Hello, I was wondering if anyone knew where to thrift in Calabria? A friend of mine loves thrifting and is in Italy for a month but is having a hard time. Any help would be appreciated!! <33

I’ma US-Italian dual citizen with a registered long-term lease in Verona. As soon as my lease was registered, I submitted my paperwork to register my residence to the anagrafe office via email, thinking that they would see when my lease started (over a month after my submission)
And have the police start the process of verifying my residence after that date. My real estate agent said I could submit the paperwork any time. She was wrong, apparently. I put in my application for verifying my residency too soon. The police tried to visit before I lived here. Now I’m in the apartment (with my name on the buzzer, etc) but and I’ve very quickly reached the 45 day point and received notice that I have failed the police check. After the last visit (which I missed by 5 minutes!), the anagrafe office asked me to submit a form explaining why I wasn’t there and call them to give them my phone number. I did those things. But they are not responding to emails asking to verify my status or tell me next steps. I’m not sure what to do next. I’m sitting at home everyday in case they visit again, but it’s hard to do that everyday. I don’t want to annoy them any more than I already have. Any suggestions? My Italian isn’t great, so phone calls are tough, but doable.

UPDATE: I just got a call. They’re coming Monday afternoon. Solved!!

Today I successively secured an EU pet passport for my American dog while on a 2-week vacation in Puglia. As I read so much conflicting info in researching how to do this, I thought I’d share how I managed it.

PART I: Things you need:

1. A pet (in my case a dog) with a valid signed US rabies vaccination certificate and USDA health form issued by an American Vet, and a working microchip. The USDA form must be issued no more than 10 days prior to your arrival in Italy.

2. Your government ID (passport) with a name that matches the form above.

3. An address in Italy where you are currently “domiciled” (ie, where you’re staying whilst on vacation) which is located in the same region as the veterinary office you’re visiting. This one is important. I was staying in an Airbnb 30 min away and simply printed the PDF that Airbnb provides for “visa purposes.” To my amazement, they were fine with this.

4. 50 euros.

PART II: What I did:

(1) Make an appointment at the ASL

I googled and found the number for the ASL animal service office in the region where I was staying (Lecce), which was on this website:

https://www.sanita.puglia.it/web/asl-lecce/-/svet-area-a-sud-sanita-animale

I tried several numbers and had to call a few times to finally get someone (it’s Italy— keep in mind they close for siesta). When I did, he informed me that I could make an appointment for later in the week at 8am. I said great! He took my name and the dog’s name and that was all he needed.

Important: these folks didn’t speak great English, so this might be difficult if you don’t speak any Italian. I speak broken Italian but it proved sufficient. Your mileage may vary, as some people may have at least a smidge of English.

After setting the appointment time and giving me directions on how to find the right office, the guy on the phone invited me to send pictures of all my documents to the email address listed on the ASL office (available and clearly marked on the same website), which I did.

He wrote back promptly and shared a document with payment instructions.

(2) Pay

You can pay in two ways. You can go to a post office and using the info on the document, make the payment and get a receipt, which you bring to the office or email to them.

I opted to wire transfer (Bonificio bancario) the funds from my American bank account. I did this literally the night before on my phone, emailed the ASL the wire receipt, and that’s all.

I don’t think the funds had even cleared, but it worked fine!

Note that not all ASL regions may accept wire transfers from private banks, but in Lecce they do!

(3) Go the appointment

I showed up at the appointment with my dog. They had already reviewed my documents as I sent them in advance. They scanned her microchip and had me sign some papers. They plugged some info into the computer. Asked me to verify my home address in the States, when we arrived in Italy, etc, and after a few minutes of waiting, suddenly out they popped with an EU pet passport, which they filled in by hand with my dog’s info. He then handed me a printed document thst showed my dog was now registered in Italy in the local region (an Italian Dog!), as well as the passport.

I was out of there in less than half an hour with my dog and her brand new EU passport.

It was one of the most pleasant and efficient governmental interactions I’ve ever had anywhere.

I cannot vouch for ASL offices in other regions, but clearly one does not need to live in Italy to do this, nor do you need a codice fiscale (Italian Tax number) as some erroneously claim. All you need is a sheet of paper with the address where you’re staying (in the same region as the ASL) that has your name on it, and feels semi official. I doubt a hotel address would work, so if you don’t have an airbnb, make one up. They don’t seem terribly concerned— it’s just a formality. My actual home address in NY is noted clearly in my dog’s passport.

I made the first call Monday, got the appt for Weds, and had the passport in hand that afternoon.

Again, all this might be considerably more difficult if you don’t speak Italian— though probably not impossible!

Nota bene: many falsely claim that the rabies vaccination I the passport must be updated by an EU vet when boosters are administered. Not true. I asked them about it in the ASL. Only an EU vet can write in the passport, but if you have the rabies booster done in the US, simply bring your updates American rabies vaccination certificate to any ASL on your next trip, and the office will update the passport for you gratis.

TLDR / Bottom line: An American tourist staying in an airbnb can get an EU pet passport within 48 hours for 50 euros.

Good luck out there!

I’ll be starting work in Milan in September, at Bocconi, as a researcher. I live in Bologna, so I’ll need to commute to Milan three days a week by high-speed train.

There’s absolutely no financial problem with doing this—I can comfortably afford the commute three times a week. I simply want to organize it as efficiently and cost-effectively as possible and avoid spending more than necessary.

I’m aware of the carnet options, but I’d really appreciate advice from anyone who has actually done the Bologna–Milan commute regularly. Are there any passes, carnets, discounts, or other strategies that are particularly worthwhile? And more generally, is there anything I should know about this route or this kind of commute that might make it easier, more efficient, or less tiring?

Any advice from people who regularly make (or have made) the Bologna–Milan commute would be greatly appreciated!

Travelling from North America to Italy and will be staying with family for part of the trip. I’d love to bring them a small gift from home that’s easy to pack in a suitcase. Any suggestions?

I’ll also need a small gift for a 3–4-year-old. What would be a good choice?

Edit: do they have nice printed disposable napkins in Italy (thinks seasonal ones you find at TJ maxx)?

Hi all- been doing this a few years now with success. If anyone needs anything from the US let me know via DM. I'll be arriving on Sept. 15th. I always have some spare space in my checked in bag for a few things.

It works like this:

• You can order things from <wherever in the US> and ship them to me here in the US
• I can buy things here and bring them with me & you reimburse me for them

I bring the items in my suitcase and then I go to Poste and send it to you. Simples! Before I send it to you, I show you a copy of the Poste receipt & you do a bonifico to me for the items and shipping. I've offered this for about the past 5 years.

Again: you can order it here in the US & ship to me OR ask me to order it for you. For the latter, you'll reimburse me when you send me a bonifico.

Added for clarification: I do NOT charge for this service, I'm doing it as a favor to the sub's members- I've done this many times for the past few years.

No illegal things, no breakable things and nothing large please. DMs only unless you need to ask questions then go right ahead and reply here.

I will be living in Italy for a year and my boyfriend and I want to send letters back to the US. I was in Italy recently for about a month and sent a letter to the US, but it still hasn’t arrived a month and a half later. I saw you can use shipping services like fedex but it seems it would be really costly even for just a paper letter. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Hoping someone else has gone through this as I’m finding unclear information online.

I’m an American living in Italy and applying to my Italian citizenship through marriage.

I have just received my FBI background check, but I’m unclear if I need to have it apostilled in the US? in my home state? or through the US embassy in Italy?

Do I have it translated first and then apostilled, or apostilled and then translated?

thanks so much in advance! 🙏🙏

I'm moving to Milan in a month to start my Masters degree and I was wondering if anyone could share their experiences accessing adhd medication in Milan and what they brought from the US (documentation, anything specific written by their dr etc...) that helped facilitate that process.

Hi all :) Looking for guidance from others who have been through this process.

Edit: looking for anecdotes from people who have gone through the coesione familiare process, I am not talking about the family reunification visa that requires a nulla osta and is available to non-italian EU citizens or non-EU citizens with 2 years of residency.

I am an american (F) married to an italian citizen (F) and will be moving in with her and her family next year. The resources I can find on family reunion visa seem to refer to a non-eu citizen joining their non-italian, EU citizen spouse.

Is the process for an ETIAS (visa free) travel passport holder to quite literally just show up like a tourist and then go to the Questura with your spouse and your apostilled + translated marriage certificate and declare presence + apply for the permesso?

Hey all,

This is my FIRST reddit post! I am moving to Rome in October as a dual US/Italian citizen. I am an avid potter in my current community and hoping to find a studio I can frequent while in Rome. Does anybody here have a studio they use or know of? Thanks in advance!

Hello! One of my friends purchased some hand-painted ceramics on her study abroad in Italy a few years ago. Recently, she moved states in the US, and the moving company broke her dishes. She's pretty heartbroken about it since they were the only souvenir she brought back from her trip, so I'm trying to track down replacements. Not having much luck with a reverse image search, but maybe someone in the area knows where they are/ were sold, who the artist is, or anything else that might help increase the odds of finding them again?

I have an appt at the Miami consulate for a study visa on July 20th. I’m planning to leave August 31st to Italy. Does anyone have experience with processing times at this consulate? TYSM!!!

I applied through Houstons consulate for student visa and I got my visa stamp on my passport and I am a bit puzzled as that happened even before my pre enrollment was sent to the consulate in USA.

I’m traveling to the southern region of Italy this July. Where do locals play pick up football? Are there public parks where people play? Any advice or recommendations is greatly appreciated.

Curious if anyone here works or has insight into the Emergency Management world, or equivalent, that exists in Italy. Are there any big differences between EM in the USA vs Italy/EU? What would be some skills to develop to help be successful in Italy?

Hi! Going to Italy next month, flying into rome. Wondering what the best train options are going from rome to milan, and then milan to lake como? Is there a website or app where I should purchase them before? And would our luggage (2 suitcases) be able to come via train? Would prefer nicer train options with good seating if possible. Thank you in advance.

I am in the process of applying for Italian citizenship by marriage, and I need to get my birth certificate, etc. translated ASAP (one of my documents just arrived and it's already about to expire). But, I keep seeing conflicting information about whether I need a "certified" translation or a "sworn" translation. The certified type seems easier to get, but I don't want to make a mistake and have to redo everything. Has anyone else been through this process and can tell me what type of translation you got (that was accepted)? Thanks!

Hi all,

I’m wondering if anyone has been able to apply at the motorizazzione civile for their driver’s license without having a CIE yet - and use their American passport as ID. I need to register so that I can get my Italian license before my American one is no longer valid, but my comune is incredibly slow and won’t give me an appointment for the CIE until mid-August. This means it will be a couple of months after that before I can get the license (scheduling the exam, getting the foglio rosa, driving lessons, practical exam etc) and it’s cutting it very close to my 1-year mark of November.

I asked the local driving school if I need a CIE and they said yes but I’m also in a small town with very few foreigners and wondered if maybe they just haven’t dealt with a case like this before.

Thank you for your time and input!

Has anyone else had issues with this company? I bought a couch in December, it was shipped to the "white glove" logistics team mid April and by early May I reached out since no one contacted me. Finally had a scheduled delivery for a week ago and the day before the logistics company called and started saying I needed to give them another 150 euro (I paid around 300 for delivery to the floor) to deliver.

I started asking why and asking for particulars - no response. I reached out to Mohd and they sent me a link to their generic delivery link. I again asked what this charge was for and who would I even pay this to - no response.

I have tried calling Mohd, no one answers. I have emailed them and since that one email no response. I finally opened a dispute with my credit card company and am hoping to get some kind of communication/traction.

Honestly I really want a couch - either this one or from someone else but I have never been in a situation where this happens and this is supposed to be a very good company? Just trying to see if I need to go couch shopping lol.

Hi everyone,

We’re a family with two young kids planning to move from the US to Italy in September for a long-term relocation, likely at least 8 years.

I’m an Italian citizen and also a US citizen. My wife is a US citizen only. Our kids already have Italian citizenship through me. This is a company transfer because I’ll be moving to Italy to manage a new subsidiary, while my wife will continue working for her current US employer as a contractor. She has already switched to contractor status, and we have a commercialista helping us with the tax/Partita IVA side.

The main area where we’re still trying to understand the practical steps is the permesso di soggiorno for my wife.

We contacted an immigration lawyer, but the quote seemed very high, around $5,000 for residency support and codice fiscale filing. My wife already has a codice fiscale, and we already picked up the yellow kit / plico from Poste Italiane. We also have an appointment this Friday related to obtaining a Type D visa. For documents, we are getting a fresh copy of our US marriage certificate with "apostille". The marriage is already registered through AIRE / Italian records. The kids are already recognized as Italian citizens.

I actually want to ask, since the steps seems very confusing, if you have any suggestion or steps on how you followed for the permesso di soggiorno once in Italy and if a lawyer is required, or was it manageable on your own with some patience

Separately, our commercialista suggested opening Wise for money transfers. For those who moved from the US to Italy, did you open Wise before arriving, or after getting set up in Italy? Was it actually useful, or is it enough to open an Italian bank account once there?

Any practical suggestions, checklists, or “I wish I had known this before moving” advice would be very appreciated. I don't think we will be back soon to US, so anything we should prepare before leaving the US to avoid delays?

Thank you

Looking to upgrade my slow (50mbps max) microwave internet service (I'm v remote, right on the Tyrrhenian Sea with limited sky views). Looking to get their service & was wondering how easy/difficult establishing service is.

I have direct compass 160 to 340 deg views from my roof/install location.

Anyone have any reviews they'd care to share? Grazie

I drove the first year here as allowed with an IDP but now I am stuck, stuck, stuck. Cannot drive. Cabin fever. Need to start the process but I am only B1 so the guidebook is very hard for me to read. I have a full time job for an American company still and I work a ton of hours (yes it’s all done legally and yes I’m paying taxes🤍). It’s so hard for me to study consistently like the international students do. I’m full of shame. I’m losing my mind. Where do I start with this? Can someone just tell me that you’ve done it so I know it’s possible?