Hi

Can anyone tell me what the measurements of a normal double mattress is. I think it is around 140 cm wide and the king is 160 cm but I cannot remember the length. Making bedspread and lost the notes.

Thanks

I am from Colombia, so I speak spanish, and I have 3 kids, their ages are 7, 5 and 3.
We are living in US, since 2 years ago so, they are speaking english too. We are moving to italy with them, for a couple of years, and I would like to get advice about schools, What is better, a private english school or a public school, where they probably just learn italian. Somebody has an experience like this? Do you think I can find bilingual schools in Palermo?
Thank you !!!

Hi, I am looking to purchase a piece of land, part of which is under a usucapione declaration. I understand what this means, but the holder is 76 years old, does anybody know what will happen if he dies during the following ten year period.

Hi, I'm new to this forum, but have perused it from time to time and I think its a great way to share information and maybe solve the odd problem or two that you experience from living in a new country. I've lived in Italy for 3 years and very shameful do not speak the language very well - however I do have my excuses. I have lived for last year stuck up a hillside without a vehicle and the nearest town is 5km. My partner works in a local company for the past 2 years. However he has become very unhappy living in Italy, he now regrets coming. It was his dream to live here but I think he fell under the holiday spell. Living here, and holidaying here are two entirely different things.. The cost of living in Italy is astronomical, and the tax is high. Energies, are all expensive and the government doesnt seem to be interest in solving any of these problems. Can anyone help me win back the charm of this place? Or can anyone please tell me if they are feeling the same, do you regret moving here. Are you thinking of leaving? My partner thinks the place to go is the US, but that is not an easy place to enter... please help

My husband and I have bought an apartment in the heart of our favorite town in Umbria- Citta della Pieve. It was once the bakery for the medieval town. Now it needs complete, and I mean complete restoration. We are in need of a general contractor to do the work, as the seller /builder is no longer able to do it. We were just informed of this and are so disappointed to have to start all over. Is there anyone out there with experience restoring property in the Trasimeno area. Are there any referrals of trustworthy firms or individual craftsmen that we could hire to do this work? Any help out there would be greatly appreciated!

janm

Hi - I would appreciate some advice. My son and his wife have bought a property in Abruzzo - in the mountains. An Agency sold them the property - renovations and basic furniture were part of the package. The agency contracts to hand over the keys six months from utilities being connected. My son bought the property in September and the utilities have still not been connected. The agency keeps telling them "soon, soon, there are problems with the utilities". They were initially told that it was a Grid problem but no water has been connected (although there is already water connected in the building from the previous owners, the agency says this has to be a new supply). The agency says no renovation work can start until the utility connections have been made. The full purchase price and renovation costs have been handed over plus a substantial amount for utility connections which the agency also takes responsibility for. My son and his wife are living with family in Florence at the moment - expecting to move in to their new home in April. Are there such problems with utilities in Abruzzo that they are taking six months?

We are looking for a 3 month let from 1st march to end May 2009. We love Porto Cesareo. We are English and as the pound has fallen badly against the Euro, we are looking for a good deal.
Any ideas?
Thanks Jennifer

Hello Everyone
Just moved here and renting, after 2 years of trying to find a house to buy in Tuscany. So far I have not 'fallen in love' with anything I have seen, hence the temporary move.
Would love to meet up with anyone in the area, initially for a coffee and a chat.
Ciao Gill

Hi brendan here just joined today , we are from ireland and have visited and purchased a small apt in Lamezia , Calabria . We need help to find a kitchen company, furniture etc in the area hopefully at Akea prices .

:yes: I have tried to get an old family recipe which my MomMom used to make. She came from Abruzzo in the early 1900's and unfortunately has passed away and most of her recipes are gone as well. I am looking for a nut log which she called "Tatta". Can anyone help me to recreate this wonderful Italian delight?

Many Thanks
Valwop2@aolcom

Appassionata Fractional Ownership – a new way to own property in Italy

Fractional Ownership has been around a long time, especially in the USA where it is a multi-billion dollar industry, but most people in Europe are just becoming familiar with this approach to buying and owning property. It is a very simple and cost effective way of owning a second home without all the hassle and cost of running and maintaining it.
This method of ownership allows the consumer to buy a part share in an asset (the property) that would otherwise be outside their budget.

Buying a fantastic 4 bedroom, renovated, fully furnished farmhouse with a large swimming pool, tennis court, vineyard and magnificent sea views, in Italy, is out of most people’s reach but buying just a few weeks in that property suddenly makes it much more accessible!


You are able to buy the number of weeks you will actually use annually, not have a house that is likely to sit empty for most of the year. Your budget goes so much further when buying through Fractional Ownership, and you only pay your portion of the running costs while having someone else oversee the maintenance and management of the property. The headaches of buying and owning a second home outright are removed. You get all the enjoyment of owning your own second home without all the hassle.

Some often used phrases to describe fractional ownership are ‘multiple parties owning an asset’ or ‘shared ownership of an asset in perpetuity’. This differs from ‘time share’ in that the asset is actually owned by you, rather than having just a right to use time in a development for a limited period. You have the right to sell or gift your share in a fractional ownership development and it could appreciate over time. A share can be purchased in the name of an individual, jointly, through a company or a trust structure.

There are a number of ways of structuring a fractional ownership development; the Appassionata preferred method is to have a UK based company own the property. There are 52 shares corresponding to the number of weeks available. Clients can buy as many shares as they wish and time will then be allocated in the property to correspond to the shares purchased. In simple terms ‘the company owns the property, the shareholders own the company’. By structuring this way you are able to avoid the normal legal and tax issues associated with purchasing a property outright in Italy. Appassionata have handled all of these complexities and costs when originally purchasing the property through the UK Company.

To ensure that all owners get equal access and use of the properties throughout the years of ownership we have developed the Rotating Residency Calendar (RRC). This calendar will move your weeks each year so that you will enjoy all the seasons. The calendar will be published in advance and weeks can be swapped between owners. Owners who purchase 3 or more weeks of ownership will be able to link two of those weeks together on the same rotating basis. This is the fairest way of assigning weeks and the starting point will be allocated on a first come first served basis. Two weeks of the year will be held in ownership by Appassionata for maintenance purposes and where possible to assist owners to swop weeks.

The properties will be fully furnished to a very high standard, as you would your own home, they will not look like holiday rentals. The aim is to attract an affluent, aspirational customer who wants to share in something they cannot buy outright. To be able to say ‘I own a country house in Italy with a swimming pool, tennis court and its own vineyard’ is true, whether you own one or more weeks.

Finding an amazing location is also part of the development process and we will not disappoint. Le Marche is situated on the east coast forming the calf of Italy. Set against a mountain backdrop with a picturesque landscape of vineyards and olive groves dotted with small farms and medieval hill top villages. There is a wonderful coastline with lovely sandy beaches only 15 minutes drive away.

This is authentic Italy, untouched by mass tourism and extremely welcoming to foreigners.

To further explore the opportunity of fractional ownership please visit our website www.appassionata.com .


We have taken a long time to develop this project and will launch the first phase in the spring of 2009.


Michael Hobbs :smile:
Appassionata Ltd.

good evening again!!
having read the various threads about registering a car in Italy it appears to be a complex and expensive process?
As i understand it if we bring a UK registered car to Italy we would need to return each year to the UK have its MOT? There also seems to be a time limit on how long you can drive a non Italian registered car in Italy? Is this enforced?
Does the cost of having to return to the UK each year both time and money make it more cost effective than just registering the car in Italy or buying a car in Italy
we would like to find the simplest and most economical way of having a car in Italy so any help / suggestions would be great.
We are based in le Marche and plan to move out permanently in the next year

Cheers Donald

good evening
we have recently completed renovating our farmhouse in Le Marche, which is between Force and Comunanza. We intend to move permantenly to Italy within the next year.
i have spent a couple of hours reading through the numerous threads about obtaining residency and sadly feel even more confused ( I'm sure this is to do with me rather than people's efforts to clarify this) Could someone provide me with a simple explanation, if this is possible??
Should we start the process now? We have Italian bank accounts and codice and the deads to our house. We currently spend about 4 days per month along with longer holidays in Italy.
We intend only to return to the UK for the occasional holiday once we move.
any advice would be gratefully appreciated:smile:

Donald

My wife and I live most of the year in Le Marche. We have private health insurance which we got to get our residency and to cover us out here, but we are having difficulty in signing on at the local hospital.

Any ideas please

Chris

According to tradition, in 1620 the trulli houses became urban residences; for the first time Alberobello experimented a serious population increase, tanks to Giangirolamo (Jean Jerome) Acquaviva of Aragon, also known as the Apulian "guercio" (cross-eyed), who inherited the title of Earl of Conversano. He encouraged the peasants to settle near Silva Arboris, by granting them a piece of land and occasionally some tax relief. The Earl wanted to enlarge his domain without falling under the King of Naples' jurisdiction. In those years, in fact, the Aragonese family issued the edict "Prammatica de Baronibus" which forbid the creation of new urban areas without the King's permission; the Earl skilfully got round the law and the farmers were forbidden to use any mortar for the construction of their "casedde", the trulli houses. If the King decided to carry out an inspection, the farmers were ready to destroy the trullo: a rope would have been tied to the top of the roof, on the "pinnacle"; a horse would have pulled the rope, thus destroying the whole construction; and soon afterwards a new trullo house would have been built on the same spot.
The trullo house is made of small stones and is built with the dry-stone technique; its conical pyramid roof gives the building a particular original aspect that can only be admired in the Valley of Itria. In fact, these trulli houses feature an architectural conception and a shape which are unique of their kind. In many parts of the world you can find similar architectures, dating back to different ages, but they don't explain the origins of the trullo house. The Sardinian "nuraghes" and the "talajota" in the Balearic Islands date back to the Proto-historic period. A similar building technique has been used for the Apulian "pajare" in Salento, for the Istrian "casite", for the Sardinian "pinnette" and for other buildings in Dordogna, in Navarra, in Catalonia, in Ireland, in Kurdistan, in the Ligurian Alps and in the Hebrides. But the structural analogies certainly derive from the common intelligence of mankind, rather than from any genetic relationship.
The trullo houses of the Valley have very ancient origins and they became widespread during the XVII century. All the trulli houses which still survive nowadays date back to the XVIII and XIX centuries, because the farmers used to build new houses instead of restoring the old ones. Today the most ancient trullo can be found in the Marziolla district of Locorotondo. The date of its construction has been written on the big trullo's architrave: 1557; the house might need some restoration works, but it still boasts the proud and fierce aspect of a true… grandfather of bygone times!
Is it truly possible that the trulli houses have…Biblical origins? In Turkey, bordering with Syria, there's a village whose name is Harran. The trulli houses in this village are different from the ones in the Valley of Itria: in fact they have been built with dried out ashlars covered with clay and they probably represent the ancient parents of Apulian trulli houses. About two thousand years before Christ, Abraham had actually left from the "crossroads" (that is the meaning of "Harran")- from the old Caran- in order to take on a journey towards Canaan; around the beginning of the XV century, the Anatolian population left from Caran and reached the Apulian coasts, where they probably introduced their particular building technique, adapting it to the new material: the local limestone, the so called "chianca". A peculiarity: in the local dialect "Alberobello" is Jarubbedd and in Harran people used to worship a solar divinity called Yarhibol. And again: "Locorotondo" is U'curdunn and "Giordania" in Arabic is A'urdunn. Is it just a coincidence, or maybe is there a true Biblical origin? The trulli houses in the Valley of Itria hide a fascinating past, which is yet to be discovered!

Detullio Law Firm wrote this article on behalf of Puglia Property for Sale For more information on Southern Italy Property Sale , italian legal advice and real estate law tips for visiting Legal and Property deals online you can visit trullo-bello.com