We are all familiar with the term Francophile but an increasing number of people are becoming interested in all things Italian and looking for a taste of la dolce vita (the sweet life).

Italian dining and cooking is extremely popular in the UK and is often the first taster to a holiday in Italy which in turn becomes a love affair leading to a wish to live there on a permanent or temporary basis.

It’s a daunting step for the Italian property purchase system is as daunting as the French and totally alien to our system in this country.

When Peter Mayle made foreign property buying a growth industry with his book A Year In Provence, France became swamped with ex-pats in a very short period. In Italy it has been a more gradual process and there are some beautiful areas in a country whose constitution is relatively new but whose history and traditions are almost as old as time itself.

But let’s suppose you have fallen in love with an Italian region, more of those in a later feature, and have set your heart on a broken down farmhouse in the Tuscan countryside. Where do you start?

The language barrier is probably the biggest hurdle. Many British have a smattering of French but holiday standard Italian is not going to get you very far with the legal process, so it’s best to use the services of a bi-lingual agent.

To buy a property in Italy all you need is a tax code, a codice fiscale. Sounds easy doesn’t it? But your codice will be required at every step of the long journey of adapting to the Italian property purchasing culture, full-time or part-time. But it only allows you to buy a property. If you are going to be in Italy permanently you are going to need a permesso di soggiorno which is best described as a type of green card.

Getting one is supposedly an easy process but I am assured by someone who has gone through it that it is not! There will be much arm waving and exaggerated gestures needed, as well as a local expert!

When you have found your ideal property you will have to sign a compromesso. No, it’s not a coffee, it is very similar to the French compromis, a preliminary, private, binding contract in which the sale and price are agreed. Now you have no escape!

A deposit of anywhere up to 20% is paid. If the buyer pulls out before completion he looses his deposit, but if the vendor pulls out he has to pay twice the deposit to the proposed buyer.

Another major difference to the UK is that the buyer pays commission, usually 3% of the price, to the agent at the time of signing the compromesso.

If you do not speak Italian it is a legal requirement that an Italian speaker goes along with you to the final deed of sale. This will take place in the office of a notary, who will have checked all deeds and paperwork.

A very important point to watch is your marital status. In Italy married couples, unless they have chosen otherwise, are married “unione dei beni”. This means that once married anything one half buys automatically belongs to the other, even if they were not present at the purchase.

Now you are the proud owner of a property in Italy, but your journey to la dolce vita is only just beginning!

Graham Smith for Third Age.