In her push for a "yes" vote in this weekend's constitutional referendum, Italy's prime minister has been reaching for new audiences.

On Thursday, Giorgia Meloni sat at the mic between a popular rapper and a personal trainer-turned-podcaster to urge Italians to vote for a judicial system she promised would be "more just" for all.

Opposition parties have been busy too, styling the "historic" reform proposed by the right-wing government as a threat to democracy, and turning it into a protest vote against Meloni's rule.

In power for three-and-a-half years, close to a record in a land of shaky coalitions, Meloni prides herself on bringing stability to Italy. But as this referendum has become increasingly personalised, she could be facing her first significant defeat.

"She wants to win. If she loses, there will be an impact and she understands that," political scientist Roberto D'Alimonte of Luiss University explains.