Category Archives: Info

Brexit and Italian property

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What changes has brought the Brexit for anyone who wants to buy a home in Italy?

Mainly nothing is changed to the buying process or costs related, but there are limits on how long you might spend there. Unless you have a visa or Italian residency you can spend in Italy a maximum of 90 days within a 180 day period.

If you want to stay in Italy for more than 90 days you will need to apply for a visa before you leave for Italy. This needs to be done through the Italian consulates in the UK, and can typically take three months. Make sure you choose the right type of visa: check the Italian Foreign Ministry’s website.

There’s a long-stay visa (or national visa/D-Visa), but on entry to Italy you also need to obtain an Italian residence permit, which is what authorises you to stay in Italy for longer than 90 days.

Italy offers a variety of visas, each with its own set of fees and conditions.

  • Work Visa: Those who have a job offer from a company in Italy.
  • Student Visa: It’s open to students already enrolled in an Italian educational institution.
  • Family Visa: UK citizens can join a family member that holds an EU citizenship.
  • Self-employed Visa: It’s available to whoever wishes to open a business in Italy.
  • National visa or elective residency visa: For those who want to live in Italy and can financially support themselves without working (retirement visa).
  • Golden Visa (Italian Investor Visa): For those who intend to make a large investment in or donate to Italy.
  • Click here to get the Italian VISA application form.

Healthcare in Italy is good. But you can access state cover in more than one way. For temporary stays, a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) can be used until it expires, after which the new UK Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC) may be used. If you are living and working in Italy, your residence permit will enable you to apply and register for the healthcare system – ‘iscrizione obbligatoria’.

The Salento Aquarium of Santa Maria al Bagno, Puglia

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The Salento Aquarium of Santa Maria al Bagno, Nardò, Puglia. A public Aquarium was realized in the frame of the European Territorial Cooperation Programme, ETCP, Greece-Italy 2007-2013. Such a project (acronym APREH) started in 2011 with the University of Salento as Leader Partner, Province of Lecce and Municipality of Nardò as Italian partners, and University of Patra and Municipality of Kefallinia as Greek partners. The proposal of an Aquarium had the aim to promote the archaeological and natural submarine heritage along the coastline of the Salento Peninsula and of the Kefallinia island. The Italian partnership realized an Aquarium at Santa Maria al Bagno (Nardò, Lecce), restructuring an ancient building with services, a conference room, and 4 exhibition environments equipped with a total of 17 tanks of variable volume (25 – 2,500 litres), hosting a total of 100 species of marine organisms. Four tanks were equipped with reproductions of wrecks: a Junker 88 airplane, an Italian Cargo Ship, an English destroyer of the 2nd World War, and a Roman ship of the 2nd Century b.C. with its cargo of amphorae. The official opening was celebrated on 05 June 2015. The structure is the unique public Aquarium functioning in the Southern Italy apart from Naples; it has been open to visitors only during the 13 week ends of June-August, receiving more than 7,000 visitors mainly coming from Province of Lecce and the rest of Italy. Also due to front end evaluation studies, a plan for the future functioning of the Aquarium is presented, taking into consideration its educative role, and its touristic attractiveness.

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Porsche invests 60M Euros in Nardò Technical Center

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In May 2012 Porsche Engineering took over responsibility for the Nardò Technical Center in Apulia, South Italy. The testing center was founded in 1975 and is, today, one of the most important and famous proving grounds in the world.

The characteristic feature of the Nardò Technical Center is its Circular Track, 12.6 kilometers long, 4 kilometers in diameter. Due to the inner inclination of the outermost track, the centrifugal force is compensated and it seems as if you are driving in a straight line, even at high speeds of 240 km/h. Besides the impressive ring track, Nardò Technical Center offers various test tracks and facilities.

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Italy: Puglia (Apulia or Le Puglie) – Overview

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Santa Maria al Bagno beach, Nardò, Lecce, Puglia, Italy – Luigi Spano photografer

Puglia contains the provinces of Bari (also the name of the regional capital city and now a chic resort), Brindisi, Foggia, Lecce, Taranto and the new-born BAT (including the territories and the towns of Barletta, Andria and Trani). It covers an area of 19,356 sq km (7,474 sq mi) with a population of some 4 million. Puglia forms the heel of the Italian boot, jutting into the Ionian and Adriatic Seas towards Albania and forming the Gulf of Taranto to the west. Continue reading →

Santa Maria al Bagno: a painting for sale on the famous Saatchi Online

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The beauty of Santa Maria al Bagno again in the middle of the scene. In fact, the international artist Ieva Baklane, who live and work in Canada, after seeing some pictures of her relatives regarding their holiday, got inspired by the place and painted “Santa Maria al Bagno, Italy”. The painting is for sale on the website of the famous contemporary art gallery SAATCHI. Thanks to my friend Hakan for sharing this news and be part of it!!

Written by soniafalconieri.com

Puglia: One of the 10 Best Wine Travel Destinations 2013

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From classic regions to lesser-known corners, our editors select this year’s best in wine, food and cultural adventure. Published on Jan 8, 2013 BY WINE ENTHUSIAST EDITORS

puglia within top 10 best wine travel destination

A sense of place—the sights, sounds, smells and spirit of a travel destination—can endear that area to a person forever. For wine lovers, there is no better way to cement that connection than to explore the world around those vines. As the wine market becomes ever more global, packed with offerings ranging from the most storied wine regions to the most offbeat, so does the wine traveler’s itinerary.

Each year, our editors travel the world to experience the best wine and food, and in turn, discover the most exciting places to visit. Our list for 2013 represents the wide swath of cultural and culinary experiences on the must-see list.

Whether your tastes lean toward the rustic climbing trails of South Africa’s Stellenbosch or a tour of a Puglian castle, this list promises outstanding travel experiences and unforgettable wines.

1) Rioja, Spain

2) Danube, Austria

3) North & South Forks of Long Island, New York

4) Stellenbosch, South Africa

5) Monterey County, California

6) Vale dos Vinhedos, Brazil

7) Willamette Valley, Oregon

8 ) Hunter Valley, New South Wales, Australia

9) Douro Valley, Portugal

10) Puglia, Italy

 

More on Puglia Region… Flanked by two seas, magical Puglia is a thin peninsula packed tight with the same attributes that attracted us to Italy decades ago: It’s an undiscovered land with an enviable quality of life. The octagonal Castel del Monte, a 13th-century castle, inspires architects today, and the historic city of Lecce offers the purest expression of Moorish-Italian Baroque. Weathered stone and whitewashed buildings pop against green olive groves. Trulli are the mysterious cone houses in the Itria Valley, and all of Puglia’s stunning beauty is surrounded by some of the bluest waters in Europe.

Puglia Prominent Wines
Puglia excels at warm-climate wines made with indigenous grapes. Castel del Monte delivers red wines from Uva di Troia, Bombino Nero and Aglianico. Interesting work is being done with crisp Bombino Bianco white wines and sweet Moscato di Trani. Further south, the Primitivo grape (Primitivo di Manduria) is famously linked genetically to Zinfandel. Local wines show ripe berry nuances, inky concentration and soft tannins. Salice Salentino is planted to Negroamaro (sometimes blended with Malvasia Nera) for hearty reds. The past five years have a remarkable rise of crisp white wines from Greco, Fiano, Malvasia and Chardonnay.

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Marilyn of Andy Warhol on holiday in Salento

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“The reason I’m painting this way is that I want to be a machine” A.W.

This is the first time that the most important icon of PoP ARt visits Puglia. A nice exhibition set in rooms of Aragonese Castle of Otranto, Salento, Puglia, Italy.

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Nardò DOC Red and Rosè Wines – Ancient wine for a new market!

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A table wine available as red or Rosé, the Nardò is mostly made from Negramaro grapes, which give the wine a distinctive bitter note, but other vines can be added, for instance red Malvasia of Brindisi and red Malvasia of Lecce, both of Greek origin. The Rosé is pale cherry pink in colour, the flavour is rich and quickly fading, winy, fruity with notes or raspberry and blackberry. The taste is pleasantly dry, warm, almost smooth, poorly tannic and tasty, full-bodied and well-balanced. The red has a nice ruby red colour, which can range from pale to dark, with some orange specks if aged. The flavour is winy and rich, the taste is well-balanced, slightly bitter, velvety and reasonably tannic. The minimum alcoholic strength of both wines is 11.5 degrees. With a minimum alcoholic strength of 12.5°C and two years’ aging, it can be labelled as “Riserva”.

 

Matches – How to consume it:
The Rosé should be drunk with moderately rich dishes, such as boiled sea fish with sauce, stuffed cuttlefish, pasta and chickpea soup, baked gilthead. The read instead is a good match for red meat, especially lamb, pork, mixed boiled meats and cold pork meats.

 

How to recognize it:
As well as mentioning the Registered Designation of Origin, the label must include all the information laid down by the law: native region; designation, in which the cultivar from which the wine comes is matched to the geographical area in which it is grown; nominal volume of the wine; bottler’s name or corporate name and address; bottler’s number and code; country; batch number; ecological information.

 

Notes:
The perfect serving temperature for the rosé is 12-14°C, in glasses for smooth rosé wines within two years of the harvest. The red should be served in long glasses at a temperature of about 18°C.

This is a noble and full-bodied wine that in the past has been used for cutting more famous wines. Now there are several wine producers in the area who are gaining a place in the sun in the wide list of Italian wines.

 

If you have a chance to spend your holiday in Nardò area or around its marinas Santa Caterina, Santa Maria al Bagno and Sant’Isidoro, you can free taste those kind of wines directly at the producers shops or winery.

 

The following is our suggested Nardò wine tour:

 

1) Cantina Sociale di Nardò – http://www.cantinanardo.it/azienda_en.php

 

2) Vini Bonsegna – http://www.vinibonsegna.it/INDEX.HTM

 

3) Schola Sarmenti – http://www.scholasarmenti.it/default.asp

 

4) Vini Gabellone – http://www.tenutegabellonevini.it/ita/azienda.asp

 

5) Vini Totò – http://www.vinitoto.it