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Going by the continuous reports in the local press, plus the experience of one friend, clocking is rife! Much safer to buy from a personally known source than from a motor dealer - although I believe the proper factory concessions are much more reliable. However, if you check out used car prices you will probably be in for a shock. They are outrageously high - none of this losing 30% when you drive it off the forecourt as in the UK. Most models hold their value very well, and then (as mentioned) there is the €400 - €600 'passagio di proprieta' which you have to add on top. (This is included in the offer price on a new car.) You can get an overview of used car prices at  (though to be honest it is much easier to pick up the magazine at any edicola, which will also have the 'list price' of new cars). If you are just after a functioning small car, then do get 'personal' quotes from your local Fiat, Citroen, VW etc. dealers for a new car. They are desperate to sell - you might be pleasantly surprised. Insurance is outrageously expensive - direct line Italy allegedly does take account of your UK 'no claims' - I'm not sure if Italsure do third party insurance on IT registered cars, they certainly do the 'extension' to fully comp at a reasonable cost. Be aware if you buy new that the 'road tax' is never included in the price. You have to do this yourself. Also you should check out that the car tax is up to date if you buy second hand - either ask the seller for proof in the form of receipts going back to when the car was new, or check it out with ACI. You should also check whether the car is on HP, either ACI or a notaio will do this/tell you how to do it.

Capo Boi is reporting EXACTLY the same issues about this 'salt water' myth which I have come across. Maybe we'll get some plus points from people using this stuff and happy with it - because that would be useful. (And BTW Capo Boi, Fillide was quite a famous prostitute, and therefore I'm a she!!) 

The 'extra' cost of a salt water pool (compared with a more conventional chlorine system) is probably around the €2000 level. The stuff which is more costly is any metal which comes into contact with the salt water:  here I'm thinking pool steps (obvious), but also screws holding the underwater lights, and metal items in the circulation pump/filter, any plumbing connections which involve metal etc etc. It is essential that you use a pool company which understands how aggressive salt water is, and can source exceptional quality stainless steel (the specs for stainless vary widely). A 'trad' 8m x 4m pool I'd expect would come in at around the €20,000 mark (that is for the pool, excavated, installed, equipped but with basically no surrounding paving), using a 'system' and a plastic liner. About the same for a reinforced concrete pool, painted with a plastic paint. You can check all this stuff out in English on many swimming pool sites, American or UK. You might discover that 'salt water' is a sort of marketing myth appealing to aspirant 'greens' - I'm hoping to hear wonderful reports from people who have a 'salt water' pool - the fact that you float more easily in salt water is the only plus I can see - you still need the chlorine...

I'm not certain, but I think the glass merchants La Vela in Vitellino do these - if not they will give you a rec.  Alternatively there is a nice reliable company in Tavernelle - can't remember the name but they are on the rhs of the road approaching from Panicale. (Down a back alley). There is also Feral, close to Vaiano, but they are not (IMO) reliable. There is a big place just about opposite Pesciarelli close to Magione. The search in pagine gialle would be for serramenti in alluminio. Costs - circa €200 for a pair to cover a window 1m x 80cm. Not much more for a bigger window. I'm not snobby about aluminium, but I wouldn't use it if the window faces south or is subject to lots of sun: any metal shutter gets warm and radiates heat into your house, especially if it is of a dark colour, (absolutely not what you want!) but aesthetically the 'traditionally coloured' ally shutters are just about indistinguishable from their wooden counterparts (IMO)

It sounds likely that the right of passage is only enjoyed by your neighbour. If this is the case (and if the piece of land is catastally in your ownership, and not communal) it may be that you can negotiate with your neighbour and exchange the 'passage' for another route, as you suggest. If the neighbour is agreeable I would recommend you consult a notaio and do a miniature public act recording the agreement. It shouldn't cost much at all.

Definitely get your geometra to make a record of the condition of your house before the neighbours start work. If something becomes difficult during the build, remember that the first point of contact for 'public oversight' is your comune, probably the polizia municipale (vigili).They may require you to complain in writing (a denuncia), but equally likely they'll just do a drive through to see how the site is behaving, and act off their own bat if they don't like what they see (on safety, interference with the neighbour, or untidiness grounds: I'm not sure they have the authority to have an opinion on build quality). Good luck

About ½ûÂþÌìÌà festas: those of a non-religious nature will be forced to fall on Sunday (not Monday as I said yesterday) - but it seems Dec 8 will remain a holiday on the day on which it falls. It's the Festa of the Immacculate Conception.

Well, as far as 'shorting' is concerned, the markets were 'shorting' sovereign debt (in other words betting on governments not being able to honour their repayments of the principle) (not quite akin to missing a dividend payment). You have to understand that iou s issued by governments are basically a Ponzi scheme, and also you should understand that 'markets' is a polite word for casinos. IMO none of this stuff has anything to do with 'benefits'. Even the bill for those handouts doesn't compare with the PFI money.  I do agree that the so called socialist regimes presided over by Blair and Brown (and we can go back to Clinton if you want!) were (arguably) designed to make the rich richer: the other interpretation is that evil rich boys took advantage of those innocent politicians 'abroad'. As always, the powers that be shaft their errors onto the poorest in society - whether it's about conning mugs into buying stock into their pension 'pots' (what a repulsive word!) or cutting ppayments to cripples. T'was always thus!

Well, you probably know that Italy, along with Spain and Belgium and some other European countries, did ban 'shorting' of bank shares on Thursday. This is widely regarded as a further 'kicking the can down the road' manouvre, but hey ho, it 'helped' Euro banks today. So, (aside from shorting) the ½ûÂþÌìÌà government considers itself sufficiently bullied that this evening (Aug 12) they have approved yet another 'emergency budget'. Most of the measures are not likely to be of interest to forum members (unless they generate significant ½ûÂþÌìÌà income) but there is one little provision which will certainly affect us all. Included in this 'budget' is the intention to make all national festas fall on a Monday (apart from those which "are obliged" to fall on their particular day). It's not clear which festas 'must' fall on their date - one would imagine that Christmas is in this category (!) but the silly season discussion topic is bound to revolve around whether May 1 is inviolable (the PD wil want that one!), or maybe also Jan 1. There aren't any Scots votes to be had in Italy... Anyway, this madcap scheme (no doubt based on the excuses which Mervyn King et al have made for lack of UK performance recently: "too many bank holidays") at least means that Dec 8 and June whatever (President's Day?) won't catch me by surprise again!

It's worth checking the cost of having more than one authorised driver when you hire a car in Italy. (It's nonsense of course, since it is the car which is insured, by law, for anybody over 23 to drive!) Anyway, I'm told it's about €7 per day per extra driver usually, but recently some friends hired from a company which they described as a cheaper offshoot of Hertz, I'm pretty sure it trades under the name Advantage, and one of the reasons for their choice was it didn't have an extra charge for an extra driver.