Italy

Italy is the route where the month changes the plan. The same load leaving four weeks later can take a genuinely different road, and the reason is the Alps rather than preference.

The route

Loads leave HA6 for the A404 and M25, then round to the M20 or M2 and the Kent crossings. Then the long run south through France, where it forks: the Alpine tunnels via the Gotthard, Fréjus or Mont Blanc for the north, or Provence into Liguria and the A12 past Genoa for Tuscany and below. In winter that fork becomes a real decision rather than a formality.

Where deliveries go

• Tuscany — Florence, Siena, Lucca, the Chianti, the Val d'Orcia
• Umbria and Le Marche — Perugia, Todi, Spoleto, the Sibillini foothills
• Piedmont and Liguria — Turin, the Langhe, the Riviera di Ponente
• Lombardy and the lakes — Milan, Como, Maggiore, Garda
• The Veneto — Verona, Padua, the Dolomite approaches
• Rome and Lazio — apartment deliveries inside restricted-access zones

Two constraints most quotes ignore

The first is winter, when the Alpine options stop being automatic — passes close, chain regulations bite, and a loaded vehicle is a poor place to find that out. The second is the ZTL, the camera-enforced limited traffic zone over the historic centre of most Italian towns: an address inside one can only be delivered to with a permit arranged in advance through the comune. Neither is difficult, and both are expensive to discover late.

Customs

Household effects entering Italy attract relief when residence is being transferred, but the case is made on documentation: your codice fiscale, evidence of residence being established, and a valued inventory in the format Italian customs expect. They are more particular about presentation than most, so we prepare it to that standard.

Dedicated vehicle or shared space

A dedicated vehicle means your dates and the fewest handlings. Shared space means a lower cost, a delivery window rather than a named day, and more handlings along the way. On a household with pieces you would mind losing, the handling count is a real argument for a dedicated vehicle, and we will make that argument rather than quietly selling the cheaper option.

Starting the move

Both addresses, rough dates, a sense of the volume, and whether shared space is an option for you. We will survey and quote in writing. See European removals for how the four compare.