Your friend must have found a magical train. Trains from Bari to Napoli take ftom 4hours to 7.5hours.And that is assuming that they are running on time.

lol..............is that right, I'll let him know!

I think a list like that is a sensible and important plan. Sitting on the beach and eating great food is one thing, but you need to be on the move, keep your brain ticking, and enjoy the things you love. It's a bit different for me; I don't have any family in the UK (sons are now in Switzerland), though friends will be sadly missed. I do have some family who settled in Switzerland 30 years ago + sons there. For this reason, Tuscany been in half way is doable by train. Sicily means airports. My wife's father is from Genoa, and she speaks fluent Italian. I need to improve my Italian, which is very important as I am well aware, most don't speak out of big cities, I'd imagine. Medical facilities are important. Your health only deteriorates with age!

Living in Sicily as I have done is or rather was wonderful, but before making any decisions I would examine the financial and medical consequencies very carefully. For myself although I am now 80% Sicilian and totally integrated, I sometimes think it has been a mistake coming here but now aged 72 I can't move as my partner has an invalid child. It might be better to remain an English resident and come here for 3 month periods at least for a year or two or choose another sunny paradise. I do know (or have heard of) lots of americans who are very happy in Sicily but they are generally people who are benefitting from the tax breaks (7% flat tax) of living in a tiny town (population less than 20,000) and enjoy the fact that medical care here is so much cheaper than in the US so if you enjoy the isolation that is a good choice. Financially you loose the English personal allowance and if you keep your UK house and rent here this can be an expensive choice as you are only allowed 15% deductions from the rental income for expenses which barely covers the management fee and certainly not the total cost of keeping a UK home spick and span. Not only that but a lot of retirement income comes from savings such as ISAs and these are all taxed here and not in the UK. Medically I would say there are major problems in Sicily that don't exist in other parts of Italy. Going to A&E in Palermo is pretty shattering experience and free specialist care is very hard to find with long waiting lists so basically you have to pay to see a specialist and for quite a lot of other things. Lets just say that since I fell ill last summer I dont feel safe here or that I would get as good a care here as elsewhere though apparently things are getting bad everywhere now!

Good points there, thanks. We are looking at a 7% flat tax incentive for towns with >20 K. This is where Noto commune comes to mind, with a population of less than >20K, and is officially a 7% place to live. Noto is our option because there is a large international community, though we do not intend to mix with expats all the time. 7% only applies to Southern Italy, I think.

I'd only retire in Italy with the 7% for 6-10 years incentive; otherwise, forget it. A lot of my wealth is in private pensions. My house in Greater London, up in the air, either sell it or keep and rent, am aware of the pitfalls of renting whilst residing in Italy. Selling a house in London is very hard to return and buy again, not saying I would like to be older living in London, definitely not! Though I must say the UK is very poor economically now and has been since 2008, much worse since 2019. High crime, the infrastructure is very poor these days. Hospitals in the UK, good luck, yes, it's free here, unless it's an absolute emergency, where the service is excellent, you could be waiting for years for an op. Generally, you will be seen and waiting in A&E for hours is very common in the UK. Now self-employed, I miss Bupa for my family, which was a godsend. Oh yes, ISAs, I would withdraw all of them and initially live off ISA withdrawals.

US citizens understand. The cost of medical insurance in the US is totally ridiculous, espeically when retiring. US citizens, I am sure, are happy in Italy for that reason alone.
Sorry to hear the situation in Palmero with medical facilities, TBH sounds similar to the UK. Very well-established doctors have left the UK for greener pastures, so it's getting worse here, not better.

Having said all this, I'm envisaging not residing in Italy to start with. Even thinking about buying a place in Noto and visiting 3-5 times a year for periods.

A lot of common sense there, especially that last sentence. Not sure where you are planning to be tax resident/domiciled ?

Having said all this, I'm envisaging not residing in Italy to start with. Even thinking about buying a place in Noto and visiting 3-5 times a year for periods.[/QUOTE]
Noto is one of the few places in Sicily that ticks all the boxes. There is a beautiful road (no potholes either) via Noto antica to another wonderful place that you might look at, Palazzolo Acreide, with a colder climate .You are wise to restrict yourself to towns of less that 20,000 as you are also exempt from the yearly tax on your London home and your pension funds. The only other town I would recommend would be Castellammare del Golfo, about 35 minues from Palermo airport and the birthplace of the current Italian President

to start with, tax resident in the UK, then eventually Italy if we like it. I need an international tax advisor, I think, before retirement.

Wow, Castellammare del Golfo, just googled, what a stunning looking town. Palermo is my favourite city in Italy, along with Napoli, and nearby Mondello has a nice beach. Palermo was full of life, with incredible markets, great restaurants, and beautiful architecture. Best pasta le con sarinde in Sicily, and street food, panelle. Remember buying the most incredible tasting cannoli from a nun's monastery, this is going back 25 years ago! When I arrived in Catania on the same trip, I asked for an arancine, reply was "no arancino". What is this, then? I realised the shape of Etna, unlike in Palemro, was basically a large rice ball! 1st difference I spotted from East to West.

No need to go to Mondello, Castellamare is close to the best beach in Sicily at San Vito Lo Capo as well as the Zingaro reserve and Erice. For financial advice, you can get excellent information with AI which is far better than my commericalista, and rather than an international tax advisor try a good CAF in Palermo. Everything here works through personal relations and quick calls to family members working in the tax office. Some CAF really show the best of Italy, dedicated to help you, very precise and extremely cheap.

Interesting, reading all this handy advice for someone wanting to move to Italy. I totally agree with everything that has been said here, I've been living in the South for over thirty years now, after twentysix years in the UK. Learning Italian is fundamental if you are not already bilingual, I was lucky in this way.
I strongly recommend you spend lots and lots of time in the places you mention, outside of the tourist season to see what it's really like, this is a MUST!

One thing's for sure, no matter how many difficulties I have encountered over the years, I've never had any regrets, I love it here and would never think of moving back to the UK. My elderly parents are able to lead a comfortable life with their UK pensions, surely much better off than they would have been if still living in London.

I wish you luck. "In bocca al lupo", as we say here. Your first Italian proverb, or perhaps you already know it.

On 7th April, the number increased from 20.000 to 30.000 inhabitants

I found this out after investigating about 2 weeks ago. Noto has 25,000, I believe, above the threshold for 7% tax, which is 20K. Places like Cefalu, capo d'orlando, Castellammare del Golfo are under 20K

In Salento where you are located, there are plenty, such as Galatone or Oria. I see no advantage in moving to Italy without the 10-year tax exemption for my personal financial situation. Will have to be a town under 20K. I'll continue the search!

thanks.

This threshold has been raised to 30,000 this year

Thanks for this update. Yeah, I just googled, and from 7th April 2026, it's now 30K.
Great news: as many popular towns are surpassing 20K, this would bring Noto, Sicily, back to a retirement town.