You could try the Opel garage, just out of Amandola on the Fermo road. Danni there speaks some English. We get our tyres from him. Another alternative is the tyre centre on the industrial estate, on the road to Communanza.

We used to have ours changed on the rims for the Citroen each year, cost was under E20 including balancing.

You will still probably need snow chains, unless you have 4 wheel drive.

We use TR Gomme in Comunanza and he is very reliable and straight. I have even known him to drive to Montemonaco to put a lady's snow chains on when it was snowy as her husband was out!

You don't need legally snow chains if you have winter snow tyres fitted but to be honest you will still need them if we have the usual amount of snow and need to drive on anything other than the main roads.

You won't need spare rims, they will put them on your existing rims and can even store your summer tyres for you until you need them, for just a fiver. As above it costs about €20 to have them fitted and balanced.

We don't usually get our spare changed over to be honest.

The easiest and cheapest way to get tyres is to order them on the internet from gommadiretto.it which is part of a big franchise - mytyres in the UK - ... my latest tyres came promptly from Germany and saved me 300 bucks.

I invested in a good set (4) of Snow Chains available over internet/Ebay, cost about £100 for 4 and fit them if needed. If you need them just pop them on in a couple of minutes, as if the snow is bad you will need them not snow tyres.

Many thanks for all words of wisdom - Penny is TR Gomme the one that Badger is talking about on the industrial estate in Comunanza? I will check out online prices before we go and chat to them so I know what we could get em for. Thanks for that tip sagriasolar.

Great news re not needing new wheels too. I love him going to help a lady in distress in Montemonaco - thats my kinda garage!

I will get chains as well but think would be much happier with snow tyres on the car anyway rather than just relying on chains, I find em dead fiddly to fit and round here good grip is pretty essential I suspect all winter not just when a big snow dump hits and the chains are the only way out.

cheers guys

Am x

Not sure if it's the same one, but TR Gomme is on the industrial estate actually in Comunanza. Snow tyres are well worth the money. I find chains a real pain but my husband has them down to a fine art and can do them in 50 seconds - we timed him!

No, it is a different one Penny. It is on the estate just as you leave Amandola, by the sports stadium and garage.

has anyone tried snow socks? - they appear to be a lot easier to put on

I know some people swear by them, but Snow Socks may not conform to Italian legal requiremenst if used in an area where snow chains should be used in Winter.

Thank God for the edit facility - my original posting was about 'Snow Cocks! - still - brings a whole new meaning to frozen chickens!

They are supposedly much easier to put on but as Alan has mentioned, the legal side of things seems unclear - it has come up before on the forum, but not sure if a final answer re legality in Italy has been established. Also, not sure how long they would last on any rough, or even not so rough white country roads!

they are in fact not snow tires but winter tires..ie made of a rubber that performs in lower temps to allow you to reduce the risk of slipping and sliding whilst also adding grip in not only snow but ice and heavy rain..

i agree with all the comments above suggesting their use.. and would say that chains are solely for extreme weather conditions in very high and steep areas..  winter tires to my mind are pretty well as sensible a choice to make as the fact that you put on a seatbelt when you drive.. others have opposing views as to their costs and use.. because they look on them as snow assets .. however you will find that summer tires here are designed for work in very hot weather, in low temps the rubber becomes very hard and does not work correctly..  hence you find your vehicle sliding on bends and at stop signs.. whats the point.. 

A general article.

http://www.shopwiki.co.uk/wiki/Snow+Tyres

This shows tyre regulations in many EU countries.

http://www.etyres.co.uk/winter-tyres-law