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LIVING IN ITALY

MAP: Where do all the Canadians live in Italy?

Have you ever wondered how many Canadian nationals live in Italy? Here's a look at how many there are and where they live – and which areas of the country they tend to avoid.

Published: 27 August 2024 14:00 CEST
Updated: 31 August 2024 08:04 CEST
People sit in a public park in Rome in March 2024
People sit in a public park in Rome in March 2024. Photo by Filippo MONTEFORTE / AFP

From warm weather and unique natural landscapes to the famous food and relaxed ways of life, there are plenty of factors making Italy an extremely popular destination for people looking to move from abroad.

According to the latest data from Italian statistics office Istat, Italy is currently home to over five million foreign nationals, who make up around 8.7 percent of the country’s total population. 

This data only refers to people who have officially registered their status as residents with local authorities, and doesn’t include foreign nationals who only spend part of the year in Italy or dual citizens.

But exactly how many of these residents come from Canada and where do they all live? 

According to the latest Istat data, Italy is home to some 2,230 Canadians – that’s only 0,04 percent of the country’s total foreign population.

However, this figure is enough to make Canadians the fourth-largest native English-speaking community in the country after Britons (27,760), Americans (15,580) and Irish nationals (3,660).

Lazio is the most popular region

Lazio, which includes Italy’s capital Rome, is home to some 432 Canadians, making it the most popular region for Canuck expats. 

But Lombardy, the northern region boasting the largest job market in the country and including Italy’s financial capital Milan, is a close second as 413 Canadians live in the area. 

The top three is completed by Tuscany, the central region famous for its art cities and stunning landscapes, with 246 Canadians. 

This is followed by Emilia Romagna (157) and Veneto (123).

All in all, Lazio, Lombardy and Tuscany are collectively home to nearly half of the total number of Canadians living in the country.

The Eternal City’s appeal

Though it might not have the slick economy of northern metropolises such as Turin and Milan, Rome’s tourism industry and government institutions are enough to make it the most popular Italian city for Canadians to move to. 

Of the 432 Canadians living in the Lazio region, some 359 (that’s around 83 percent) are concentrated in the Rome metropolitan area.

READ ALSO: Six things Canadians should know before moving to Italy

Italy’s capital is followed by Milan, with the northern metropolis being home to 241 Canadians. 

Which regions do Canadians avoid?

The Aosta Valley, a small autonomous region in the north-west of the peninsula, is home to just three Canadian nationals.

This, however, shouldn’t come as much of a surprise as the Aosta Valley is the least populous region in Italy.

Basilicata (southern Italy) and Trentino Alto Adige (northern Italy) are the second- and third-least popular regions, with just 10 and 32 Canadians respectively. 

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LIVING IN ITALY

How to find a storage space for your belongings in Italy

If you need to temporarily store some of your belongings because you’re moving home, refurbishing, or running out of space at your property, there are a number of storage options available in Italy.

Published: 29 August 2024 13:54 CEST
How to find a storage space for your belongings in Italy

Generally speaking, Italian homes aren’t the most spacious.

According to data from real estate portal Immobiliare.it, the average Italian home has 81 square metres of floor space.

For context, that’s 56 square metres less than in Denmark, which comes first in Europe for average floor space with 137 sqm. The figure is also significantly lower than in France (112 sqm), Germany (109) and Spain (97).

All of that is to say that, while living in Italy, you may not have a lot of space to store all of your personal belongings at home.

Granted, many houses and apartment blocks come with storage rooms – these may be located underground (known as cantine or scantinati in Italian) or in the attic (soffitta) – which you can use to pile up all the belongings you’re not using at a particular moment in time.

But if you’re permanently leaving your home and need a place for some, if not all, of your kitchen appliances, furniture and other personal belongings, you may no longer have access to a storage room. And if you don’t have another place to ship your stuff to, this can be pretty challenging. 

Luckily, there are plenty of storage options available in Italy.

Rent a storage room from a private owner

If you visit Idealista, Immobiliare.it or any other of Italy’s main property websites, you’ll find listings from private owners looking to rent out a storage room. 

Generally speaking, you’ll need to head to the affitto (‘rent’) section of the website, select the magazzino or deposito (‘storage room’) option from a drop-down menu, and then type in the relevant area, as shown by the screengrab below.

A screengrab of the homepage of Italy's Immobiliare.it website

A screengrab of the homepage of Italy’s Immobiliare.it website. Source: Immobiliare

Depending on size and location of the storage room, you can expect to pay anything from €50 to €300-400 a month. 

When renting from a private owner, you’ll need to sign a rental contract for storage purposes (contratto di locazione di immobile ad uso cantina, soffitta, magazzino). 

This will in most cases require you to pay a security deposit, but will offer you legal protection and security under Italian law. 

The owner will be responsible for registering the contract with Italy’s tax office (Agenzia delle Entrate).

Remember: it’s strongly advisable to ask the owner all of the pertinent questions regarding security, mould, insect infestations and any other condition that could damage your belongings before agreeing to renting the space.  

Rent a storage space from a company

Companies specialising in storage space are often called ditte di magazzinaggio or deposito,  or, in recent years, ditte di self-storage, using the English name.

The benefits of using a professional company over renting from a private owner is that they offer a wide range of storage sizes tailored to your needs, and they’re likely to have facilities which are properly protected from the elements and break-ins.

READ ALSO: What are the rules on moving household goods to Italy?

Casaforte and Easybox are the leaders of the self-storage market in Italy but are not available in smaller cities and towns around the peninsula.

Luckily, in recent years, a growing number of companies specialised in self-storage have started operating in smaller urban centres.

This means that a simple Google search with ditta di self storage paired with the name of your town (or the relevant postal code) will in most cases produce several useful results. 

When looking for the best option, don’t forget to shop around for good prices and offers, and read as many customer reviews as possible.

Once again, storage prices can vary greatly depending on the area of the country, as well as the size of your storage room.

Generally speaking, prices start at €1-1.5 per day for the smaller sizes (around 5 sqm) but can climb to €5 or more per day for large spaces (15-20 sqm).

Use a moving company to store your belongings

If you only need to store your things while you’re between houses, you can hire a moving company (ditta or società di traslochi) which will provide door-to-door delivery service and keep your things secure between move-out and move-in dates.

Gosselin, AGS Mover, Bolliger and Crown Relocations are some of the most well-known international moving companies operating in Italy that also offer storage space.

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