My citizenship journey is almost over. I received confirmation that my application for cittadinanza has been approved and in their words, ' definitivo'. All I can tell you is that it was all a bit of an anti-climax at the prefettura. I was hoping for a band, a hug from the chap who had administered my application and a bowl of pasta con sugo di pomodoro e basilico...nothing! In fact, all I got was the door slammed in my face after being handed a brown envelope to take to the comune. To be fair to him I have to now book an appointment with the comune to go and do the 'giuramento', which means changing my carta d'identita into one for an Italian citizen, and to swear on the Italian constitution. I assume it will be a little more pomp and circumstance than the prefettura office, but I shall keep you informed. However, it is official!
I had never dreamed of getting 'cittadinanza' in Italy until the big 'B' word arrived in my life. Without wishing to get hung up on that particular subject, it has changed my life and I know many of your lives have changed as well. One of those is, of course, taxation. For many it has meant deciding between the UK and Italy for residency purposes. That has implications and I have been a long time advocate of planning your financial life before making the leap of residency into another country. Italy is a higher tax country but the burden can be reduced, or ways can be found to make sure you can enjoy 'la dolce vita' without getting hung up on tax matters.
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