½ûÂþÌìÌÃ

If you are seeking breakdown cover in Italy (also extendable to 'abroad') what about trawling the ACI site? I'm a bit of a gambler and an optimist, but my local garage was trying to wedge me into this, for my thirteen year old car, for the princely sum of 30something euros for fourteeen months cover. That was a special offer, but it isn't an expensive policy, and it runs independently of your full-time RCA insurer.

SELF is a chain of DIY stores! Hammerite is buyable here in Italy, though not everywhere by any means. Galv steel is a difficult surface to get paint to adhere to - I suppose what you'd be looking to read on the tin would be fondo per zincato. That'd buy you a 'primer' which should stick to the accaio zincato, over which you could use any smalto.

I have a notion of what you are asking for re seeds, but I fear that 'native ½ûÂþÌìÌÃ' wild flower seeds hasn't been understood as a market: it's possibly worth searching google.it with some precise terms, because maybe some small entrepreneur has made an effort. Othewrise, I'm ashamed to recommend Leroy Merlin, who do sell mixes of 'mediterranean' wild flowers. I'm somewhat bemused by the notion that small plants are either difficult to obtain in Italy, or are cheaper in the UK. Just yesterday I was walking around a rather upmarket nursery  - take no notice of the published prices - and advising clients that if they wanted that to die for pink flowered lavender, yes, pay their non exorbitant price, it will be impossible to find elsewhere - but if you want the common purple one pick up a decent sized (.5l pot) for €2 in the market. Clearly it is mad to pay fancy prices for a bog standard rosemary or bay or lavender - every roadside tunnel will throw these at you for no money - but if you need to be certain it is the variety which is written on the label then expect to pay a little bit extra. And if you want a 30cm high cypress, (I do agree with Penny that this baby will transplant and make 3m more quickly than buying something at 1.5m) then look for a vivaio communita montana.

Assuming you are resident in Italy, and have a house in the UK, and are personally liable for the Council Tax on the UK property then you can certainly detract that Council Tax paid in the UK from any liability you have to the ½ûÂþÌìÌà tax authorities resulting from owning an overseas property. It is not entirely clear (yet) how you would stand if you own an overseas property on which a national tax is levied, but which is paid by a third party (for example a tenant). It is looking as if the possibility of detracting Council Tax (or similar) will be on a personal basis, rather than a property basis - which makes sense (if only ½ûÂþÌìÌÃs could write rational rules from the outset)!

It is very difficult to get (let alone for me to give) a definitive answer to your queries. At present, in Umbria, there is as yet no formal legal requirement for a 'thermal certificate' (ACE) to be provided at the act of sale, but it is quite likely that any estate agent who you approach will tell you that they won't even advertise a roofless ruin unless you have got one. Similarly, for a house such as yours, a notaio is still able to do an act of sale without a certificate of abitabilita (agibilita). (The buyer must accept that he is buying in the full knowledge that this certifcate is not available, and he must also accept that the thermal performance is dire - but at the moment it is still possible to sell without these certificates). However,  estate agents are being (understandably) cautious, and effectively making up the law for themselves. It's all very well to have considered you have done a compromesso (without the certificates), then at the last minute the lender funding the purchaser refuses the loan unless they can see the certificates. You, as the seller, have probably already paid the estate agent, so the better agents want to avoid this stressful situation by making you jump through every conceivable hoop ahead of time. Ask any agent who you are thinking about advertising with - talk to your notaio - get their opinions. One thing which is important is to make sure that the catastal plans of your house correspond with the real situation (even concerning internal walls and positions of staircases etc) because this question must be asked by the notaio at the act of sale (though again, if the buyer is willing to say yes, they correspond, that is enough - but you can't rely on the lender, if there is one, going along with this small deceit). Your geometra can sort this out (if necessary) very quickly. I do sympathise with you - who'd have thought that ½ûÂþÌìÌÃs would concern themselves which such pecadillos only five years ago. I blame it all on the banks!

You talk about 'battens': is this a floor surface which is over a concrete slab? If it is, and you are using solid softwood floor boards (probably tongued and grooved), then it looks like a reasonable price given that the boards cost around €30 per sqm. (This is a lot more than in the UK because it isn't a common solution to flooring in Italy.) Add the battens, fixing, and varnishing and it isn't difficult to reach €100. For the same sort of price it might interest you to look at some of the 'system' wood look floors (where you have a veneer of pre finished wood glued to a plywood substrate, in a format of 120cm x 2m or thereabouts) - you have a much wider aesthetic choice, greater avoidance of shrinkage problems, and a guaranteed resistant finish, factory applied. The material costs more, but the labour is significantly less. Check out places like Leroy Merlin for an idea of what is on offer if you think about this route. If it is on the ground floor you should ask yourself why the previous floor needed repairing, and now replacing - perhaps there is some damp involved which it would be wise to fix first.

You should get this one - Patente B: it allows you to drive any car, small trucks up to 3.5tonnes, vehicles carrying up to eight passengers, tractors and motorcycles under 125cc.  You can tow a trailer if the car is heavier than the trailer (but beware - there are rules not related to the driving licence about trailers).  Basically the categories are now the same as in the UK. I don't think the ½ûÂþÌìÌÃs have any equivalent of an 'automatic car only' licence, and if you had one of these it could create problems. If you had a full bike licence (A) in the UK you've probably lost it. This is a common occurrence when changing to an ½ûÂþÌìÌà one unless you are very clear when you make your application. Here's a link to the catergorys - (obviously you don't have to pass a test if converting from a UK or EU licence.)              

I must confess I haven't driven in or around Catania, but I've mixed it in Palermo quite happily. I'd say if you drive regularly in and around Rome you'll find Sicilian drivers surprisingly considerate. As in many other busy southern ½ûÂþÌìÌà cities the historic "give way to stuff coming from your right" (ie out of a side road) seems to be the only way to avoid total gridlock, so be prepared to be generous - you'll need another driver to repay the favour when you need to join a 'major' road. Parking is pretty nightmarish, but usually free. Watch out for ZTLs. The biggest problem (though this varies depending on provincia) is that signposting is pretty dire, and satnavs are prone to direct you onto unfinished motorways in Sicily. I wouldn't dream of driving without a good map, and the willingness to ask a likely looking local for directions. The internal fast roads were, in my experience out of peak season, almost free of traffic, and the smaller country roads were a delight to drive on. My personal view is that the Messina/Catania area is not the most interesting bit of Sicily, though I can't deny that Etna is an attraction. South of Catania is more fun, though my favourite bit is Trapani province and along to Palermo. The interior (Caltanisetta etc) has some wonderful scenery and fast empty roads on which you can go very fast.

Glad to hear that from dolcevita - not only does every signatory help, but also if this looks like a lively thread others might just read it and add their support.

Okay, it is news to me that the channel islands are ex UE. However, as ex UE, you need a permesso di soggiorno (which will, in the first instance)l last for 90 days (we are taliking theoretical here). But as Gala has said, there is nothing taxation wise to deter you from buying a house here, and bizarrely, if you chose to take up residence, there are some adantages in being ex UE. In my experience, folk who domicile themselves in the channel islands are not short of a bob or two: and if you are ex UE you fall into the same category as hard working Moroccans - and my inclination is to assist these north africans before I can be bothered to consider the trivial taxation implications of a channel island resident.