Ferragosto Italy national summer bank holiday 15/8/08

[italy property]

Here in Italy it’s the peak of summer. Tomorrow the 15th August is the ferragosto national bank holiday.

All of Italy comes to a grinding halt the week before and after ferragosto. Since 2 weeks ago businesses have been closing down per le ferie and the majority will remain closed till the end of the month.

If you are conducting business with Italy, forget it, as all the Italians have gone to the sea, to spend their hard earned holidays at the lido. With large traffic jams on the motorways, the Italian's enjoy their annual migration, totting their horns as they impatiently want to get to their destination, where they will spend days squeezed onto the beaches paying extortionate rates for beach loungers, umbrellas and hotels. Yet they all still love it. With months of diets, the best swimming costumes and don't forget those shades, they love strutting up and down the beach. This ritual continues into the evening as they dress up for the famous passagiata, walking along the main ports and town centres of the best Italian holiday destinations.

For the saner international holiday maker i would recommend to keep away from the beaches and head in land to the Italian Lakes. Still very popular with holiday goers and some discreet Italians they offer a good climate, spectacular views and fresh water. Particularly I like Lake Iseo. Located between Lake Garda and Lake Como it offers similar conditions but without the mass tourism. I have recently wrote a local English language newspaper called "The independent Lake Iseo View". Click here to go to the website and download a copy. It discusses holiday venues, swimming pools, towns, holiday homes, Italian property, villa rentals and helps you enjoy your precious holiday time by reviewing these for you.

A tutti un buon ferragosto.

Ciao David

Italian life

[italy property]
ITALIAN banks were always parsimonious about handing out loans and Italians traditionally dislike credit. This means Italy could escape the worst effects of the credit crunch, said Pierpaolo Benigno, an economics professor at Rome’s Luiss University.
“Lending to companies, which has been well monitored, remains consistent and although private mortgages have dipped, that’s due to rising interest rates. There is no fallout from the credit crunch here.”
Consumer lending is now on the rise but Italy has some catching up to do, said Benigno. “Banks are traditionally more familiar with the people they lend to and are more vigilant, and there remains a cultural bias against credit.”
But crunch or no crunch, Italians are suffering from soaring food and fuel prices, with consumer spending dropping 2.3% year on year in April.
Shoe purchases were down 6.4%, while supermarkets report Italians are abandoning the Mediterranean diet they made famous for cheaper frozen foods.
The daily newspaper Corriere della Sera summed it up last week as: ‘The Italian paradox – fewer debts, greater pessimism’. Italians, it said, now faced the ‘Syndrome of the fourth week’ as fridges are emptied before payday.
The employers’ group Confindustria believes economic growth will hover at about 0.1% this year – well below the 0.5% predicted by the government – and Italian business confidence fell to a three-year low in June, as Italy’s legions of small manufacturers fear for the prospects of domestic and foreign sales.
Car crashes are reportedly decreasing in the capital at the end of each month as car-mad Romans run out of money to buy petrol, while managers at one low-cost supermarket run by a charity in Rome’s suburbs were surprised to see far more Italian than immigrant families showing up for cut-price food.
House prices did rise by about 1.6% in the first six months of the year, the economics institute Nomisma said, but house sales are set to fall this year by 5%-6% compared with 2007. Benigno said:
“There is a stability in house prices right now because both supply and demand have fallen but demand is now set to fall faster, with prices in the suburbs the first to fall.”

Drive UK to Italy

[italy property]
I have just driven from Lancashire to Northern Italy and thought i'd outline my route for others to comment on.

Destination :Lake Iseo, Northern Italy.
Departure : Lancashire,UK

Date : Friday 20/6/08
9pm left home with target to catch 4:15am ferry from Dover to Calais.
Luckily i left early heavy traffic and roadworks on M6, M1 and on M25.
M20 to Dover was clear, it is early morning by now.
Arrived Calais 3am !!
Just time to buy a european map and get that UK car sticker.

Date : Saturday 21/6/08
Calais local time 6:30am now driving on the wrong side of the road. Stop to adjust mirrors.
Destination target Lille for a stop over sleep and shower in friends house.
Calais to Dunkerque (E40/A16)
Dunkerque to Lille (A25)
arrive Lille vieux (the old city centre) 7:30am
Sleep , shower, lunch.
Leave Lille 15:00
target to get to southern germany before night fall.

Lille to south Bruxelles (E42,A7,A4)
Bruxelles to Luxembourg (A4) the only toll i paid 4euros
Luxembourg to Strasbourg (A4), over into Germany directions Kehl.
Strasbourg to Basel (A5)

22:00 Getting dark and tired so pull up into a local village, few beers and watch the Euro 2008 football, return to motorway service station and pull over to sleep.

Fantastic service station for drivers,campers, lorry drivers. 50cents and access to showers, which was even deductable from the coffee in the morning (keep the receipt). location and name will post later.

Date: Sunday 22/6/08
Wake up 6:00am
Shower and coffee and on the A5 for Switherland by 6:30am
Swizz border bought the "vignette" for 40euros (very quick and easy).
Follow signs for Italy, Gotthard Tunnel (18km long !!) all way through Swithzerland, via Basel, Luzern, Lugano on the E35/A35.
Into Italy, Chiasso around 10:00, here the tolls are unavoidable. First 4 euros for entering in to Italy (why?) Then same again before Milan, then follow signs for Milano then A4 to Venice.

took exit Rovato, south of Lake Iseo and pulled up at 12:30pm at my destination !!

Overall total drive : 6hrs (fri) 8hrs(sat) 6hrs(sun) Total 20hours.
Petrol : 3 top ups for circa 150 euros
Tolls : 12euros & 40euros(vignette)
Ferry : £45 single

Can anyone beat that !!!

Damage : one slow puncture, dirty windscreens and one tired Fiat Punto !!! Total miles 1068 !!

Italian House repossession

[italy property]
It is not very often that the Italian state reposses property, unlike the Spaniards, here they do it for a good reason.
Read this article about "Libera Terra".
Is this the reason there is increased demand to buy a house in Sicily, Italy?

Italian Property Blog

[italy property]
The blog is getting transferred to our own domain and is now at
www.italianpropertyconsultants.co.uk

Go there to discuss property in Italy.

Ciao

Italian logistics

[italy property]

Demand for industrial and logistics properties has slowed

through the year and remains relatively low compared to

supply. Some secondary locations have seen vacancy rise, as

new speculative schemes lead to an oversupply of stock. In

contrast, prime markets still have relatively high demand and

lower vacancy rates. Rental values have remained stable,

although with some regional differences.The outlook for the

freight sector remains largely positive in prime locations.

Property in Italy

[italy property]

Visit the website for the launch Lake Iseo properties.