Elaine Allaby

1 week ago | thelocal.it | Elaine Allaby

You might assume you already know what today's word means. But if you're thinking you can file it away simply as a direct translation of 'convenient', you'd be wrong. Though it can be used to mean convenient, conveniente (listen to its pronunciation here) has many other possible meanings in Italian. Si trova in una posizione molto conveniente. It's in a very convenient location. Pensavo che sarebbe stato più conveniente prendere l'autobus. I thought it would be more convenient to take the bus.

1 week ago | thelocal.it | Elaine Allaby

Italy’s motorways (or autostrade) rarely see much in the way of heavy traffic on regular weekdays or weekends. But that all changes around national public holidays as hundreds of thousands of people take to the road to reach their chosen holiday destinations. That's why Italy’s State Police (Polizia di Stato) issues traffic warnings ahead of all of Italy’s major holidays, including Easter weekend, and even publishes its own calendar showing when traffic is predicted to be at its worst.

1 week ago | thelocal.it | Elaine Allaby

The number of US citizens living in Italy has increased in recent years, with some 16,534 Americans officially resident in the country as of 2024 – up from 15,582 in 2023 and 14,496 in 2022. The Local's US readers in Italy have recently told us that a better quality of life, a more affordable cost of living and concerns around gun culture and the current political climate in the US were among the main factors behind their decision to relocate.

1 week ago | thelocal.it | Elaine Allaby

Italy's government blindsided tens of thousands of people of Italian descent last month when it issued an urgent decree that drastically tightened access to Italian citizenship iure sanguinis or by 'right of blood'. Under the previous system, there was no generational limit on applications, with people theoretically able to claim citizenship through an ancestor going all the way back to March 17th, 1861 as long as no one in the line of descent lost or renounced Italian citizenship.

2 weeks ago | thelocal.it | Elaine Allaby

As a culturally Catholic (though constitutionally secular) country, Italy has plenty of days off work for Christian holidays. At Easter, however, most of the country gets just one day off: Easter Monday (or Pasquetta). Unlike some countries, Italy does not have blanket rules requiring certain businesses to close over the holidays. So what exactly can you expect to find open – or closed – over the Easter weekend?