Q: If you live in Italy long enough can you become Marcello Mastroianni?

A: Perhaps not, but you can wear a hat like Marcello, ride in a Lamborghini, eat spaghetti, and learn to gesture artistically with your hands when you talk.

Italy is the source to which like salmon we all swim back to as if to our spiritual home - - Those who doubt this have only to visit Rome in the summertime when it seems that the entire world has swum back with the intention of spawning on the Spanish Steps. Ah, Italy, Che bella! If you don't want to live in Italy you're already half dead. See a doctor! Or better yet, if you want to get well and be quickened, read this eBook and move to Italy.    - - -  It's the appropriate thing to do.

This book was put together with the sole purpose of helping expats relocate to Italy and more easily assimilate into the Italian culture. Mostly aimed at Americans, I try to mention regulations specific to other nationalities when helpful without delving into too many details concerning the laws specific to each country.

The author divided the book into four sections: Introduction to Italy, Getting Started, Social Customs, and Everyday Practicalities. The first section covers the basics of the regions of Italy, which should help in your decision on where in Italy would be best for you. The second is aimed at what you need to do or should expect to get into Italy, find a home, and possibly to get work. The third part provides a realistic idea of what it will mean to live in Italy through inside looks at Italian life. Everyday Practicalities, the last section, gives details on the Italian system, focusing on practical subjects such as public transit and postal regulations. All of this is followed up with an appendix of references and contact information for important sources such as embassies in Italy, and online Italian classified ads.

There are many Americans living in Italy now who have accomplished just what you are considering doing. It is more than possible; you just need to have a strong enough desire to wade through the country´s red tape, so that you can relish in its renowned dolce vita. Believe me, it´s worth it.

Italy is a country famous for art and romance. It is a place, which reinvents beauty, from the villages of rugged Sicilian islands to the ski resorts of the snowcapped Alps. Heated conversations in open-air cafes to homemade meals in mamma´s kitchen, the culture of the Italian people stands apart from that of their northern neighbors. Everywhere you look you are reminded of a historical heritage inclusive of Etruscans, Greeks, Normans, Arabs, and Huns, culminating in Roman and Venetian empires, the Kingdom of Italy, and finally the Republic of Italy. Modern day Italia is proud of this past, and modern Italian culture is steeped in it.

When everywhere you look appears to be a museum, you can´t help but wonder what effect this has on the people living there. Art is a given, and architecture has had centuries to reinvent itself. Combined with a density unheard of in the expanses of the New World, the end result is a credence in quality over quantity. From fashion to home furnishings, standards are high and tastes reflect generations of people viewing fine art everywhere they look.

Everyday life in Italy seems to go by at a slower pace than in the United States or other western European countries. If you were to ask at random what someone´s goal in life was, the most common answer would not be " success ", but " a good life ". An emphasis on family over work or money plays a leading role in this belief.

The Italian government and many of its stabilizing laws reflect these ideas. Laws make it difficult for families to lose their homes; whether rented or owned. It is also difficult for employers to fire employees. Along with a health care system that covers all citizens, these humane regulations create a very stabile family life that allows Italians to worry about other problems – like what´s for dinner.

La bella vita is of course not always so simple. Italy´s population is dropping at an alarming rate. The current Prime Minister, Berlusconi, is also the owner of most of the country´s media. Corruption is common in the government, and the world famous Italian Mafia still has a strong hold on the south and a presence throughout the country.

Rich in art, food, wine, fashion, and all the beauties of the Italian people, Italy is a prime destination for expatriates wishing to get away from dull boring countries like the United States where the only culture is gun collecting and running the rat race. The diversity of its regions offers big cities with all their trappings, countryside villas, small towns with big city sophistication, and villages lost in the culture of a slower time.

If you´re considering relocating to Italy, I congratulate you on your fine taste. As you´re doing right now, I encourage you to learn all you can about what to expect in your new home. This book explains aspects of daily Italian culture to help you decide if Italy is right for you, and if so to help you make your transit as easy as possible. Continue to expect the unexpected, and before you go, learn all the Italian that you can. It will help you to succeed as no other preparation can. In the end, relax and enjoy the foibles of your adopted country. It isn´t an easy thing to learn an entirely new culture, but that doesn´t mean that it can´t be enjoyable. When I moved to Italy, like Proust, " I found that my dream had become - incredibly but quite simply - my address." You can do the same. 144 Pages - Plus color photos -

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