Route · UK to Italy
Removals from the UK to Italy
The route with a mountain range in the middle of it and, at the far end, the hardest building access on our list. Everything else behaves like the French route; the difference is the Alps and the last thirty metres.
Restoration purchases in Tuscany and Umbria are the commonest reason British households take this route.
Who takes this route
- Restoration buyers in Tuscany, Umbria and Le Marche, frequently moving into a house still being worked on.
- Work relocations to Milan and Turin, with a fixed start date and an apartment served by an elderly lift.
- Lake Como, Garda and Maggiore second homes — part-loads in, occasional clearances out.
The road out
Converging on the M20 and the shuttle from Folkestone. Out of Calais the line of travel is east before it is south: the A26 to Reims, then the A31 and A39 running down past Beaune until the Alps are in front of the vehicle.
There are two ways under the mountains. The Mont Blanc tunnel out of Chamonix puts a vehicle into the Aosta valley and from there into Turin and Milan; the Fréjus tunnel does the same job and tends to hold up better in a hard winter. Below Milan the A1 simply runs the length of the country, through Bologna and Florence and on to Rome.
Where we deliver
Customs, and the order to do it in
Italian formalities run on a codice fiscale and a declaration of transfer of residence. The system is administratively slower than the French one and it is unforgiving of a file assembled after the goods have arrived rather than before they leave.
Who obtains what
| Document | Obtained by | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Detailed inventory (valued, in Italian) | Us | Translated as standard for Italian entry, with electrical items listed individually. |
| Codice fiscale | You | The Italian tax code — needed for the declaration and for most things on arrival. |
| Proof of Italian residence or property | You | Deeds, a registered lease, or residence registration at the comune. |
| Passport and status documents | You | Copies for the file, including whatever evidences your right to reside. |
| Declaration of transfer of residence | Us | Prepared with our Italian agent and lodged against the inventory. |
| Export declaration | Us | Raised on the UK side before the vehicle reaches Folkestone. |
Rows marked You are the ones that hold a load up when they are left late, so start those the day the move becomes real. Rows marked Us are built here from the inventory taken at the property.
Distance and the last thirty metres
Italy combines the two hardest things a removal can involve: a very long journey and a destination a vehicle cannot reach. Either alone is routine. Together they mean the plan has to be right before anybody sets off, because there is no improvising from a hill town with a full load.
So Italian jobs get more planning than any other route we run. The Alpine crossing, the restricted-zone hours at the destination, the shuttle arrangement for the final approach, and where the goods go if the house is not ready — all four settled in advance.
On the restoration point specifically: if the property has no power, no lift and a floor still going down, delivering into local storage and moving in properly afterwards is almost always the cheaper and calmer answer. We will suggest it rather than deliver into a building site.
the UK to Italy
Questions on this route
01 Which Alpine tunnel will the load use?
Usually Mont Blanc for Turin and Milan, Fréjus where conditions or traffic make it better. The driver decides on the day and it does not change your price.
02 Can you deliver into a hill town with no vehicle access?
Yes, by shuttling with a smaller vehicle and carrying the last stretch. It has to be surveyed and crewed for, so it must be known before the quote.
03 What is a restricted zone?
A camera-enforced limited-traffic zone in a historic centre, open only at certain hours or by permit. It governs what time we can be at your door.
04 Our house is mid-restoration. What should we do?
Deliver into local storage and move in once the work is finished. Living around a part-laid floor with a full household in it rarely goes well.
05 Can you move a piano or a large antique?
Usually, with the right crew and sometimes an exterior lift. Raise it at survey rather than adding it to a general inventory.
06 Are part-loads possible?
Yes, and for a lake or second home generally right: shared vehicle, lower cost, departure when the route fills.
Moving from the UK to Italy?
Where in Britain it is leaving from, where it is going, and roughly what size of house. We will come back with the route, the document list and a written quote.