Talking about the present

The page on time and tense deals with all the basic features of "presente indicativo."

The verb "stare" followed by a gerund is often used to describe actions in progress: "Piove" "Sta piovendo" ( It's raining).

The main difference is that there is free choice between the two options in It. while the "progressive form be + -ing is normally mandatory in Eng.

The It. tense that most closely corresponds to the Eng. present perfect tense is not a present at all but "passato prossimo" - see the page on past tenses