Penny's activity

I do know for a fact that you can have another job on a 'libero professionista' basis even if you're a Coltivatore Diretto because we needed to know for ourselves. Being a Coltivatore Diretto must occupy the majority of your working hours though so it need to be your main occupation. I suspect (although we didn't specifically ask this question) that you can't be an artigianale or a commerciante or various other 'professions' at the same time as being a coltivatore diretto as they all seem to be mutually exclusive. Also, to be an azienda agricola, there must be a coltivatore diretto working the land but s/he can be employed  by the azienda and not necessarily the owners themselves. Think there might be different rules around this for Prelazione: "l diritto di prelazione spetta anzitutto al coltivatore diretto (o società agricola in cui almeno la metà dei soci è coltivatore diretto) che conduce in affitto, da almeno due anni, il terreno offerto in vendita (art. 8 della legge 590/1965). Solo se il terreno non è affittato a un coltivatore diretto (o società agricola), hanno invece il diritto di prelazione i coltivatori diretti (o società agricole in cui almeno la metà dei soci è coltivatore diretto)  proprietari di terreni confinanti (art. 7 della legge 817/1971). In entrambi i casi non hanno diritto alla prelazione gli imprenditori agricoli professionali." All info was from CIA as we had some specific questions regarding our situation.

Congratulations!

Capo Boi - thanks. That is interesting to see some numbers put on it that I can understand!

The best places for info are the Parks houses. Don't bother with the Tourist Info office in Sarnano as it lives in a parallel universe where the National Park doesn't exist. Sarnano is not in the park and holds no info on it at all. Very strange. There are parks houses in San Ginesio & Amandola and then several in the park itself. Otherwise have a look at the park website: http://www.sibillini.net/en/Chiedi_Sibilla/sentieri/index.html Unfortunately there is not much in English but they produce some good walking books and general guides to the park which are widely available locally. Any parts of the Grande Anello are generally the best maintained trails. The maps are "interesting" in our experience but are usually OK for walking routes. You can buy a map from the Parks House that shows all the walking routes. We found the spiral bound version actually has some roads missing (not sure how they managed that!) whe compared with the original paper version. You can also find organised walks here: http://www.sibillini.net/en/chiedi_sibilla/indexVisiteGuidate.html  but it is only in Italian although most guides speak a little English at least. I can recommend the CAI organisation and if you look on their noticeboards or websites you will find a programme of organised walks. Giorgio, the president of CAI in Amandola speaks excellent English.

Hi Helen, we have our place in le Marche up for sale if it is of interest. It is a detched one-bedroom restored townhouse with a garden and a very beautiful 16th century annexe to be renovated (no structural work) also leading off the garden. The annexe would give a stunning 2 bedroom apartment with double height ceilings and tons of original features or can be joined to the detached house. Full details here: http://houses.sibillinicycling.com/ Thanks, Penny

The tone of the original post does make me laugh. It is written about "you Brits" when the author is also British. What is so different about you?? Why is it OK to admire/miss the BBC but not "Guinness, crumpets, NHS, Mail-on-Sunday"? Poor examples if you ask me, as you can have all of those here if you really want them. Marmite is a much better example as after 7 years here I still get it imported. So what if I do? Does that somehow mean I haven't settled or integrated or should return to the UK?? What rot. I too work and have worked with Italian, Brits and lots of other nationalities here. Things about Italy get on my nerves or drive me mad and I moan about them. No different to living in the UK. Things about that got on my nerves, drove me mad and I complained about them too. I agree with Adriatica's comments about people who 'dodge the system'. Either live here properly or don't but don't behave as if you are in the wild west and then complain when you get caught. As Adriatica said "i think if you have that slightly less strauctured approach accepting what life throws up you manage very well and maybe you will move on at some stage but i doubt you will ever move back..  because people like that seem to be able to fit in anywhere.. so moving again is not a defeat just another adventure..". How true. Marche doesn't work for us - too difficult to make a living - so we're trying Liguria. Do we feel we've failed? No, of course not. We've enjoyed our time here but our priorities have changed and with a little baby we need a more secure income. Just because you leave doesn't mean you've failed to integrate otherwise by your own admission Lotan you have failed (oops - sorry moved country) 4 times! I do agree that there are certain expats where after meeting them you think "I just don't get why you're here or what you get out of being here" but you know what, if they're happy and harming no-one, so what! Then there are other ex-pats who pretend they are not British when they hear English voices in a bar or try to greet you in Italian when you are both English just to demonstrate how Italian they are or make statements like "we only mix with Italians" and then proceed to go on about who they've recently had to dinner (ex-pats of course) but then they're the 'right sort' of ex-pat who also only mixes with Italians. I personally find that far more irritating. I mix with people I like and find interesting and I couldn't give a stuff where they're from or what language we do it in. That's my personal form of multi-culturalism. So, Lotan - which type of ex-pat are you?

One of my Italian estate agent friends said they had a great year last year despite a shaky start. It was almost exclusively Italian buyers though. They have also reported an increase in the number of foreign (including from Brits) enquiries so far this year so maybe you're right. Let's hope so as I still have my little house to sell!

There is also another issue with them. I was talking to someoen from California a few weeks ago where they had a similar scheme many years ago. The solar panels that have finsihed their useful life are now rotting in the fields as it is expensive to dispose of them as they contain hazardous waste. What will happen to the panels here at the end of their life? I can't see anyone here disposing of them properly. Our neighbours used to just chuck their rubbish in the river bed.

What amazes me is they are going up in the national park. I can't understand how they get permission to do that.

Probably the same as in 1994 but as we got towed away last week I was hoping they might some scheme a bit more friendly to the residents of the centro storico!