Moving to Italy : Town or Country ?

I grew up on a 160 acre farm off a dirt road sandwiched between two state forests with a combined size of over 4000 acres in Upstate New York.  So dealing with solitude, at least of the rural variety, has never been a problem for me.   Nevertheless, as we see increasing numbers of Americans and British purchasing their dream villa in Tuscany or Umbria, surrounded by acres of fields and a long winding road flanked by cypresses, I wonder whether they might be missing the point and live to regret their purchase.

Please don’t mistake me:  many people want to farm and enjoy it.   My father was one of those.  Others truly enjoy solitude and want it with an Italian flavor.  These individuals should purchase their Italian villa, renovate it undergoing all the usual tortures associated with same in Italy or indeed any country, and enjoy what they came to Italy for.

But still others are accustomed to life in American suburbia, with its 1-2 acre plots and carefully mulched shrubbery and annuals, and the required drive to reach the local shopping center and grocery store and school.  They are looking to create in an Italian retirement or vacation home something of the same ilk and are enchanted by the beautiful images of Italian villas.

But there are limited choices in between the true countryside and the town/city in Italy due to Italy’s history and strict zoning laws.  Historically, Italians banded together in towns, many of them perched on rocky hills, for some (limited!) protection from marauders.  Zoning has kept those beautiful towns from spreading into the dreadful suburban miracle miles of chain stores that it seems nearly every American town possesses.  It has also reduced the spread of suburban homes with large plots.

So this reduces your choices of Italian living to the country and the town or city: consider your options carefully.  What do you associate with an Italian life?  Is the groomed fields and cypresses of Tuscany?  Or is it Italian food, shopping, festivals and fun?

If you are not a want-to-be farmer or hermit, life in cities and towns in Italy offer the very life style that many of us associate with Italy.  Take a look out my front door in a small town in Italy, and you will get a feeling for what I mean by Italian life style:

 

To Your Right, the Joys of Food and Health:  Look to your right and see Giovanni’s pizzeria and bar, open year round, followed by the historic town gate, and after that the local medical center (a mere 100 metres from my door).  You can have a pizza or spaghetti alle vongole and if you are forced to eat alone, Giovanni will come and keep you company.  If you accept his offer of limoncello or grappa however, you may have quite a hangover.

To Your Front, History and Pageantry:  Look in front of you to see another coffee bar and the town church, complete with miracle and catacombs, not to mention the main street of the town, which is also the Via Francigena, which has for hundreds of years transported pilgrims from as far north as Canterbury England to Rome – and what’s more still does.  You can see them hiking down the street in the early mornings complete with heavy backpacks and walking sticks.  On your left is the convent that houses the pilgrims in a special pilgrim house in the back next to the arbor of kiwi vines.  The main processions for religious festivals also go down this street.

To Your Left, Italian Food and Shopping:  Look to your left and see a small pedestrian street which has two greengrocers, two basic foodstores, a fresh bakery, a fresh pasta shop, two butcher shops, two gelaterias and one frozen yoghurt store, one more pizzeria and one elegant small restaurant, not to mention shops selling electronics, knick-nacks, gadgets of all varieties, jewelry, antiques and insurance. Your greengrocer or other shopkeeper gets to know you fast, and the shopping experience is frequently also a social time to catch up on the gossip of babies, accidents, and upcoming town events.  Past the row of shops that are the main piazza, where musical and dance festivals take place, as well as the local theatre.

City Life:  Not all houses may be as well positioned of course.  But I will say that the experience going out of my mother-in-law’s apartment in Rome is not dissimilar.  I can go for a run, and pick up the morning milk at paper at the end before turning into her home.  A walk from her house will take you to the Gianicolo with a view overlooking all Rome, and a cannon salute at noon, or to the historic parks of Villa Pamphili and Villa Sciara both of which have dance and theatre in the summers.  A bus will take you down to the Vatican, another bus will take you to the historic district of Trastevere and a tram will take you to the center of Rome, Piazza Venezia, Largo Argentina, and, with a bit of a hike, Piazza Navona and the Trevi Fountain.

And while we love the hot Italian summer, the gleam of holiday lights off the wet cobblestones (San Pietrini) in winter evenings Rome is romantic.  The Price One Pays -- In the Middle of Noise:  It is quite true that being in the middle of it all means also being in the middle of it all from the standpoint of town noises.  That church bell starts ringing promptly at 7 am and continues for 33-34 rings.  (Why 33-34 rings?  Still a mystery for me.)  The street-sweeping machine coasts over the historic main street between 6 am and 7 am, and Giovanni’s pizzeria is also home to many a great late night party.  In short, there is a reason we have triple-pane glass in the windows facing the main street!  My mother-in-law’s apartment in Rome has similar issues:  large garbage trucks literally rattle the glass in the window frames, and the whine from vespas and other motorini cut through the night.

Escape from Noise:  Farmers can escape their hermitage to come enjoy town and city pleasures of course.  But in the same way, those living in towns and cities are never far from nature and peace.  A 10-15 minute run up the hill in our town will get you to fields of olives, the sounds of roosters and ducks, and a spectacular view of the town and lake.  Go a little further and you can hike up a Roman road built under Trajan’s rule.  A 20 minute run (or 5 minute drive) will get you to a park where the springs that supply the town with water gush, and where often there is not a soul in sight.

By Kay C Georgi