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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 →

Want to buy property in Puglia? This is the right time!

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If you plan to buy a property in Puglia, Italy, it may please you to know that the pound hit a 13-month high against the euro this week, and could well climb higher.
Great news if you plan to buy a property in Italy! Sterling has hit its highest against the euro in 13 months this week, or since January 10th 2013, at 1.2258.

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Italian TV Licence: What it is and who is held to pay

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The beginning of a new year in Italy brings a new tax to anyone owning one or more television “RAI TV Licence” to be paid within the January 31th.tv livence in italyThe TV licence is a sort of media tax, an ownership impost, due regardless of actual set use or selected television stations.

There are two different TV Licence types: ordinary subscriptions are due by the owner of a home and special subscriptions by the owners of one or more radio or television sets on premises open to the public and anyhow outside their homes.

Only one fee is due for private user subscriptions and it covers all television sets subscribers have for their own private use, either at their own place or at secondary homes, and those sets held by other family members as specified on official family status records.

Persons living in furnished apartments but not owning the television set they use are also held to pay subscription fees. Persons living abroad but holders of a house in Italy equipped with a television set are also held to pay the TV Licence.

First payment could be set with a C/C 9100 current account form, available at any Italian Post Office or by credit card just calling the free number 800.191.191. New subscriptions can be started at any moment of the year by paying an amount covering the period between the month of subscription and the six-monthly or yearly subscription fee expiry date. After the first payment, the Sportello S.A.T. will send subscriber(s) the registration booklet(s) complete with the subscription number(s) and Post Office Account 3103 forms for subsequent subscription renewals.

Assignment of a television set to other uses, such as pre-recorded tape viewing, home-computer terminal or video-game monitor not exclusive of adaptability to receiving television broadcasts does not therefore exonerate from mandatory subscription fee payment. The payment is also due by holders of a satellite or digital television set subscription, even in the event of using such equipment for receiving cable or foreign origin broadcasts.

For further details please visit http://www.abbonamenti.rai.it/Ordinari/Inglese.aspx#1

Italien, die romantik des suden – Italy the romance of the south

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Winter is just gone and what we really liked of this passed season was seeing Santa Maria al Bagno on the cover of Geo Saison, important travel magazine, which every month gives to the Germans ideas and opinions about travels and worldwide destinations.

“Italien, die romantik des suden” – Italy, the romance of the south – this is the headline that the german magazine, Geo Saison, dedicates to the South Italy and particularly to Puglia, Basilicata e Calabria regions.

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Mary Obering, an American artist between New York and Lecce

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Mary Obering, an American artist between New York and Lecce
Everybody around Lecce from now until 3rd of December must not lose the occasion to see the Newyorker artist Mary Obering ‘s solo show at E-lite Studiogallery (free entry).

“Architecture of light” is the title of this exhibition which is curated by Marina Pizzarelli and, with more than twenty works, includes the latest never exhibited before where, curator said, there are clear suggestions of landscape and culture of Salento.
In fact, the artist has so deeply fallen in love with Puglia that she bought either a house and a studio and, as she said,  Salento represents for her an ideal place for inspiration and for living.

Article written by Sonia P.F. www.soniafalconieri.com

November, time for World Travel Market-ing!

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World Travel Market , the leading global event for the travel industry, is the must-attend four-day business-to-business exhibition for the worldwide travel and tourism industry. Almost 48,000 senior travel industry professionals, government ministers and international press, embark on ExCeL – London every November to network, negotiate and discover the latest industry opinion and trends at WTM.

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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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