Italy

Accommodation:
Rents in Rome range from $600 to $2000 a month. Housing costs are less expensive in the countryside, although there are notable exceptions.

Utilities: water • electricity and gas • Telephone • Television

Utilities - Water

The local Commune (municipality) controls water supply. Water charges are included in the general expenses in apartment buildings. Independent houses with their own water meter receive bills after meter readings.

Utilities - Electricity and Gas

Electricity is supplied by ENEL (National Electric Energy Authority) or by the Municipality, depending on the location of your home. The electricity supplied is 220 volts, but some apartments do not have enough current to operate more than two major appliances. Gas is supplied by the local Municipality or by an authorized company. It is used widely for cookers and independent central heating. Water heaters are either gas or electric, gas heaters are cheaper and give instantaneous hot water.

Utilities - Telephone

Telecom Italia handles most of the telecommunication services. It provides phone lines, phone directories and a useful booklet Tutto Città that contains city maps, useful phone numbers and postal codes for every road. A variety of handsets and answering machines are available, you can either buy them or rent them. As a Non-EU, you will have to send a written application by registered mail, Raccomandata, including photocopies of your documents and prepaid postal receipt for installation charges. The bill payment period is at the end of every two months. Apart from the usage charge, there is a fixed charge on the phone line as well as the handset. You can pay through your bank or in a post office. Apart from Telecom Italia, a number of private companies are now providing the same service in the market.
They are:

• ALBACOM - code 1077. Information number - 800.195195
• TELE 2 -code 1022 Information number - 800.221022
• WIND - code 1088 Information number - 159
• TISCALI - code 10030 Information number - 800.810030
• INFOSTRADA - code 1055 Information number - 155

Mobile phones are very popular in Italy. The major mobile phone providers in Italy are:

• TIM Information number - 800.01.17.77
• OMNITEL Information number - 800.190.190
• WIND Information number - 159

Public telephones are found along major roads and Piazze-squares. Cafes and bars with a yellow telephone dial sign have a public phone inside. Pay phones accept coins or disposable debit cards worth L.5, 000, L.10, 000 and L.15, 000. Tessera Telefonica -phone card, can be bought from newsstands, tobacconists, bars and from dispensers in stations and airports.

Utilities - Television

You have to pay a certain amount of tax annually, Canone d' Abbonamento, if you own a Television. The tax is paid at post offices in the month of January; fines for non-payments are high. The annual TV license for 1999 amounts to L.171.600. Most buildings have a central antenna that receives broadcasts in Italian from the state-owned RAI (Italian Broadcasting Company) and numerous private channels. The RAI owns three channels: RAI Uno, RAI Due, RAI Tre. Major private channels are: Canale 5, Italia 1, Rete 4, Telemontecarlo, TMC 2 and a host of others that can be seen nationally or only locally.

Domestic help: Cleaners • Babysitters

Domestic help - Cleaners

Finding a domestic help in Italy is not a problem. The question is whether you want to get into legal employment or cash arrangement (for illegal immigrants). In the case of illegal immigrants, pay works out cheaper, but it's a risky business.

If you need occasional help you can contact cleaning services companies Imprese di Pulizia. Legally employed domestic helpers or COLF (Collaboratrice Famigliare) as they are called must have a libretto di lavoro, employment record book, a codice fiscale and Tessera ASL, health care papers and an identity card.

The employer is required to register the worker at the Ufficio di Collocamento, employment office. Only live-in-help must be registered at the Comune. A legally employed Colf is entitled to Contributi - medical and pension contributions, holidays pay and Liquidazione- end of employment payment. Generally, it is advisable to employ a Colf referred to you by friends and neighbours or your Portiere. Agencies supplying domestic help are listed in the yellow pages under Collaborazioni domestiche.

Domestic help - Babysitters

Baby-sitters and Au pairs are best found through personal contacts. Expatriate clubs and their newsletters as well as school bulletin board are always most helpful sources. Regular baby-sitting services are listed in the yellow pages of your phone book. Chambers of commerce and consulates can at times provide you with addresses of agencies that specialize in providing au pairs. Au pairs are generally not Italian nationals, consequently they will need a Permesso di Soggiorno. Locally you can advertise at the University, students are always on the look out for free lodging.

Education: Italian schools • International schools • School name and addresses

Education - Italian schools

Education is free in state owned school. Both private and public schools follow the same curriculum with the exception of special schools like Montessori and Rudolf Steiner.

Pre-school is not compulsory, but children are sent to private or public Scuole Materne and Asili Nido (Kindergarten and nursery schools).

The Italian education system is structured as follows:

• Scuola Elementare - primary school - Age 6-10
• Scuola Media - secondary school - Age 11-13
• Scuola Superiore -high school - Age 14-18

Students are admitted to Universities after they have completed a five-year course in a Scuola Superiore and have passed a state exam, Maturità.

Education - International schools

Schools offering English language curriculum are either independent, private schools. Fluency in the language is a must for admissions. American schools follow the American curriculum till secondary level. High school is college preparatory and often offers both the International Baccalaureate programme as well as the Advanced Placement programme. Some universities in the U.S. give a semester or a year credit to students who have a full I.B. diploma. Other English language schools either follow the normal British curriculum or a more international adaptation integrated with International Baccalaureate programmes. British curriculum schools prepare students for GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education) and "A" (Advanced) level courses. Public exams from the U.K. are taken at the end of these courses.

Some of the well-known international schools in Italy are: