it describes an action that will happen in the nearest future.

La lezione sta per finire – the lesson is about to finish
Sto per uscire – I am leaving any moments

Both of the Italian verbs 'stare' and 'essere' can be translated into English as 'to be' in certain contexts.

'Essere' means 'to be' or 'to exist' whilst 'stare' usually means 'to stay.' 'Essere' is most commonly used, such as to give details concerning profession, nationality, religious/political affiliations, origin, identity etc.

N.B. 'Essere' can also be used in this context, for example- Il divano è nel salotto = The sofa is in the living room.

The final use of 'stare' to mean 'to be' is to form the Continuous Present Tense, which is used to express an action taking place at a specific moment in the present. It is formed by conjugating 'stare' in the Present Tense plus the gerund form of the action verb.

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