HOW TO EASILY SURVIVE AND THRIVE IN SMALL TOWN ITALY.

“Life is a daring adventure or nothing.”Helen Keller

Oh, the humility!

Surprisingly, moving to a new country is the easy part. Living in one is a minefield of unexpected ‘translation’ challenges and cultural faux pas. Which makes for some embarrassing moments and wonderful surprises. Like knowing the difference between’morbido’ ‘(soft) and’morto’ ‘(dead) in reference to someone’s state of being or what time of day you should order a macchiato instead of a cappuccino. A cornetto, on the other hand, is not an ice cream that you order; rather, it is a delightful croissant that is freshly baked and filled with a variety of delectable jams or custard.

Why all the questions?

As well as trying to navigate this new social and cultural landscape, there’s the added pressure of being the ‘Straniero’ (foreigner) in town. Consequently, you will encounter a barrage of questions on a daily basis. All the why’s, where’s, and how’s—so much so that I even considered handing out postcards with all my basic retorts. Instead, I decided to turn the tables and ask the questions of the fun, fabulous, and fascinating locals I have met.

The answer.

However, first, I would like to address the 21 most commonly asked questions we have received since moving to the small town Umbria. I considered answering them myself, but that did seem a tad egocentric. Plus, I wanted this to be about other people. So my usually very private partner has kindly agreed to answer them for me. As for being a local, he sure drives like an Italian.

Here we go –

1. Why Italy? 

The idea of not having to form an orderly queue ever again was very appealing. No, in all seriousness. To me, Italy is all about great food, fashion, culture, tradition, and family, and so if I were suddenly able to choose where to live, where else would I go? I’m quite simply an old-fashioned romantic at heart, and I wanted to feel as if I’d stepped back in time to when the importance of living a healthy, unencumbered life was enough to satisfy the ego and soul. And in Italy, I feel I have, although with the added bonus of finding good friends, community, music, art, and breathtaking landscapes.

2. Where did you look in Italy?

couple of years traveling on short breaks from the US through Tuscany, from the mountains in the north down to Lucca, then south to Florence, and then across to Cortona. As well as lots of hours down the Google search rabbit hole.

3. How did you discover Citta della Pieve?

I decided to take a drive and see where I landed. And it happened to be the gorgeous red brick town we’ve come to love.

4. What is one of your favorite things about the town? 

The red bricks!

5. How did you find your house? 

Once we decided it was going to be Citta della Pieve, we did a Google search of properties, and the house we now own was the first one to pop up.

6. Is your house in the town center (Centro storico) or outside? 

Our house is in the historic district, but outside of the town walls. We wanted views of the countryside but in close proximity to a town, and that’s exactly what we managed to find.

7. Did you have to renovate? 

Yes, we had some structural work to do on the outside of the house, which was managed very efficiently by local professionals. We restored and redecorated the inside.The whole project took about 8 months to complete. 

9. Do you live here permanently? 

Yes, although anything is permanent.

10. What was the hardest thing about moving to Italy? 

Leaving my friends behind. Oh, and shipping. Moving our belongings from NYC to Italy was a nightmare. (All will be explained in an upcoming post.)

11. What was the easiest thing about moving to Italy? 

The flight over from NYC.

12. You lived in New York, and you moved here. Why?

I needed a complete change of pace to simplify my way of life.

13. What did you do in NYC? 

I owned and operated a restaurant for 20 years and produced Broadway shows for fun.

14. Wow, that’s a big change. Aren’t you bored here? 

Only boring people are bored. As Auntie Mame says, “Life’s a banquet, and most poor suckers are starving to death.”

15. Do you miss anything about New York? 

I miss the energy and diversity you find when millions of people are crammed together every day on a small island.

16. But you are not American, where are you from originally?

I was born in Hertfordshire, England but my father is Greek-Cypriot and my mother’s family were of eastern European descent.

17. Did you speak any Italian before you arrived? 

Nothing beyond what I like to call tourist Italian: buongiorno, come stai, grazie, gelato, pizza, etc.

18. How did you communicate during your renovations?

Lots of gesticulating and the wonders of modern technology (google translate), I really don’t know how people had the patience to do it before by using phrase books and English to Italian dictionaries. But I will say our tradesmen were very forgiving, in fact everyone in our town was forgiving of our almost nonexistent Italian and delighted we were having a go at speaking the language.

19. Are you learning Italian now? 

Si, per certo. Classes twice a week, duo-lingo daily, and as many conversations in Italian as possible.

20. Are you happy with your choice of Citta della Pieve? 

Absolutely! Without a doubt.

21. What are you going to do here? 

I’d love to do something that brings the best of the 21st century into the lives of our small town population, be it hospitality, art, music, food, or lifestyle.

I’d like to say a big thank you to my partner for being the first participant in 21 Questions. He is my rock, my voice of reason, my editor, my champion, and my best friend. Grazie mille.