Experience a truly enchanting holiday in one of my Tuscan Villas
San Zeno, the Duomo in Lucca.
Waiting for the new edition of Grapevine… I decided to let you enjoy publishing some nice picture about Tuscany that I will find sufring the web.
For sure a nice way to inspire a trip during your staying here in Tuscany.
After you have the imported decision of you choice of property and decided to buy, you can either sign a preliminary agreement (contratto preliminare) and then sign a deed of sale (contratto definitivo).
Before doing so, however, you lawyer will check that there are no encumbrances (mortgages or loans over the property,for example)and check all entries in the Land Register up the date of the sale.
The preliminary agreement, which is in written form, stipulates the terms and conditions of the purchase and indicates the contains of the deed of sale and the date for the execution of the deed of sale .
Once the preliminary agreement has been signed ,the purchaser is obligated to buy the property and the seller is obligated to sell it. If one of the parties doesnt execute to deed of sale, yo can either terminate the contract or go to court.The judge will make an order which will produce the some effects as the deed of sale, unless this possibility has been excluded by the preliminary agreement.
A deposit (cappara) is usually paid, the amount being agreed between the parties at the signing of the preliminary agreement. The deposit paid by the purchaser may be a caparra confirmatoria which means that if one of the two parties doesnt execute all the clauses of the contract, the party who has executed all the clauses can decide either to keep the deposit and terminate the contract ask for compensation.
The involvement of a notaio(which is not the same as a British solicitor ) is not essential for the signing of the preliminary agreement. Here in Italy he must only guarantee that the deed is legal, that the house is in order and that the payment is made in a legal manner.
The property is not transferred with the preliminary agreement but with the signing of the deed of sale , which must be in written form. The deed of sale requires the payment of the price minus the deposit already paid, and the consignment of the house.
When a property is sold it is on condition that it is sold in the state in which it was accepted at the time of signing the preliminary agreement. It is therefore of paramount importance that you check everything properly to ensure that no changes have occurred between signing the preliminary agreement and the deed of sale, e.g. changes due to natural causes.
If something has been changed or damaged or is missing,you must bring this to the notice of the seller. You can come to an agreement for a reduction in the price or, if not, you can apply to the court.
The year -long celebration of the 150th anniversary of Puccins birth is now drawing to a close.
His actual birthday on 22 december will be celebrate musically with a concert in the Teatro del Giglio with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and solo artists.
This has been a remarkable year in Lucca for Puccini fans, old and new,with the opportunity to see and hear almost his entire works, including rarely performed operas such as Le Villi and Edgar.
However , the Buon Compleanno concert is no so much Saynara as See You Soon since this gala event will be fallowed on the first of January by chamber concert with a hour and a half of some of his most celebrate arias as well as music by one of his contemporaries, Emilie Tavan, who composed for silent films. In the afternoon what could be nicer after a Hogmanay party.
The 2008 Puccini Project was orchestrated by a number of bodies not only to give an overview of his work but to help consolidate and develop the commercial and tourism potential of the maestro for the benefit of the Provincie of Lucca, as a stepping stone to increasing business for hotels and other tourism-related commerce.
This year hotels and restaurants were given opportunity to buy tickets at 10E so they could offer guests and customers a special package with significant cultural highlight. The aim , also, is to stimulate tourism during the off -season-the New years Day concert is an example of this and intended to be annual event.
Matilde of Canossa,Countess of Tuscany, also called “the Church -builder”, was the most influential woman of her time(1046-1115), and probably of any time. She was the sole survivor of a powerful Longobard family.
At the age of 8 she inherited from her father Maurquis Bonifacio 3 vast amounts of Lombardy and Emilia. Her mother was Beatricie of Lorraine ,daughter of Frideryk II Duke uof Upper Lorraine and granddaughter of Herman 2 of Swabia.
Matilde may have been born in Mantua ,but since her father had castle and country home at Vivinaja (now Montecarlo ),this is also considered a likely birthplace for Her. Her fathers home at Vivinaja was a gathering place for the popes and emperors, in this period when Lucca was the Tuscan capital. Matilde had a aristocratic education; she spoke German, Latin and French. She learned to ride horses and use weapons.
Matildes first marriage was to a pious man with the uninspiring name of Godfrey the Hunchback, who allegedly died in the Crusades. Later (in 1090 ,when she was 54), she got married for political motives to a younger man, Welf Guelfo of Bavaria.
It is uncertain whether Matildes one child from her first marriage, Beatricie, survived past childhood. Matilde may have been the last for her line. However, Michelangelo claimed to be her Descendent…..This is hearsay. Matildes most potent legancy was spirityal and political.
Matilde wanted to become a nun to celebrate the mass.
This latter is a radical idea even today! According to legend Pope Gregory told her to build 100 churches and then he would consider her request. (For the of her story ,see Andy*rindls book A Compation to Lucca.) Instead he gave her authority over all of Tuscany.
She become a military heroine,deeply loyal to the Pope during the Guelply-Ghibelline conflict, when the Holy Roman Emperor wanted to assume spiritual us well as earthly authority. He ally in Lucca was Bishop Anselmo. Togheter they gave enormous wealth to the Roman church.
They tried to push back the churchs enemies, but Bishop Anselmo was forced to retreat to canossa ,near near Reggioin Emilia. In Lucca she commissioned the spectacular Ponte della Maddalena, now more commonalty known as the Devils Bridge, acros the Serchio. Anselmo become to Canossa a Benedictine monk and come to Canossa as Matilde s spiritual advisor.
He died in 1086 ,ten years after one of historys key events, an event whith sealed Matildes name in history.
In 1077,excommunicated Holy Roman Emperor Henry 4 was advancing agains Pope Gregory,who then staying at matildes castle. But Henry had sufferen huge losses. At the bottom of the hill leading up to the castle, henry knelt in the snow as a barefoot penintent and begged for-giveness, recognizing Papal authority.
Since then, the expression “going to Canossa” has come to mean eating humble pie. Pirandellos play Enrico 4, inspired by this historical moment, empha-sizes Henrys madnes, re-interpreting the story in a modern context, with Matilde in the role of Henrys wife.
Dantes Paradiso, on the other hand,finds Matilde singing, gathering flowers and moving like a dancer in the lower circle of Paradise. She helps him undergo the penitential cleansing required after loss of innocence by having him taste the rivers Lethe and Eunoe (meaning “good memory”in Greek) which flow in opposite direcions from the Earthly Paradise and represent forgetting and remembering.
After this phase of death and regeneration ,he can then meet his final Guide and Patron, Beatricie.
Dante leaves behind all the bleak characters from his pass, immortalized and entrapped in Inferno and Purgatorio.
Dantes vision of Matilde might have influenced Shakespeare in Hamlet. OPhelia tries to lead Hamlet out of his madness with her innocence and love ,but he remains fixated on avenging his fathers ghost. Hamlets words recall historical Matildes wish: “Get thee to a nunnery” — though he adds “why wouldest thou be a breeder of sinners.?” Later Queen Gertrude rapport’s Ophelia, enveloped in Hamlets madness, dies as a young virgin. Matilde, one of Italys most powerful and evocative woman lives on the legend and literature. She died at the age of 69 years, after a long and fascinating life.
Can you explain the roles of the notaio and the avvocato in Italy?
Answer: With pleasure. The notaio (notary is the nearest translation) in Italy has much wider powers and responsibilities than in common law countries such as the U.S., the U.K. or Australia and is a legally trained professional specialising in documentary transactions.
Notaries are independent professionals yet they have a public function and are empowered by the state. They are vested with important powers and public authority to cover a broad spectrum of functions from drafting, approving, authenticating, notarising and registering legal documents. Notaries have a legal duty to ensure that all entries in the public registers are correct.
Not only do they have to verify and guarantee the identities and bona fides of all parties who appear before them to conclude a business transaction, they must also make sure that all parties fully understand the legal effects of the transaction in question, that the wording in the documents is not ambiguous and that it reflects their intentions.
Being a public official, a notary cannot represent a client the same way as an avvocato can and therefore will not be able to advise on the specific merits of a purchase or contract. Being an avvocato (I’ll use the word lawyer from now on) involves the practical application of abstract legal theories and knowledge to solve specific individualized problems, or to advance the interests of those who hire lawyers to perform legal services.
These lawyers form the backbone of the legal system linking it to society in numerous ways. They hold positions of great responsibility and are obliged to adhere to a strict code of ethics. Lawyers represent one of the parties in criminal and civil trials by presenting evidence and arguing in court to support their client. They also counsel their clients about their legal rights and obligations and suggest a particular course of action in business and personal matters.
They apply the law to the specific circumstances faced by their client. The more detailed aspects of a lawyer’s job depend upon his or her field of specialization and position. Although all lawyers are licensed to represent parties in court, some appear in court more frequently than others. Those who specialize in criminal law must be able to think quickly and speak with ease and authority. In addition, familiarity with courtroom rules and strategy is particularly important in trial work. Lawyers may specialize in a number of areas such as bankruptcy, international or environmental law.
Most of them are in a private practice concentrating on criminal or civil law. In criminal law, lawyers represent individuals who have been charged with crimes and argue their cases in a court of law. Those dealing with civil law assist clients with litigation, wills, trusts, contracts, mortgages, titles and leases. Other lawyers handle only public interest cases civil or criminal concentrating on particular causes and choosing cases that might have an impact on the way the law is applied. Lawyers must be geographically mobile and able to reach their clients, so they might use electronic filing, web and video-conferencing and voice-recognition technology to share information more effectively. Ilaria Cipriani is 25, Anglo-Italian (Italian father, British mother) and studied law at Pisa University where she was awarded an honours degree. She now works in a busy law practice in criminal law, civil law and international commercial law. She will be happy to answer any legal questions you may wish to ask.
Email ilariacipriani3@ virgilio.it, write to her at Studio Legale Treggi, Corso Garibaldi 26, 55100 Lucca, or contact her through Grapevine. Knight and Frank, the international real estate agent handling first class properties across the world, now has an office in Lucca! On Friday 18 April they gave a cocktail party at Villa Boccella, Saltocchio, with around 300 people attending, to celebrate the launch of their joint association with Ser.Imm srl located in Via della Fratta 19 in Lucca. Jennifer Gale, one of the people in charge of this new venture, is available at her email address jenny@serimm.net or cell +39 3488802005. To visit their website go to www.serimm.net “