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Whether you choose to live near the Mediterranean, the Adriatic or the Alps, Italy offers the kind of life that can’t be duplicated anywhere else on the planet.
Known for its romantic cities, timeless hill towns, snowy mountains, idyllic islands and beautiful coastline, it’s one of Europe’s most magical and vibrant countries. The watery beauty of Venice. The heritage and art of Florence. The Eternal City itself, Rome.
And big-city life is only one option. Italy has many small art towns, which offer great attractions…medieval gems set amongst the lost-in-time landscapes of Le Marche, Umbria and Tuscany. These regions make up central Italy…and they’re places you could easily imagine yourself living. Towns like Urbino, Orvieto and horse-mad Siena. Assisi, the birthplace of St. Francis…San Gimignano of the starry nights and medieval stone skyscrapers…
If you enjoy the good things in life, you should take a look at Italy. And that applies whether you’re considering buying an affordable home in the sunshine for retirement…or as a bolthole for holidays. Italy is the perfect place for enjoying extended adventures. Stay a month, stay a year, stay forever…
With thousands of miles of coastline and a mountainous spine, in spring the sea and mountain combination means you could be skiing in the morning and beach-bumming by the afternoon.
The sands on the Adriatic Coast are smooth and golden. And even in winter, the waves sing of summers to come. It’s a country of sizzling sunshine and balmy evenings, of fishing trips and harbours jostling with white-sailed yachts. Piazzas erupt with parties. Lengthy meals are enjoyed al fresco.
And the views from every village, town and city are sensational. You can always see another collection of spires, towers and rooftops lying like buried treasure in the folds of the mountain foothills.
For many people, where to find the world’s most passionately indulgent lifestyle is no secret. At the last official count, 4,570,317 foreigners were living in Italy. Living there and enjoying la dolce vita. That’s local lingo for ‘the sweet life’. And at a much lower cost than you might think.
The Christmas season here in Italy is in full swing. It was kicked off officially by the national holiday of the Immacolata on December 8. That’s the day when the switch is thrown on public tree lightings and ornate illuminations festooning streets all over the country, bringing with them smiles and joy and signalling to all that you have no hope of maintaining any semblance of a diet for the next month.
When Jan Keshen retired from her teaching job last year, she celebrated by planning a three-month trip to Italy. She said being able to spend time seeing the country in-depth was a dream come true. “We’re not super-rich,” says Jan. But by staying in apartments and balancing longer stays in less expensive spots with a few hotel nights in cities, she and her husband struck an affordable balance...
Many guidebooks and websites are dedicated to Tuscany, one of Italy’s most famous regions. But most of them seem to focus on the same over-trod territory and highlight the “usual suspects” in terms of activities and sights. With that in mind, we are going to look at some fun and interesting alternatives for a trip to Italy’s most famous destination, to mix things...
There are many appealing reasons that inspire expats to move to Italy. The country has given us Michelangelo, Raphael and Botticelli. Pizza, gondolas and scarlet Ferraris. Opera, ice cream and Prada handbags. Who wouldn’t want to move to Italy, Europe’s most intriguing and seductive country? Just think of its warmth, style and wonderful food…
Many tourists are under the impression that Italy is expensive and therefore the prospect of living in Italy seems unrealistic. Opt to dine in a tourist-trap eaterie right next to the Colosseum and all your fears are likely to be confirmed but thetruth is, outside of the tourist hotspots, you don’t have to spend a fortune to enjoy the good life...
My typical day starts at the bar where I ease into the morning with a hot, frothy cappuccino, made just right by our friendly barista, who dishes the day’s news along with the caffeine. She is the hub of the village, the one who explains who’s who and what’s going on. Not a gossip, really, just an “informer”...
I consider my wife, Jan, and I to be experimental expats. I call us “experimental”, because we’ve taken the part-time approach to retirement: spending up to 90 days at a time enjoying life in Italy. We selected Italy as the best choice for this, since we had spent a lot of time here on holidays over the years. We weren’t necessarily searching...
Heads turned. Our cover was blown. We were beginners and they all knew it. We were standing in line under a high glass dome that shed dappled light over the scene. Smiling, efficient attendants swirled around us. My whole body was tingling with...
Italy became a nation-state in 1861 when the regional states of the peninsula, along with Sardinia and Sicily, were united under King Victor Emmanuel II. An era of parliamentary government came to a close in the early 1920s when Benito Mussolini established a Fascist dictatorship. His alliance with Nazi Germany led to Italy’s defeat...
Nancy Hampton had long held a passion for overseas living. In the 1990s she and her husband, Luther, spent time working in Germany where they loved immersing themselves in a new culture...