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29 hours and counting.

 You can buy the vignette at the services just before Basle  on the German Autobahn

" ....will be in Calais - is it worth cutting up into Belgium from there and following that route or would this change things in your opinion ...?." Definitely worth popping up into Belgium - just take the coast autoroute up to Dunquerque and turn left towards Lille and Belgium - the extra distance is minimal

From where you live - 3 hrs to Dover [£1.50] across Dartford Bridge Dover - Dunkirk [Norfolk Line] cheaper than Dover - Calais [and no greater distance to Italy] Belgium - Luxembourg - France [Metz, Nancy, Mulhouse]  - Germany [on to Basle Bye Pass route] - Switzerland [Lucerne, St Gotthard Tunnel/Pas] and on into Italy No motorway charges except for Switzerland vignette [Approx £30] until Italy Good roads [All dual carriage way/motorway except for a stretch from near Epinal to Mulhouse [but great views and a pleasant break fro motorways]] Petrol - see previous posts, but definitely fill up in Luxembourg - prices on motorway is same as off it in Luxembourg - big petrol stations as you enter and leave the country Scenery is pretty good throughout, especially Switzerland Accommodation - worth spending extra to make the trip enjoyable - Novotel has 'kids go free offer', so aren't as expensive as they seem - especially if you book well in advance and get the free breakfasts.  However there are plenty of cheaper places to stay as well [see the Accor website for some possibilities] Where to stay? - obviously depends on when you start the trip, and how long you want it to take - but I'd suggest that 300 to 350 miles a day is a reasonable max [equates to about 6 to 7 hrs driving]  There is something to be said for doing an early evening Channel crossing and stopping near Dunkirk the first night, then around  Mulhouse for the second and Italy for the third [avoiding Swiss hotels]   Hope this starts to help

"The traffic through Basel however was horrendous both ways" The route I use to avoid Basel, when travelling down to Italy is - Come down the German autoroute towards Basle [if coming from France, join it from Mulhouse], take the exit to Lorrach [jcn 68] and follow this road to the Swiss border where it joins the Swiss motorway system.  The road is now fully dual carriageway  and it has always been a quick route into Switzerland that avoids the delays that often occur in Basle I travelled this route [in reverse, from Italy to UK] on Friday afternoon - totally free of holdups - border crossing delayed us by about 3 minutes

"small retaining wall type structure .....  about 2.4 m long and would need to be about 6 - 8 feet high" That height of wall over such a short distance is difficult to construct [not enough mass/inertia for stability], and I'm not sure that sleepers would do the job I'd suggest using gabions  see  for examples Rather than buy them in, build your own using mesh from a builders merchants.  keep the size small [approx 0.5m x 0.5mx0.5m] as this makes them easy to handle and fill.  Slope them backwards [about 20 - 30 degrees from vertical] and they should be pretty solid - I'd suggest a double thickness of these small gabions [i.e. 1m thick wall] for extra stability   Good Luck

It would help if you gave a bit more info on what you want doing.  Others may then be able to advise you Also you need to ask yourself whether you need an Architect or a Geometra [Many people use geometras very successfully] My only advice would be to use a local guy [they know what the Comune like, etc] who has personal recommendations from local people - ask your neighbours etc You can find Architects and Geometras in your area in ½ûÂþÌìÌà Yellow Pages -     Good Luck    

"You could consider an overnight stop in Mulhouse" We always used to do an overnight stop in Mulhouse on the way down to Italy - There are plenty of places to stay - we used the Novotel   at Sausheim, as its good quality and on the 'Swiss' edge of Mulhouse.  However, Mulhouse is that bit farther from Italy than Lucerne area, so we now stop in Switzerland overnight, so we can be at our house mid afternoon the next day

It does depend upon whether you are living permanently in the house, or just using it as a holiday home.  I'd suggest that the amount of money you spend depends on this - if its a holiday home it may 'pay' just to go down the 'cheap to install' electric route - but if its permanent it would be well worthwhile choosing something [like a heat pump etc] that costs more to set up

Castel Focognano has [I believe] mains natural gas [metano] - is there a reason why you don't go for natural gas central heating?