When you move to a new country, such as Italy for instance, it behooves you to maximize the positive effect that your first impression can make. For example, “Not breaking the law” is an approach that has successfully eased the transition period for many expatriates as they move to Italy. Though some laws may seem to be ridiculous and/or seriously outdated, it serves new residents well to familiarize themselves with laws and customs of their new home, in order to avoid any unnecessary transgressions.
Expatriates in Italy come from around-the-globe, and each country-of-origin has it’s own set of arcane legalese with which to trip-up the unwary. For instance, newcomers from Kansas, in the United States, always want to know if it is legal to fish bare-handed in Italy, a practice still banned in that state. You can always spot the American “newbies” from Louisville, Kentucky: they’re the ones dancing with dizzy delight at finding that Italian law, as opposed to the harsh decrees of Louisville, does not forbid the carrying of an ice-cream-cone in one’s back pocket. French farmers can hardly wait to get to Italy, where they can start naming their pigs after Napoleon, something they can’t legally do in France.
We, at Gate-Away.com, take pride in our efforts to keep our foreign investors who want to move to Italy up-to-date and fully informed about all pertinent data that may have a bearing upon their pending purchases, so we have, in the following section, provided a cogent sampling of some Italian legal esoterica that is designed, with our non-Italian friends in mind, to help investors to steer clear of potentiality murky legal channels.
Down on frowns in Milano
That’s right, break out the “happy face” when you are out-and-about in Milan, where the lugubrious, downcast, sullen, sulky, morose, and gloomy are tasked-by-law to wipe away the tears and erase the frown lines. The only exceptions are funerals and hospitals.
Prudence
You can speculate on the behavior that spawned some of the sillier sounding laws, but that doesn’t change their validity. At Eraclea, just to the north and east of Venice, not only must shirts be worn on the beach, but is forbidden to play ball, collect shells, or even to build sandcastles. Keep it modest, neat, and tidy if you are headed to the beaches of Lerici, in Liguria. Coverups must be worn to-and-from the beach, and it’s a no-no to hang towels and swimwear from outside balconies or window sills.
PDA
Bari, si, Eboli, no: If some of that legendary Italian romance is calling to you, know where you are when you answer the call. The powers-that-be in Eboli decided that even a little bit is too much, at least when it comes to PDA’s, or “Public Displays of Affection”. Back-seat necking is a no-no, and can be punishable by a fine of 500 euros. In Bari, however, discreet indiscretion is permitted in designated areas, for a fee. So, feel free to express “free love”, though it isn’t “free” to do so. Parking fees, with incremental ½ hour increases, are the rule.
Who’s Wearing the Pants?
Well, in Italy, anybody can wear pants, men and women, but that doesn’t work-in-reverse when it comes to skirts. Skirts on men is against the law, so pack shorts and trousers before you head out the door. If you want to maintain the proper distance between you and a jail cell.
La Dolce Vita in Perpetuo
Live “the good life forever” in the village of Falciano del Massico… or else! A recently enacted statute in Falciano del Massico makes it illegal for citizens to die in that town. Apparently the town has no cemetery of its own, so the local populace has been interring loved ones in a neighboring town, which has reportedly been unhappy with the arrangement. The towns squabbled-and-squabbled without fruitful results, leading the mayor of Falciano del Massico to ban the wide-spread practice of mortality that has been going-on for centuries in his fair village.
