INSIDE: Ravello’s Hotel Caruso 3 One Couple Who Retired in Tuscany 5 New Hotels in Italy 6 Pros + Cons of Retiring in Italy 8 The Skinners retired in Umbria A Romantic Renewal in dream of Ravello ® og-tired from a challenging D daylong hike, we drag our rain soaked, mud splattered bodies through the doors of a modest hotel off the main square in Ravello. I’m worried about my husband. He’s too quiet and I wonder if all those shepherd’s trails, serpentine turns and stony steps above Volume 8, Issue 1 www.dreamofitaly.com February 2009 the Gulf of Salerno have done him in. ITALY But when we leave our fellow hikers at the front desk and sequester ourselves The Rewards and Realities in our room, he suddenly comes to life. of Retiring in Italy Emulating James Bond, he rushes to the window and draws the blinds. He Though not apparent at first, those attempting to speak Italian and gestures to me to be quiet and dramati- Tsettle in Italy and you’ll discov- seem to genuinely appreciate any effort cally waves his arms to keep me from er that Italians are a study in to do so. collapsing on the bed. Uncomprehen- contrasts. The same easygoing shop- ding, thinking him utterly mad, I head keeper who lets you pay for your food Yet while Italian locals may be friendly, toward the shower, but he blocks the whenever you get around the efficiency can make door. to it, can turn into an new American arrivals impatient, pushy cur- crazy. Old hands urge “Not yet,” he says. “We’ve got to get mudgeon behind the patience. One expat says out of here.” wheel of the car, or stand- she has come to an abid- ing in a long line. ing acceptance of the “What?” I cry. Discovering how much Italian bureaucratic ways more there is than meets and has developed a He shushes me and now, I know he’s the eye with the Italian “two-trip rule.” “It takes gone completely bonkers. people can be fascinating. at least two visits to do anything. If you go to the comune office or to the “We’re leaving,” he says, grabbing my Expats universally wish they had questura in Massa, it will take at least hand. “I’ve got a surprise for you.” learned more of their host country’ s two visits to accomplish your goal. language before making the move. This can be very trying until you real- And indeed he does. Like a magician While many Italians who live in the ize that this is just the way it is and pulling a rabbit from a hat, he extracts major cities and more visited areas you start to plan on getting something a carry-on bag from his suitcase, tells speak some English, most Italians in done in two trips not one,” she says. me to throw in something nice, then all smaller towns don’t speak any. Italians but steamrolls me through the door. We are generally warm and patient with continued on page 4 continued on page 2 More than 6 million Americans live abroad. A Romantic Renewal in Ravello continued from page 1 “Beckoned by the view, bejeweled Amalfi Coast, skulk out of the hostel, bags in hand, as a solicitous gaggle of staff surrounds Janet escorts us to our suite; a room cross the piazza where couples gather us. Everybody seems to know who we called “The Trilogy” for its three lancet for drinks at outdoor tables and chil- are. windows that frame the sea beyond. dren pass soccer balls back and forth in Beckoned by the view, we step out on a ritualistic affirmation of sunset; we “You’re late,” says a posh woman who the private patio to find we dangle wind through a narrow hugs me and introduces above the bejeweled Amalfi Coast, an alley or two and climb a herself as Janet. She eyes impression made more vivid by the deluge of steps. me curiously. “If you need champagne we sip. We’re still in hiking a hairdresser or makeup togs when the phone rings. “The wed- Moments later, an elab- ding planner is here,” says our posh orately carved, pillared mother hen. portal flanked by stone lions greets us. Through Still speechless, I rush to the bathroom it, across a cotto-floored, to shower. And that’s when I balk. It’s vaulted room, a riveting such a sybaritic room, so indulgently seascape is captured in Roman and marbled and luxurious, I a panoramic window. It consider skipping draws the eye like the this whole surprise horizon line in a land- renewal of vows scape painting. I conclude we stand at artist, thing to just linger the threshold of a private villa—until a I can in the tub. But I get doorman materializes, urges us inward arrange it.” I look toward my over it, and without and says, “Welcome to the Hotel husband who shrugs. Then, she the help of the 2 Caruso.” continues. “Explain it to me— make-up artist, I this renewal of vows—what is manage to look We cruise passed the Neapolitan-style it exactly? We don’t really have slightly presenta- furnishings and mosaic-covered walls it in Italy.” ble. of this former 11th-century patrician’s palace timidly. My first instinct is to “Yes, explain it,” I say, looking at my Downstairs, we meet the wedding smarten my untidy hiker’s hair. gloating husband. planner, Linda Gatto who runs La Preening, I dust off my dirty shorts just Lampada di Aladino (Aladdin’s Lamp), creators of custom weddings along the Amalfi Coast. In tow, she has her mother, Carmen, and Giovanna da Amato, a charismatic poet who will Amalfi Coast preside over our ceremony. Someone hands me a bouquet of white roses. A concierge smiles and tells us we “look much better.” Naples My husband, Carl, having organized Ravello all of this via the Internet, greets Linda like an old friend and at that moment Salerno Sorrento we all connect in a joyous sort of Amalfi union. These are our metaphorical Positano maids of honor, or best women—as it Capri were. A 1903 New York Times article made we step out on the private patio to find we dangle above the an impression made more vivid by the champagne we sip.” Surrounded by our Italian intimati, we can go inside to la cappella, the hotel’s glows with the successful outcome of walk through a garden infused with historic chapel.” his wedding vow secret plot. Delirious, the seductive scent of lemons to an I decide it might be a dream, but when imperious infinity pool. Posed there, “No.” Tantalized by the scenery and the waiter returns he carries my bou- veritably floating above a sea awash the palpable tenderness of the tiny quet, left behind somewhere like with a thousand turquoise tones, we crowd, I say, “This is perfect,”— and Cinderella’s shoe at the ball. We place hear our serenade: the dulcet song of everyone nods in approval. Giovanna it in a vase and ponder this place— the waves. Suddenly, it thunders. wraps us in a ribbon marked with col- Ravello— where dreams fuse with Alarmed, Janet says, “If you’d like we ors of the Italian flag, then reads reality. —Becca Hensley Wedding Planner Austin-based freelance writer Becca Hensley Linda Gatto speaks just enough Italian to get her in trou- La Lampada di Aladino ble. A pasta fanatic, poet and mother of three, Viale degli Eucalipti, 18 she is also senior travel writer for Austin Monthly. Her work has appeared in Salerno National Geographic Traveler, Robb (39) 089 751294 Report, American Way, Forbes and Self. www.amalfi-wedding-planner.com poems and speaks of beautiful things The Details like love, peace, and commitment. Just as we say a few romantic words to Hotel Caruso each other, the ceremony ends and the Piazza San Giovanni del Toro, 2 rain begins. dream of 3 Ravello ® (39) 089 858801 We run for cover and staff appears www.hotelcaruso.com from the woodwork to wrap us in ITALY Rates: Start at 620€ per night for a double thick towels, hand us champagne and Kathleen A. McCabe room, with breakfast. escort us to the hotel’s restaurant. On Editor and Publisher The hotel offers a daily, complimentary boat the way, Linda tells us this is her first excursion for guests to sightsee in Positano vow renewal, though she has organ- Copy Editor: Stephen J. McCabe ized weddings on every sort of boat, in Design: Leaird Designs and Amalfi. Avid hikers will enjoy trails that www.leaird-designs.com begin near the palace and lead through the helicopters hovering over Capri, in vineyards, Norman towers, grottos and Dream of Italy, the subscription newsletter covering mountains, along cliffside paths and through Italian travel and culture, is published 10 times a year. idyllic villages. Motor and sail boat trips can gardens. “Anything is possible,” she Delivery by mail is $89 per year in the United States and be arranged for visits to Capri and beyond. says. $99 abroad. An Internet subscription (downloadable PDF) costs $79 per year. Subscriptions include online Try a Watsu class in the hotel’s infinity pool access to over 60 back issues and regular e-mail updates. or work out in the fitness center with Since our ceremony is symbolic, there’s Three ways to subscribe: panoramic views. When dining at the no paperwork, a plus considering the 1. Send a check to Dream of Italy, P.O.