The Azzurri open their group stages against England in Manaus on June 14, and Prandelli declared his intentions to run his players through the mill - including Milan forward El Shaarawy.
El Shaarawy has not featured in Serie A since early December, due to a foot problem.
But the 21-year-old is among the expansive squad, who will undergo tests on Monday before only Milan, Juventus and Udinese players will also undergo physical examination on Tuesday.
Midfielder Antonio Cassano also received a call-up, despite not having featured for the national team since Euro 2012.
The Parma attacker, 31, has deserved his reward, according to former club man Luigi Apolloni.
"The form he has shown with his club has made the difference," Apolloni - who appeared 304 times for Parma - told Tuttomercatoweb.
"He deserves it without doubt.
"Now it is up to him to make sure Prandelli doesn't change his mind about him again. He needs to show the attitude and performance levels required.
"He will be one of the older players there and he will need to be an example for the many young players around."
Italy's 42-man squad:
Francesco Bardi (Livorno), Antonio Mirante (Parma), Mattia Perin (Genoa), Davide Astori (Cagliari), Matteo Darmian (Torino), Lorenzo De Silvestri (Sampdoria), Gabriel Paletta (Parma), Manuel Pasqual (Fiorentina), Andrea Ranocchia (Inter), Alberto Aquilani (Fiorentina), Daniele Baselli (Atalanta), Federico Bernardeschi (Crotone), Andrea Bertolacci (Genoa), Giacomo Bonaventura (Atalanta), Antonio Candreva (Lazio), Daniele De Rossi (Roma), Alessandro Florenzi (Roma), Marco Parolo (Parma), Romulo (Verona), Domenico Berardi (Sassuolo), Antonio Cassano (Parma), Alessio Cerci (Torino), Manolo Gabbiadini (Sampdoria), Alberto Gilardino (Genoa), Ciro Immobile (Torino), Lorenzo Insigne (Napoli), Giuseppe Rossi (Fiorentina), Simone Zaza (Sassuolo), Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus), Simone Scuffet (Udinese), Ignazio Abate (Milan), Andrea Barzagli (Juventus), Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Mattia De Sciglio (Milan), Claudio Marchisio (Juventus), Ricardo Montolivo (Milan), Andrea Pirlo (Juventus), Andrea Poli (Milan), Mario Balotelli (Milan), Stephan El Shaarawy (Milan), Pablo Osvaldo (Juventus).
