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Ciao a tutti!
I still remember my first journey along the Amalfi coast, even though more than twenty years have passed since then. The jagged cliffs and sheer drop to cobalt blue waters wowed and terrified me in equal measure. As other cars sped past ours on the tortuous coastal road, I grabbed the sides of my seat, sure we would soon plunge into the sea. But then, I miraculously conquered my fears and this made me more receptive to the jaw-dropping beauty of the landscape - pastel coloured houses tumbling down towards the sea, white crested wavelets lapping a rocky outcrop, the verdant branches of thick palms framing slices of sapphire sea and baby blue sky.
 For some reason, I haven't been back to that particular corner of Italy in quite a while, but reading Caroline Glenny's account of her trip to Amalfi has whetted my appetite for it. Mind you, I would never have the courage to visit it her way - she went on an all-night coach ride from her home village in Le Marche to Amalfi and back, all within three days. But you know what? Even though she had some initial misgivings, you get the feeling that her time on the bus was as enjoyable as taking in the coast's deep blue sights and, much like what happened to me, her own personal conquest - getting to know her Marche neighbours - heightened her appreciation of the majestic landscape around her. You can read all about Glenny's trip in both English and Italian - a great way to hone your language skills.
 It takes skills of a slightly different kind - the survival kind - to live in some streets in Italy, as Pat Eggleton discovered when she moved to Modica, Sicily, five years ago. Throughout most of the country, water comes willingly out of a mains-linked tap, but in Eggleton's street, it is delivered by water lorry. Sometimes, the local council runs out of money to pay the lorry drivers, so water will not be delivered. Sometimes, it will even run out of cash to pay the telephone bill so water-strapped residents will find it hard to call and order their refill.
To top it all off, the communal cistern of the block of flats where Eggleton lives has a knack for getting broken during the summer holidays, when it is notoriously difficult to get hold of plumbers and water delivery lorries alike - unless you are in Sicily, that is, and a resourceful neighbour knows someone who knows someone who knows someone that will sort the whole water mess out. So, see, there is a silver lining to all this - it helps build great neighbourly relationships without requiring you to go on a three day coach journey (not to mention that, in these days of greater environmental awareness, this is a rather forceful but effective method to curtail water waste).
 Incidentally, if you are planning to follow Eggleton's footsteps and move to Italy, 2010 may be a good year to do so. According to Italian estate agent conglomerate Tecnocasa, the market is likely to stabilize on last year's sale volume figures, while values will either hold or go down by a modest amount (in the region of 1-3%). This makes it a great time to buy as prices will be more reasonable than in the last few years, but unlikely to drop any further. The areas that are going to see the greatest reductions, and therefore the best potential bargains, are the outskirts of Genoa and Palermo.
 If you ponder an eventual move to Italy, may I recommend that you do so over a plateful of orange pork loin? The combination of juicy meat and citrusy flavours is absolutely super.
Buona settimana
Carla Passino
Editor
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