The following Italian tutorial was written by a soon to be graduate student in linguistics named Jennifer Wagner, who runs a fantastic website called Indo-European Languages - ielanguages.com. We thank her for generously allowing us to post her work here!
18. Italian Verbs for to Know People and Facts
Conoscere-to know, be acquainted with
Sapere-to know (facts)
conosco
conosciamo
so
sappiamo
conosci
conoscete
sai
sapete
conosce
conoscono
sa
sanno
Note: Conoscere is used when you know people and places. It is conjugated regularly. Sapere is used when you know facts. Sapere followed by an infinitive means to know how.