Wales had all the early possession in the sunshine at Athlone Stadium, but the common theme of 2024 continued as they were unable to convert pressure into points.
Italy, in contrast, threatened with their first attack of the game.
A kick over the top by Emma Stevanin eluded full-back Jasmine Joyce, but the final ball to Vittoria Minuzzi was judged to be forward in what proved a let off for Wales.
Italy kept their momentum and Minuzzi looked certain to be in on the opposite wing, only for Joyce to put in a try-saving tackle.
But the Welsh defenders were slow to reset and missed tackles allowed the skipper Giordano to crash over from close range.
Wales continued to squander chances in the Italian half, with Lleucu George being forced to kick as their lateral attack was easily defended.
But Cunningham’s side kept slugging away and edged their way closer to the tryline, with Bethan Lewis and Gwenllian Pyrs both coming close.
Wales showed good patience before Bevan decided to put the ball through the hands to give Bluck an easy run-in.
It was nothing less than the centre deserved after being a late call-up to replace Kerin Lake.
A Bevan turnover got Wales off to a positive start after the break, setting up a line-out which Alex Callender took up close to the line, but a knock-on saw a try-scoring opportunity go begging.
Sisilia Tuipulotu was introduced early on having overcome visa delays which saw her miss the first game against Australia, and her impact was felt immediately at scrum time.
Joyce continued to look for space in the back-field but found herself isolated and conceded a turnover, which gifted Rigoni a straightforward penalty.
Momentum then swung back and forth with unforced errors coming from both sides.
Wales had the chance to win the game as they piled on the pressure in the final 10 minutes.
With points on offer to seal the draw, George kicked to touch, but Wales’ driving line-out was well marshalled by the Azzurre.
Wales found themselves with a five-metre scrum with the clock in the red and despite looking comfortable trucking it up through the forwards, Bevan tried a desperate snipe and was wrapped up by the grateful Italian defence.
