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In my opinion, unless your 'deeds' include the classification A10 you are not 'luxury' for IMU. Penny has outlined the parameters for being classed as A10, but because you have (I presume) not completed the works (which maybe could result in this classification after a catastal re-evaluation) you are not yet basking in the glory of luxury living!

This current earthquake swarm in Emilia is ghastly, and unusual. The epicentres are very shallow (the biggest one having been at about 10km), but many up to 3+ (Richter) have been at less than 3km depth. They are getting a 2+ tremor every ten minutes (approx). The thing about rock is that it 'leaps', or shudders, (and this can have devastating consequences for buildings which are founded half on rock and half on built up ground): but the effects on a deep soil geology (where this stuff is happening now) are that the whole world effectively liquidises itself into something less solid than ice cream. There have been alterations in altitude of 15cm - doesn't sound a lot - but few masonry (historic) structures can cope with this on clay. The seismologists have been uttering rather pessimistic opinions about the possibility of future shocks in Emilia. For any of you looking to find an earthquake-proof area of Italy, it is somewhat chilling to learn that the affected area was considered 'very safe' only ten years ago...

Well done, now I suppose I'm going to have to beg borrow or steal a Kindle 

I think that with a realignment of your dish (probably to a different Eutelsat, as Badger suggests), you should get the RAI channels back. This page of geek wisdom shows that the RAI 1, 2, 3 channels have now left Hotbird. 13deg. You could find the equivalent page for any of the Eutelsat 'birds' (!) on the same site. Actually, googling Hotbird gets you the satellite - which is nice, because my innocent search on 'donkey' didn't get me the right kind of asses.

I agree - but one good thing is that a new car doesn't virtually halve in value once you drive it out of the showroom, which happens in the UK. Another good reason for s/h cars being more expensive is that they do seem to stay in much better condition in Italy than they do in the UK (almost no salt on the roads). I wonder if this is different nearer to the coasts - do cars go rusty there? Then there is the 'tax'which you have to pay on change of ownership - typically around 500 Euros: I think this has a major dampening effect on the volume in the s/h market - people think twice about buying a used car, and a market with relatively few transactions doesn't have the incentive to be very competitive. Be aware that if you buy s/h LHD in the UK (and want to register it on IT plates) do make sure it is completely European spec (kilometers on the speedo etc, the right lights and mirrors) or the motorizzazione might make a fuss, and you have to pay the çhange of ownership tax on import even though you're 'selling'it to yourself!

I[m sure Annec posted with the best of intentions. I'm intrigued, because I'm thinking Esme and Rickardo could both be synonyms for Flip: but HGS, it's an entertaining thread, and the food shop is getting some exposure.

I think you should move on  to Spain.

It would be a real shame if your very useful site went off air, sagraiasolar. What's the snag? Have you looked at wordpress (a popular and full featured blog hosting site) - I'd  imagine you could retain the 'heatingitaly'core word, and even if you want it 'ad free' it is peanuts costwise.

I basically know nothing - (having decided all my TV was going to come down the phone line, five years ago) but Hotbird was a satellite we used to use for analog. What are the coordinates for this sat? Currently (but not permanently) there is Astra 1N (fta BBC etc), which I think is somewhere near 28deg E of S (maybe 23 deg).   Worth checking if the powers that be have turned Hotbird off.

I do think this discussion/argument has legs. Marmite versus Nutella, Simmenthal versus Fray Bentos - over to you to develop the theme! Maybe I left the UK too long ago, (in other words, maybe it happens even in Blighty now) - but being able to buy pre rolled pastry which fits with total precision the throw away aluminium cooking tins - my idea of heaven! You guessed, I'm the one who opts to bring a quiche - not a DOC ½ûÂþÌìÌà product, but it gets eaten, so I gather it isn't too far off the ½ûÂþÌìÌà scale of edibility.