Kitty in Italian river ahead of time (3)
I believe the answer is:
pot
'kitty' is the definition.
(both can mean a shared fund)
'italian river ahead of time' is the wordplay.
'italian river' becomes 'po' (river in Italy).
'ahead of' means one lot of letters go next to another (some letters go in front of others).
'time' becomes 't' (abbreviation).
'po'+'t'='POT'
'in' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for pot that I've seen before include "Storage container" , "Cannabis; sink (snooker)" , "It sometimes calls the kettle black" , "Receptacle" , "Cooking vessel or slang marijuana" .)