nce the Vigile confirms your residence, the comune will enter me in the database in a few days and once this is complete, I can present my application. In my case, this was done 48 hours after I applied for residency (this doesn't negate the need for me to be in residence for the Vigile to check on).
Once presented with my application, the Stato Civile officer will examine all my documentation and, if everything is in good order and suitable according to the clerk’s standards and criteria, I will be issued a document by the clerk stating that you have presented your application and that it was received (ricevuta). I am assuming this was picked up by the agent handling my case. Part of the processing of my application involves verification from the consulates over the various places outside Italy that I – and all of my ancestors – have lived and that none of them ever voluntarily renounced Italian citizenship before an Italian authority (usually a consulate in the foreign country of residence).
With the application, I presented a document attesting to all my places of residency (as well as all the places of residency for everyone in your direct line of citizenship transmission) to help the clerk know which consulate or consulates they need to contact. The clerk cannot finalize my application until all these “Attestati di Non Rinuncia” – or no renunciation certificates – come in from abroad (this is the the longest wait).
And so, dear readers, this brings us to the current day. Ensconced on the side of a mountain in Guardiaregia, I have weathered a hurricane (was worried about trees falling on the car), figured out the garbage pick-up system (it won’t get picked up if I put it in the wrong spot), scoped out where to buy my groceries (I can only get some items at some stores), and determined which roads are drivable and not goat trails (although this is an ongoing process).
I have had to deal with the sink that leaks into the washing machine, and how to work the washing machine, and – because of the lack of a clothes dryer – clothes that takes 2-3 days to dry, and a slowly darkening house as, one by one, the light bulbs burn out, and dogs that bark until 3:30 am on some days and start barking at 3:30 am on others. I have had been cut off from the outside world due to lack of both internet access and cell phone service an several occasions. I have spent one entire Sunday driving 2.5 hours to Rome, getting on an airplane, flying to Dublin, and flying back just to get the much needed stamp in my passport to start my time in Italy. I have had E. coli poisoning when the aquifer servicing the old town was contaminated (still not sure if it is safe to drink the water).
I have still a couple more weeks to be here before my 45 days are up and I am free to leave. Olaf will join me in 10 days, and I am so much looking forward to having company…misery loves company.
