More and more Britons are looking at the central Italian region of Le Marche (pronounced Markay) that covers almost 10,000 square kilometres and has some 180 kilometres of Adriatic coastline for their second homes. The region is bordered by Emilia Romagna to the north, Umbria and Tuscany to the west and Abruzzo to the south. Apart from the coastal strip it is an undulating region with 31% being mountainous and 69% described as hilly.

The overall population of Le Marche is around 1.4 million people, most of who live in the region’s smaller towns. Only 14% of local authority districts have a population of over 20,000 people.

It is governed by Le Marche Regional Government, which was set up in 1970 with administrative, legislative and executive powers over the area. The region is divided into four provinces – Pesaro and Urbino, Ancona, Macerata and Ascoli Piceno – each of which has a provincial council. The region has 246 comuni or local authority districts with responsibility over 1,000 or so small towns and villages.

The region has good transport links along the coastal motorway and state railway from Milan to the South and from Ancona to Rome. Ancona-Falconara airport provides connections to major European capitals and Italian cities while Ancona seaport offers ferry and cargo links to many central Mediterranean ports.

If you decide to live in La Marche, buying a home will probably be the biggest and most difficult decision you will have to make. The best way, if you can spare the time, is to get to know an area well before deciding to buy there. Negotiate a hotel room for a long stay or rent a place, and make friends in the local bar.

Remember that accommodation will cost a lot less out of season and you’ll be seeing properties in a less romantic light than in high summer when everything looks great. When it comes to buying, it’s surprising how rash and un-businesslike many foreigners become when faced with a charming but tumbledown country cottage – remember to remain detached, ask the right questions (ie. does the water dry up for the whole summer?) and, if you don’t speak good Italian, have someone with you who does.

Having decided that you like a property, the first stage is the signing of a compromesso. This scrittura privata or ‘private contract’ between yourself and the seller is a legally binding document and if you change your mind you will lose whatever deposit you have paid and usually be liable to pay an additional penalty. Deposits vary but are often around 10 to 20% of the agreed purchase price.

The compromesso will give details of exactly what it is you are buying including the particulars as recorded in the local catasta, the long-established Italian ‘land registry’. Make sure these details are correct and correspond to what it is you think you are buying before you sign the document.

At a time specified in the compromesso the final atto, or contract, will be signed in front of the local notaio, a public official who witnesses public contracts. Remember the notaio is not acting for any one of the parties - if you want to be sure that there are no nasty surprises hidden in the contract, that might, for example, give rise to neighbour problems in the future, get a local lawyer, or avvocato, to act for you. At this stage you will normally have to hand over the balance of the purchase price and pay any fees due to the notaio and estate agent, or mediatore.

You will often find when coming to sign the atto that the price in the contract is lower than that agreed in the compromesso and what you will actually pay. This is a somewhat complex question and disturbs many foreigners unused to a somewhat ‘creative’ approach to fiscal regulations. The system, however, has become so entrenched that everyone does it. Make up your own mind how you deal with this – you might also regard it as your first test in being ‘Italian’.

Citizens from European Union countries will find few problems in buying property and starting a new life in Italy, and for nationals from further afield the bureaucratic hurdles needn’t be too much of a barrier.

This doesn’t mean, though, that you’re exempt from the thorough paperwork so beloved of European public officials. Foreigners frequently have an idea that anything goes in Italy and that rules are there to be ignored – in Le Marche, at least, this attitude all too often ends in disaster.

Citizens of EU countries and many other nationals can stay in Italy for up to three months with just a valid passport. Check with your travel agent at home to see what rules apply to your home country.

If, however, you want to live in Italy for longer periods you will need a permesso di soggiorno, or permit to stay, from the Questura, or main police station, in the nearest provincial capital. For EU citizens a European version of the permesso is pretty well automatic and, at the moment, is usually renewable every ten years. For non-EU nationals you will have to answer questions such as means of living, whether you own property, etc, and you have no automatic right to stay. For the latest detailed information contact the Italian Consulate in your home country before leaving.

You will also almost certainly need to take up residency in the Comune, or town, where you decide to live, particularly if you have any plans to work here. Again for EU citizens this is straightforward and virtually automatic. For many things, such as opening a bank account, a residency certificate, or certificato di residenza, is often required.

The last of the trinity of essential documents to get is your codice fiscale, the Italian equivalent of a ‘national insurance’ number combined with a tax code. This is one of the easiest documents to obtain, and is available from tax offices in the provincial capitals in a matter of minutes.

A final tip: during your first few months carry some recent passport photos in your wallet as you never know when they may be required.

Sources: www.le-marche.com and www.marcheworldwide.org