Horsing around in Florence

When I was working in tourism, I found that many people came to Florence with the romantic idea of horseback riding in the vineyards on their free afternoon. The idea is charming, however finding information on “how to” and then the practicality of getting there was all a bit daunting for the causal tourist.  Most of the good information is in Italian, which of course doesn’t help anyone who speaks anything else.  Another small, however influential factor, is that though the Italians can be quite friendly, and they have a unique manner of resolving problems in a most creative way they also have an annoying habit of (as the Italians themselves would say) Mette le mani avanti – which translates into putting their hands out so they don’t fall flat on their face. It’s pretty much a way of saying, hey I can’t guarantee you anything but we’ll try.
I will give them points for trying, but in order to get to a workable solution you need to be quite persistent, unusually patient (as you repeat the same thing over and over and over again) and pretty much fluent in Italian. Where does this leave you? Sticking around the city center of Florence buying leather handbags and eating gelato instead of horseback riding in Chianti.
However for those of you who wish to persevere, I have found a list of equestrian centers around Florence – it is a bit out dated, however with links to websites and phone numbers you are bound to find someone who speaks your language. What I liked best (besides the fact that it is English) it tells you how you can arrive at the different farms. Let’s face it many people who are travelling and have a hotel in the city center – don’t have a car, so “how to get there” becomes a vital part of the adventure, therefore when I saw that this list of directions using public transport (which by the way is assessable to everyone indifferent to your language skills) I felt it was one of the best I have come across.

Montecatini or the French Riviera?

So it was time for another outing on my precious day off from Pierotucci with my dear husband or DH is I think the new term for our other half in the 21st century. We programmed the navigator (not that we always trust her) and off we went. Stupidly DH stopped off at the tobacconists to buy a stamp and casually mentioned we were on our way to Montecatini, and the so called knowledgeable woman said most definitely to take the FI-PI-LI. This is the major road that runs from Florence to Pisa and Livorno.  For once, the navigator must have been right because she was quiet when we got to the turn off at FI-PI-LI. This is because we should NEVER have come off there. We should have carried straight on. An hour later we were still driving around the country lanes getting angrier and more frustrated and giving each other glaring looks that could kill.

Eventually we arrived, starving and in much need of a cool glass of wine. We found a place and slowly began to unwind and relax from our tour of the Florence countryside which had definitely not been on the agenda. I have to say, Montecatini was a bit of a surprise. It has a Riviera feel to it that I didn’t expect. Palm trees in the town, beautiful canopied cafes, smart boutiques, and elegantly dressed men and women making sure they are being noticed. We found a simple little restaurant with tables outside and a dear Irish lady was the waitress. I hung my handbag on the chair, loosened up my collar and ordered a glass of wine from the Montecatini area, absolutely perfect.  Good old fashioned customer service, which I have to admit is sometimes lacking in Florence was like a breath of fresh air to my British bones. After lunch and a stroll around the pretty shops and boutiques it was time to head back to the car before some enthusiastic traffic warden slapped a ticket on it. Needless to say, the journey took half the time going back!

An Iris Is A Giglio By Any Other Name

Giglio

The flower Giglio with its striking violet color and bright yellow center is the traditional associated with the city of  Florence in Tuscany, Italy.  The giglio, better know as the Iris, is a flower with five petals, three with a superior shape and two inferior and is similar to the Lilium.  This antique flower was cultivated by Egyptians, Romans and Greeks and in fact the name is derived from the Greek word for rainbow.   Legend has it that  the name was taken from the goddess Iride, “The Messenger of Goodness”.  Iris adapts well to cold weather,  mountain regions and rivers and can be found in the south of Europe and parts of the Mediterranean.  This flower has been used throughout the years as an  ingredient to produce perfume, medicine, and interestingly enough even some toothpaste brands.  This  symbol not only has inspired the the town of Florence to adopt is as their symbol but also the gold craftsman who date back to the Etruscans.

Government Symbole of Florence

Florence’s tradition of carefully carved gold pieces include excellent examples of this age old symbol in many of their creations.  The people of Florence, Italy wear the symbol with pride, and when it is made in 18K gold from one of the many shops along Ponte Vecchio or the city center, then they know that they are truly wearing a piece of art.  Pierotucci relys on these very same artisans to provide them with top quality pieces of jewelry for their store.

Small sized 18k engraved gold Giglio pendant and brooch

Click for more info: Giglio florentine

A timeless design, steeped in tradition, the “giglio” is the ultimate symbol of Florence.  Every where you go in Florence you can see it emblazoned on the walls of buildings, churches and monuments.  Though the flower normally comes in a variety of colors:  violet-blue, yellow, red, white and brown, the Florentines use the giglio in red on a white back ground.  However it is very common to see this symbol in  violet or purple which is the main color of the city – so much so that their top soccer team has been nicknamed “VIOLA”.  The Florence Iris Garden is open in May, and may small towns near by have festivals celebrating the Giglio, like S.  Polo in Chianti.   Dating back more than 1000 years, it has become one of our most popular designs.   Hand carved in 18 carat gold, it has been cleverly designed to be worn either as a brooch or a pendant.

Pendant: Medium Heart in 18 K gold

View more photos: 18K Gold Giglio

The Florence Iris Garden is open in May, and may small towns near by have festivals celebrating the Giaggiolo,  the name of the flower in Florentine slang, like in the town S. Polo in Chianti.   Dating back more than 1000 years, it has become one of our most popular designs.   Though many would confuse it with the French symbol, which is known world wide but  it is actually easy to tell them apart.  The French symbol has only three petals where as the Florentine giglio has five – three principal petals and two smaller that appear on either side of the top petal.  Hand carved in 18 carat gold, you can see the small petals in the image to the right.  It’s easy to appreciate the line of the engravers chisel as it cuts to give depth and glitter to each piece. These featured pieces are available in one of three wonderful colours:  classic yellow 18 K gold, stunning white, or the increasingly popular rose gold.

Groupon pampering well worth it for Montepulciano

It was a most wonderful day off from work at Pierotucci Leather Factory!  I headed out with my dear friend Suze from Australia. In the seven years that I have been living here in Italy, can you believe I had never visited this extremely pretty town? The main purpose of this visit, however was not to pick the abundant grapes that almost spread onto the road from the amazing vineyards, but to take advantage of a very special offer that we got off the internet for some therapeutic spa treatments at the Montepulciano Terme.  I have become a bit of a Groupon addict and this offer was just too good to pass up. Having had a wonderful lunch first at Il Grifon D’Oro, where we supped a superb glass of Nobilo Montepulciano 2009, we headed off carefully to the spa which was only a 10 minute ride away, fortunately.

View of Montepulciano

First we were taken into the grotto like cave with the thermal waters. Water jets cascaded from above and already I was feeling wonderful. Next was the massage. A very experienced woman called Antonella was my masseuse and she certainly knew what she was doing. As well as the normal massage maneuvers, she pulled my toes, pulled my fingers, pulled my head upwards, applied pressure to the brow bones, moves I have never experienced. At the end of it I don’t think I have ever felt so light as if I was truly walking on air.

Montepulciano Terme

Then a purifying clay mask was applied to my face, left for 20 minutes and sponged off. The final part was relaxing on a heated ceramic bed for 20 minutes before reluctantly getting dressed and heading home. This experience is something I will always treasure as I am not normally a person who indulges herself too often. I think I should definitely treat myself to another fantastic day out very soon.

Travelling Tuscany Italy with Toscanella

Torre del Mangia in Siena

Pierotucci works  on the assumption that everyone should travel to Tuscany, and when they do – they should be travelling in comfort with the perfect companions.  In fact these travelling companions  should let you rest easy while admiring the medieval squares in Siena, getting lost in the winding streets Lucca or market shopping in Florence.
While in Siena you can’t miss the lovely Piazza del Campo where you will find the Torre di Mangia, which to this day remains a beautiful combination of simplicity and elegance in its design. The curious name of the tower derives from its first bell ringer, Giovanni di Duccio, who was nicknamed Mangiaguadagni and who was commissioned to ring the hours in 1347.  If you had an Italian Grandmother you would have heard the word Mangia often , it means EAT! – the second half of his nickname was “earnings”.
We are not sure if this means Giovanni ate his way through his earnings   OR   since he was paid to simply ring the bell – maybe the name comes from the fact that he ate up the taxpayers earnings… in either case we are sure that his travel bags were made of the same type of leather that are used in the Toscanella designer handbags.

It’s a simple idea but when you are travelling in another country with all those strange coins, it is absolutely the most perfect idea. This coin case below is the ideal container for storing all that change you get back while haggling in the market place. Most people let them fall to the bottom of their handbag but when you think that a 1 Euro coin will get you a cup of coffee and a 2 Euro coin will buy you breakfast – They are really worth keeping track of them. Great to know that you can put your vacation rental key on this key ring and always keep that safe and secure.

Tosanella Leather Coin Case with Key Ring

But for those of you that prefer to keep all your documents, travel ID, bank notes, credit cards and credit card receipts organized then you are probably looking for something just a bit larger than the coin purse. This bill fold has all the extra compartments you will ever need to hold all those little pieces of paper that you accumulate while travelling abroad.

Click here to see in detail

The very same pieces of paper you want to have when you calculate your refund at the Duty Free Desk at the airport or when you add up your travel souvenirs will be easy to find when you use one of the 4 large pockets or 18 credit card slots.

Toscanella Italian Leather Credit Card Wallet with strap closure

FALL IN (ITALY)

Italian fall festivals and food fair

Italy is a great place to visit over the Fall.  A lot festivals, culture and food  events  take place all over the country.  It is one of the place most visited by tourists.  At the beginning of the fall the weather is great. In the morning and evening is a little chill along the coast but colder on the mountain especially on the northern of Italy, however, you will still  see a beautiful  sunny day. One of the great thing to delight  is the food festivals over the fall. It is the perfect time to find and eat  good truffles, chestnuts, mushrooms, grapes for wine, chocolate and torrone.   visiting the regions you will have the opportunity to see markets, festivals and truffles fair in all regions of Italy.

Italian black truffles

One of the most important truffle festival

is Alba White’s truffles in Piedmont.  Also, you will find other festivals in Tuscany, Umbria, and Emilia Romagna. One of my favorite festival is the eurochocolate festival in Perugia. It is the center city of Umbria the heart of Italy,well known for the Perugina Baci chocolates. it is one of the bigger chocolate producer of the world. Eurochocolate is an international chocolate fair celebrated every year for seven days over in the fall. you will find a big selection of all kind of chocolate. A lot artisans meet to create enormous chocolate sculptures that people will enjoy after been finished. Yes! you will get free chocolate and tastes.

Ferragosto: A Seemingly Frivolous National Holiday With Deep Seated Meaning

Many of our clients who have recently placed orders for production necessary items have become aware that almost nothing, including our company, functions normally during the month of August.  In fact any expat or tourist visiting during the month of August in Italy can tell you that small towns and whole parts of cities for all intensive purposes shut down.  On my bus ride this morning I did a kind of inventory count of how many stores and coffee shops have close their doors and stuck up a “on holiday” signs.  An American on average has vastly less vacation time than the regular Italian, and might be wondering how it is possible that companies and employees alike manage to take 3 weeks to a month of holiday time during this humid sticky month.

As with so many things in Italian culture the event of the “August Holiday” goes back centuries to the time of the Romans.  August 15th is believed to be pagan holiday celebrating the end to summer planting and rejoicing in the fertility of the land.  Pagan goddesses like Diana were particularly worships for their images of fecundity and nurturing.  The tradition of taking the whole month to celebrate this holiday began with the reign of Roman Emperor Augustus.  The time of the festivities were given the name “feriae augusti” in honor of the emperor.  The Roman Catholic Church also celebrates August 15th as the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, also a figure of nurturing and fertility.  So Italian Catholics with pride in their heritage, which makes up a large portion of the population, take this a sacred month as their traditional vacation.  What does that leave in terms of operating procedure for small shop and stores that make up Italy’s every day commerce?  Next to nill!

Word to the travel wise: if you are coming to Italy be prepared to walk a little further to find an open corner store, be aware that many places will be understaffed, and that service in general might seem a bit under par.  All those who normally aid you on your vacation will also be enjoying the fruits and beauty of their own country either in mountain resorts or seaside villas.  This also applies to any new expat as well.  Recharging you mobile, going to state run offices, and overall public transport will not be running at normal capacity.  Not to worry though, a lot of patience and a cool bottle of water will see you through it!

Think Only Italians Go Out Of Their Way To Eat Well? Think Again!

Something rather bizarre yet entertaining was brought to my attention by  family member one day.  I was looking through my email and found a message about a dam in Italy.  Of course, many of my relatives like to send me little tid-bits about Italy.  This time however I was shocked at what I found when I opened up this particular email.

At first it was a picture of a dam in Northern Italy.  The email asked me to think about what these shadow looking blips could be before scrolling down.  I thought that they were some kind of metal reinforcement meant to help support the sheer wall of the dam.  But low and behold they were…

GOATS!

These Ibex apline goats scale the practically vertical wall of the dam in order to lick the salt deposits and algae that grow there.  Wildlife conservationists say their attraction to the salt deposits is due to the lack of minerals in their diet.  Our office jury is still out on whether it is instinctual or if these goats are just following the health nut craze.  Either way they sure are pulling out all the stops for a balanced diet!

The Misadventures of Jure Sanguinis 2 Part Series

Part 2: Return To Italy

Unfortunately the EU has a law that states that all non EU citizens who resided within Europe for the full amount of a 3 month tourist visa must stay outside the EU for a period of three months before reentering.  Therefore I was not able to return to Italy till January, which gave me ample time to do all the laborious translations I have previously mentioned.  I arrived in Rome’s Fiumicino International airport in early January, and was greeted by my at-the-time boyfriend.  For the sake of his own privacy I will call him What’s His Name (code reference: WHN).   WHN and I decided to apply for my citizenship in his home town rather than in Florence.  This decision was made for a myriad of different reasons.  The most important factor however was the size of the town, and its relatively vacant Questura (immigrations office).  This meant that the waiting time for getting my appointment and eventual permesso di soggiorno (extra required visa) would hopefully be much less than what it would be in Florence.  There were definite cons to choosing a smaller town as well.  Those cons will be revealed throughout my rendition.  Now to the all important self-created terminology…

The Ping-Pong Effect:  All those even faintly familiar with Ping-Pong are aware that the main objective of the game is for the ball to be hit back and forth between players.  Well that is what it is like trying to get anything done in Italian bureaucracy.  There are an overabundant set of rules and procedures that must been completed by various offices that all have different priorities.  What this means for the average person is that one office will require you to do something and tell you one thing, while another office will tell you to do the exact opposite and require you to do something completely contrary.

after a day in Italian gov. offices

This tends to happen between 3-4 differing offices, and workers within the office are not all on the same page.  Two workers from the same office can also give you faulty advice, leading you to another fun round of back and forth.  In the game of Ping-Pong they are the players and you are the ball.  You must play along and hope that by the end of the game you are not laying dejectedly on the floor or in the rubbish bin.

Morning 1:  WHN and I made our first trip to the Ufficio di Cittadinanza, and were unwittingly happy to meet our nemesis Ms. A.  After a few minutes of explanation of who we were and why we were there Ms. A tells us flat out that she has no idea what we are talking about, but proceeds to contradict herself by saying that Legge 555 art. 12 states that I do not meet the requirements for Jure Sanguinis.  Now all of you who know me personally know that I am meticulous with details.  I had triple checked this particular law with my Italian consulate and the Florence comune before advancing with my app, and said as much to Ms. A.  Well Ms. A in her infinite wisdom had taken it upon herself to interpret the law, and would not be budged.  Morning 1 ended with me in tears, and Ms. A agreeing to ask my consulate for assistance.

In the mean time obtaining residency is a must for a citizenship app.  An American might view this as a non-issue considering we sign our rental contracts from day one and life is gravy.  In Italy tax on renting apartments and houses is extremely high, deterring property owners from issuing contracts.  A contract is necessary in order to obtain residency. I was fortunate that WHN’s grandparents have a large house and agreed to host me.   Our next step was to go to the anagrafe and register myself within the Comune system.  The first time we went their computer system was down.  The second time we were told that we needed a document from Ms. A stating that I was eligible for citizenship. Fast Forward 1 week: Ms. A was finally put in her place by my consulate, and reluctantly agreed to fax the cit. document to the anagrafe.

photocopy of a Declaration of Intention

Road Block #3:  My consulate informed Ms. A that I was missing my GGF’s actual Naturalization record.  I had the Declaration of Intention (to naturalize), but failed to request the actual record that followed 3 years after his intention.  This was a gross oversight on my part.  I though the statement in the declaration of renouncing Italian citizenship would be sufficient. It was not.  I was fortunate enough to have a cousin greatly interested in my app, and who lived near our city’s records building.  He was very gracious, and agreed to search for the document, apostille it, and send it post haste to Italy.

We returned to the anagrafe where I received my residency certificate. Obtaining residency is necessary for the application for the visa (PdS).  You also must have a letter stating that all your paperwork as been approved by the Ufficio di Cittadinanza (Ms. A again), and copy of your entire passport.  A residency certificate isn’t valid however, until the Vigili come to your place of residence and confirm that you do, in fact, reside there.  This can take anywhere from 3 weeks to 2 months! Time I didn’t have.  Ms. A also refused to give me my approval document until the Vigili “controlled” me.  Luckily for me WHN’s grandparents know the administrator of the Vigili office.  We went down to talk to her, and a scant 24 hours after receiving my residence cert. I was officially “controlled”.

Road Block #4: Before this point I truly thought the system was set up to be unnecessarily laborious.  I still believe it is to a large degree, however the 3 week wait time seems to be the allowance the anagrafe has to actually enter information into their system. Now because I bypassed this I immediately ran into problems with the anagrafe the following day.  It would be normal to think that my info would have been entered when they made my cert.  This is not the case.  We asked that since I had already been “controlled” that I be entered as soon as possible.  One woman gave us a 3 day wait period.  We checked back after the allotted 3 days only to be told that this procedure that takes 2 minutes would be done in 2 months! Another reason we choose WHN’s home town is because he and his family have an established network of friends there.  WHN’s father is friends with a anagrafe worker who just got back from vacation right when I was told my crippling news.  He had a few words with my anagrafe worker, and I was entered into the system 10 minutes later.

By now Ms. A was resigned to the fact that she had to deal with me, but this did not make her any more helpful.  She once again put a restriction on granting me my approval letter.  All my documents, though translated, would have to be certified by an office in the Tribunale.

Stamp like sticker that is attached on official documents

This was easy enough, but the most expensive part of the process so far.  140 euro later all my translations were certified, but they were still not good enough for Ms. A.  She then informed me that I needed to go back to the same building and have the city magistrate sign and certify them as well (insert rather nasty expletive).  Waiting for the magistrate’s approval took another week.  Ms. A also checked with my consulate to make sure that none of my male ascendants ever renounced their Italian citizenship, which is standard operating procedure.  Finally Ms. A told me she had no idea what kind of approval document she needed to provide. I think I was fairly close to handicapping her at this point!  WHN stepped in again by contacting a very high official in the Questura who provided Ms. A with her document, and a few choice words. It took one quick trip to the Post Office with my completed visa app packet to get my appointment for my visa at the Questura.  From here it was smooth sailing.  WHN’s official took pretty good care of us. I got my visa a month and a half after my appointment.  I became an Italian/EU citizen 2 months after I picked up my visa.

Obviously this was far from easy, and I don’t think I would ever choose to immigrate again after this experience.  However, I am now a Dual Citizen of the United States and the European Union, which opens doors that I previously only dreamed about. So from Start to Finish this process took me 10 months.  I’m not sure if I’ve broken a record, but I at least have to be in the running!  If you have any questions about Jure Sanguinis please let me know, or check out the Expats in Italy forum!

The Misadventures of Jure Sanguinis 2 Part Series

The amount of people we get passing through the factory on a daily basis in the summer tends to be pretty high.  Naturally our visitors come from all corners of the world, though the majority of our clientèle are North Americans or Japanese.  I truly believe my everyday interaction with people from my culture really helps me cope with living in Italy.  I am good at adapting, but even a full fledged expat needs to be comforted every now and then.  Myself more than others I believe, considering I very much love my American cultural background from growing up in the Midwest.  So first and foremost I would like to thank our North American visitors who have taken the time to share a joke, a laugh, and converse about the finer attributes of burritos with me.  Yes I am burrito deprived, and yes it shows. Secondly the question I get the most from our visitors is how in the world am I working and living in Italy?  Now I would love to be able to tell my story to everyone, complete with comedic pauses, detailed accounts, and crucial decision making insights, however I am working and need to be somewhat useful.  So for all of you who got my standardized response, I am sorry, and I’m writing out my story on dual citizenship now to make up for my lack of chattiness.

*BEWARE this is a detailed account of my Jure Sanguinis experience from start to finish over two years of research and pain staking bureaucracy.  The rendition is a two part series.  If you do not like details and drawn out explanations then I suggest you click the back button right about….now*

Part One: Just Because You’ve Eaten Spaghetti and Meatballs at Every Family Reunion Doesn’t Make You Italian
My inspiration for researching whether or not I could apply for Jure Sanguinis (blood right) via my Italian grandfather was sparked by an ambition to live abroad as well as a boy, of course.  I had unwittingly gone to Italy on a 3 month tourist visa thinking it was going to be pie in the sky transferring it to a working visa. Alas, my moment of absolute naivety. My only other recourse was to research Jure Sanguinis in hopes that I would pass all the rules and regulations.  I spent countless hours on the computer looking up my grandfather’s and great aunt’s life histories via SSNs, which got me all of about nowhere. Next step, go to my ancestral Comune (fortunately I knew this info) and find great grandfather in the moldy stacks. GGF immigrated to America 100 years ago from an extremely small town in the province of Isernia, Molise.  This town is 3 hours south of where I was staying. Road trip time with little to no information and a whole lot of hope!  Did I get that warm excited feeling upon my arrival?  Not so much.  I did not understand a word of their dialect, and neither did said boy who is Italian. Right onto the comune office. Now my family has an ongoing myth that we have 7 generations of *insert male heritage namesake*.  I assumed this to be correct, and told the comune records officer the names to be on the look out for.  Mind you this assumption was false.  So not only did I not know the name of my great great grandfather, but I also had no idea when GGF was born, nor who he married and when.  All very important details when looking for a birth certificate. After many exasperated sighs, one frantic 6am wake-up call to my Aunt, and 5 hours later, we finally came across GGF’s immigration record. What stroke of genius on the part of the comune worker!  The record listed my GGM, GGGF, and the date the record was filed, 1913.  Another hop, skip, and jump (4th) back to the old musty building that houses all the old musty tomes of ancient birth and marriage records.  The comune officer finally found GGF’s birth and marriage certificate.  He also suddenly became surprisingly friendly as well.  Come to find out his great aunt was my great grandmother, small world huh?  We left middle-of-nowhere Italy in a state of euphoric contentment.  I had supporting documents that stated I had Italian blood.  Nifty right?

Road Block #1: Now in order for me to be eligible my grandfather needed to be born BEFORE my GGF naturalized as an American Citizen.  At the time I hadn’t the foggiest idea when my GGF became American, nor was I confident that he immigrated in 1913.  No public access ship records had any mention of him for that date.  Now I was under the impression that the few documents I had would allow me to reside in Italy past the 3 month limit.  Naivety strikes again!  My visit to the Florence citizenship office made it abundantly clear to me that I was no where near ready to apply.  Number of documents need to apply: 10, my number at the time: 2..(insert mild expletive).

I returned back to America after my three month stay with a clear focus on what I needed to do.  I had started my game plan back in Italy by requesting information regarding my GGF’s immigration records from NARA Chicago.  Their response was waiting for me upon my arrival home.  GGF became an American citizen in 1925.  My grandfather was born in 1914.  The green light flickered on in my head, giving me ample motivation for hunting down my remaining 8 documents.  Fortunately my father’s family never ventured outside of their city of residence.

Example of a Hague Convention Apostilled document

Therefore all records I would need were conveniently located in one city building, with one exception.  My darling parents thought it would be a good idea to get married in another state.  This was easily remedied however by mail correspondence.  This was quickly followed up by one day trip with the maternal gran to request, receive, certify, and apostille 7 documents.  I was walking on air that day until…

Road Block #2: My GGM’s name was Amelia, however on my grandfather’s birth certificate she was listed as Marietta. Being fairly familiar with the Italian language at that point I was aware of how the discrepancy probably came about. Etta and ina are endings attached to a girl’s name to emphasize her size or cuteness.  This is also can be meant as a term of affection. I’m guessing my non-English speaking GGF said Melietta during his moment of joy at having a son, and the hospital staff interpreted it as such.  My Grandfather’s birth certificate was one of the most important documents in this whole process, so I was fairly agitated at this unexpected development.  I asked the state vital records office if an affidavit could be produced to rectify the error. Answer: NO.  I would have had to hire a legal representative for my deceased grandfather, one for myself, and then take the issue to court in order to get the name corrected.  This would have required time and money I did not have.  I called the Florence comune asking if the discrepancy would effect my application.  No, because I inherited citizenship via GGF, grandfather, then father, none of the women listed on the forms would be strictly relevant. Score, moving on!

My parent’s marriage certificate issue was painless.  I requested it from the county in which they were married, then mailed it off to the state house for the apostille.  Fortunately I had reached majority at this point, because all minor children of divorced parents also have to provide the full packet of divorce papers as well.  Finally I was 10 for 10 on the document front, certified, apostilled, and ready for scrutiny.  Let the translation of outdated English legal jargon to Italian legal jargon commence!  Luckily I was able to translate the documents myself with the help of aforementioned boy, saving me a small fortune in translation fees.  Once again, thanks be to the gods that I didn’t have to translate divorce papers!

This concludes Part 1 of my Jure Sanguinis adventure.  I chose to apply for citizenship in Italy, which has a whole different set of rules then the Italian consulates in America.  Italian bureaucracy is also infamous for disorganization and the ping-pong effect.  Not sure what I am referring to?  Then stay tuned for Part 2: Return to Italy due out next week!