Duffer, so to work in Rome i would need to rival Jodrell Bank! I guess the cost of such a large dish would make this a non starter.

Well it depends if you only want Freesat channels such as the Beeb and ITV. Then the cost of the dish might be quite high. For the same money you could get the basic Sky channels for about 3 to 4 years with a bog standard 80cm dish. You'll just need access to a UK address that doesn't already have Sky TV.

You may want to contact Wiffy who used to have UK TV in Rome and knows someone else who still does. I don't remember if they get reception of the standard terrestrial channels though but it's worth a punt.