Italy Driving School and Costs

Dear Art Lover,

     At this time of year, most of us start looking already to the new year and often, what we would like to improve about our lives.  Well, besides healing, my challenge in the beginning of 2018 will be to take and pass the driving tests in Italy and receive my first Italian driver’s license [patente di guida].   After stopping at the CUP to receive an appointment for my next risonanza magnetica [MRI], I stopped again by the driving school to get current information about the fees and class commitment.

    If the Italian laws and expenses for driving a vehicle do not interest you, please scroll down past this section to look at some art! 

    It used to be that Americans in Italy could legally drive using our American driver’s licenses.  Well, no more.  I am not sure when exactly the law changed, but I believe it has changed since I started coming to Italy in 2004.  I also do not know why it changed, but it could very well be the fault of the US government.  Most countries have reciprocal benefits on things such as that, as the US and Italy used to do.  So, someone here suggested to me that if the US changed its policy allowing Italians to drive in the US with their Italian licenses, the Italian government may have rescinded benefits to Americans in Italy.  I just do not know.  I am more concerned with my reality.

     Now, I do not know the law for an American tourist, and if you plan to visit and want to drive while you are here, it might be worth a 15-minute visit to your local AAA office and buy an International Driving Permit.  No tests, just present a valid license, let them take your photo, and then use it with your regular license while abroad.  Note:  YOU may choose the start date of validity.  The permit lasts for one year.  Oh, and when I lived in Croatia, I met a man from Slovenia who had lived in California for more than ten years.  He said that he found out the hard way that in Europe, the only recognized International Driver’s Permit issued from the USA comes from AAA and no other company.  Also, I have not verified.  I give this to you so that you know what questions to ask that may have never occurred to you.  I never wanted the car life style again, frankly.  I was happy with my bike and legs in Florence.  However, I am far happier living in the hills away from the conveniences of city life, so… it is always something.

So here is the information for at least Americans who want to earn an Italian driver’s license.  Ready?

* You MUST present to the school before starting: 

    -- 3 photographs in the form of the permit [passport size, he said]

    --  1 marca da bollo [a tax in the form of a postage-type stamp you buy in a tobacco shop] 16 euro

    --  1 bolletino  for 26.40 euro   [valid for three months]

    --  2 bollettini for 16 euro EACH

[the bolletini are bills that must be paid at the Post Office with the forms that the man gave me]

    -- Certificate of health from your doctor in Italy [valid for three months – that is optimistic, no?]

THEN:  on a Tuesday at 5 p.m., go to the driving school for an eye exam, presenting all of the documents above [as paid] and your ID card,  30 euro

[It is the eye test that the doctor’s three month expiration date refers to].

     Now, you are eligible to start the school before the exams… here are the rests of the costs:

School is three evenings per week.  You must pay 180 euro to start.  I asked when the classes start and this man said, “when you want!”  I clarified, “but if I start this week and another person starts three weeks from now…. That works?  Yes.  Hmmm.  The good news… you may stop and start the course as much or as little as you need for SIX MONTHS from the paid date.  

     [I am always amazed in Italy how many different answers you get from various employees.  And if you do not keep asking questions (even ones you never thought to ask…why speaking to others in similar boats is always a good idea!), you may never know something important until it is too late.  An example:  The woman I spoke with at the driving school told me that the classes are 3x per week for SIX weeks.  I think that is a very different commitment.]

    Ok, note that one of your bolletini has a three-month expiration date, so if you go beyone three months, you may have to pay another 26 euro… and maybe have a new doctor signed form and eye test for 30 euro.

     Once you feel ready to take the test, you have :

Written theory test :  170 euro

Physical driving test:  160 euro

12 obligatory 30-minutes of driving with instructor at 17 euro EACH  = 204 euro

     So, let us add this up.  If you can pass the exam within the three-month time frame, and not counting any of your expenses GETTING to the driving school [my beef with them last year was that the earliest class starts at 4:30 p.m. and ends at 6 p.m.  There is not enough time to walk from the school to the bus station to get on the very last bus that goes up into the hills [and that bus does not visit all of the ten hill towns in my area].  I asked her that without a license or public transportation, did they expect me to rent a flat in town while working to get this permit?  Not just me, but ANYONE who lives distant… which granted is more likely to be a teenager with a parent who looks a lot like a taxi.  How inconvenient!

The math:

5 euro – three photos

16  - stamp

26.40  - bolletino for three months

16.00  - 2^nd bolletino

16.00   - 3^rd bolletino

30.00   - eye test [with doc form]

180.00  - signing up [classes]

170.00  - written exam

160.00  - driving exam

204.00  -  12 driving times, 30 minutes at 17.00 each

823.40 euro.. which per xe.com at this writing means $967.67 

[Oh, and this does not include the costs of the textbook(s).  I got mine for free, but that is not usual.  And no, I did not steal it!]

Validity of the license.  Italians cannot get a license until they have 18 years.  So:

Age 18-49:  license valid for 10 years

Age 50-70:  valid 5 years

Age 70-80:  valid 3 years

Age 80+:   valid for 2 years

Price to renew the license [for everyone] = 100 euro

Oh, and this is for the Patente B, the basic one.  

      And I have not even included the rest of the costs of driving.. the car, and the insurance.  Obviously those costs depends a lot of your taste, your needs, and your desires to save or spend.  I can tell you that I bought a 1997 Panda, a standard, small car and one you see often in my area.  I was lucky.  I posted a few questions on Facebook asking for advice on the kind of car a single woman with few mechanic skills could trust to buy.  A friend of a friend that I had only met once or twice tagged me for a car listed on a selling site on FB in our area.  My car had been driven by a woman now 90, but she only drove about 3 kilometers per day!  Tires were in good shape, except for the spare.  I paid 700 euro for the car, cash.  My friend Paolo paid about 450 for the same car, two years younger, but it had a lot more miles on it and he had, I think, traded in his older model [or maybe had to pay to destroy his old one].  I would say, though, that I got an unusually good deal on what I hope is a reliable tool.

     Now, I will share that the title transfer cost either 350 or 380 euro!  Not the system used in the US!  The selling price [or gifting option] is of absolutely NO CONCERN.  The size of the vehicle or perhaps the motor is the only factor.  So, motorcycles and scooters might be the only thing less expensive than my tiny Panda.  Title prices went up on even a car only slightly larger than my baby.  And even though we did this in an office, I also had to pay cash for the title… and then wait a week to receive it in the mail.

     Insurance:  I was told that because this is my first year in Italy, I will have to pay high insurance, just as a teenage boy might.  Originally I received estimates from my landlord’s broker around 1400-1500 for my first year.  The seller of the car also knew an agent and he wanted my business… so he quoted 1300.  Piero, my landlord’s agent, apparently did not want to lose me.  He came out to my home to meet me and speak to me.  Perhaps my desire to drive little, working at home or a nearby quarry on occasion, and my acceptance of having a “black box” installed on my car, he quoted me a price just above 1000 euro.  I had to wait a month and also put the charge on my credit card to postpone the payment for another month, but in the end, I paid just under 1000 euro.. I did not have the courage to ask why.  And I do not know if next year, I will be told that this was my first year with the International Driver’s license and next will be a first year with my Italian license [finger’s crossed, you see], and therefore receive the same price.  Oh, and note, that I always ask for the minimum insurance required by law.  For those of you who want apple-apple comparisons. 

     The last thing I can think of for this riveting topic:  Here the revisione [safety inspection] happens once every two years.  My car’s expires in December this year, so I have not gone through that process yet.  My new mechanic offers to look over a car and take it to inspection himself for 100 euro plus any part expenses.  But I think if you do it yourself, the inspection is 67 euro.

Oh, and benzina, the fuel, is currently 1.49 euro per LITRE! 1.52 if you hit the other stations.  But did I mention the cute Italian who pumps my gas [no, not a euphemism].

+++++++++

     Because this is an art blog, I would like to share with you the only artwork I think that I have done with wheels in it [other than the collaboration I created with Simon Steele and Darryl Pottorf in Darryl’s studio back in 2011].  To be honest, I do not know much about this Confederate Hellcat motorcycle.  It belongs to the model and is his baby.  ‘Nice lines’ is as far as I understood about it.  Oh, that, and it is a limited edition model, if memory serves.  

     The stone arch is one at of those at the famous Pitti Palace in Florence.  I passed it every night on my way home when I lived in the Santo Spirito neighborhood several years ago.  Stone, metal, and flesh:  Nice, huh?  If I may say so :-)

Detail images are found here:

http://www.borsheimarts.com/charcoal-drawing/2010/hellcat.htm

Please contact me if you are interested in this artwork.

"Hellcat at the Pitti"

18" x 25"
charcoal with pastel
Magnani Vergata 160 gr
(handmade Italian paper)
© 2010 Kelly Borsheim

$2,200
[Framed with offset white mat, black wood frame, & Museum Glass]
[Order Giclée on paper
(Example: 24" long dimension giclée costs $275. Smaller sizes available.]

Be safe out on the roads, especially this holiday weekend, for those celebrating the American Thanksgiving.

Peace and thank you,

Kelly Borsheim, artist

http://BorsheimArts.com

P.S. IF original art, while affordable, is STILL a bit out of your budget, or the piece you adored has sold?  Or do you like arty things in different formats, to surround yourself with art?  Looking for a gift?  See my store online for pillow, phone cases, shower curtains, towels, tote bags, and yes, even prints on metal, wood, canvas, and so much more:

https://fineartamerica.com/profiles/1-kelly-borsheim.html

Car Buying in Italy Sleeping Angel Summer Sale

Dear Art Lover,

     How many friends does it take to help a girl buy a car in a foreign country?  Well, in my case, in Italy, I would say more than a handful.  I was not really prepared to buy a car just yet.  I mean, that I WAS, after having gotten my international driver’s license when I was in the US and I gave myself three weeks to research and find a car to buy [before the license went into effect] so that I could go to the quarry and start carving a new stone sculpture.  But after falling and breaking my wrist, the need for a car so soon drove away.  

     Then it was suggested that I use my healing time to at least start researching what I wanted.  I asked on my Facebook page for much advice from locals.  That posting led to a friend tagging me for an old car for sale in my area.  It looked ok in the photos, one owner (a 90-year-old woman), less then 75 kilometers (which is pretty amazing, especially if you change that into miles!), and decent looking tires [but bad spare under the hood].  

     However, I was nervous and did not feel ready yet.  I did not respond to the ad for about a week.  In the meantime, I did more research, vacillating about whether or not I really wanted to take action now.  I am still paying off my trip to the US after all and I cannot physically drive yet.  But, hey, I might as well go see it and re-learn what to look for in a car.

     The man selling my future car met me at the bus station in Montecatini Terme, a town perhaps 40 minutes by transport from my home.  But he was in a hurry and I worried it was a scam.  I sat in the car, turned on the ignition, moved the gears around, but was unable to drive it (time and ability).  I took a few photographs that I thought my helping friends could use.  I asked where to put the oil into the engine, as well as where to check it, but stupidly did not even take a look at the oil myself.  Sheesh, what was I thinking?  

     This is only the second vehicle that I have ever purchased myself.  Before I got married, I usually drove whatever old car my father had to give me.  Once I got married, my husband made all the car decisions, often surprising me with a new-to-us Volvo 240 when he deemed the time was right.  But after college and before meeting “the man,” I moved to the big city of Austin, Texas, and bought a 1979 GMC Dura Van.  That was in 1987.  I paid $3,000 cash for it, with a partial loan from my father that I paid off sooner than later.  I had had a long-term dream to finish college, get a dog, buy a van, and drive to Oregon.  I did those things and in that order, coming back to Texas as an engaged woman.  In 2015, I gifted my van to a friend who does art restorations in Austin.  I loved that vehicle!

     Back to 2017 in Tuscany (and single again):  I returned to my new hometown in the hills of Italy via bus after my short visit with the 1998 white Fiat Panda.  I had a conversation with my landlord [and his brother, who recently replaced his old white Panda with another] and showed him some of the images I took.  Later that evening he spoke on the phone with the seller and then me.  Trustingly, I committed to buying the car that night, but it was not for two more days that I returned to Montecatini Terme to do the title transfer and get driven home.  My landlord was there and looked over the car [saw a weld in my future] and met the man he had spoken to a couple of times by then.  I was handed the keys as the man and his friend drove off in a little Smart car.

     I had bargained some, but gave all of my remaining cash towards the new car.  For those curious, the title transfer cost me 370 euro in cash [since I have no bank in Italy].  Had the size of the motor been larger, the fee would have been higher.  That is more than half of what I paid for the car itself!  My landlord took these snapshots of me with my new vehicle.

     I am still not driving. Although my landlord and another neighbor helped me get an amazingly low quote on car insurance for when I am ready, I am postponing buying insurance, hoping to sell some art first.  But also, my right wrist is still not strong enough.  I could not even take off the emergency brake!  Another neighbor, who really encouraged me to get a car and helped a lot in the research, came over to take a look.  He later drove it over to his property:  it is illegal to park a car without insurance on a public road.  So, the Panda is safe there and I can even see her from my windows.

     I am still thinking of a design to paint on her.  I bought a small can of blue paint for metal.  As I told the man in the hardware store, “I just bought an old white Fiat Panda.  Everyone seems to have one.  How will I ever find my car in the parking lot?”  I want a design that helps me recognize my new baby, but not one that shouts, “Kelly just drove by.”  You know, in case I do something stupid.  [Oh, and the low insurance price came in part because the agent will install a scatola nera [black box] in my car.  It will know where I am driving [so it knows the local speed limit] and monitor my driving habits.  So, perhaps the first year, I will be constantly taking an exam.  And towards the end of this year, I need to take the Italian driving class and exams and earn my Italian driver’s license.  So, I get to feel like a teen all over again.  Joy.

     Ok, so here is one way that I hope to earn that insurance.  But really, anything I still have in stock or even many of the products, such as my book about street painting in Florence, or shower curtains, pillows, a phone case, prints on metal, etc. would help me while giving you something that I hope enriches your life… check out some of the art products here:  https://fineartamerica.com/profiles/1-kelly-borsheim.html

Summer SALE: Original pastel, framed in wood, with glass and acrylic spacers [to protect pastel from touching the glass] $1500 [o 1200 euro se sei in Italia/Europa], world-wide shipping included. As usual, payment plans accepted.  Offer ends 31 August 2017.

"Sleeping Angel"

[Caravaggio-inspired original art]
18" x 24" [framed with glass and acrylic spacers, black wood]
Pastel on UART Acid-free Premium sanded paper
© 2010 - 2012 Kelly Borsheim 

http://www.borsheimarts.com/pastels/2012/AngelSleeping_CaravaggioInspired.htm

I look forward to hearing from you. 

Peace,

Kelly Borsheim, artist

Go shopping and share with your friends:  http://BorsheimArts.com

Thank you!

Detail 1:  Soft texture on the male figure to contrast with...

Detail 2 : I really tried to rough up the texture in the sheets.