{"id":84,"date":"2012-10-20T08:03:27","date_gmt":"2012-10-20T12:03:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rickzullo.com\/?p=84"},"modified":"2017-06-22T15:47:17","modified_gmt":"2017-06-22T13:47:17","slug":"il-permesso-di-soggiorno-a-k-a-the-holy-grail","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/il-permesso-di-soggiorno-a-k-a-the-holy-grail\/","title":{"rendered":"Il Permesso di Soggiorno (a.k.a. The Holy Grail)"},"content":{"rendered":"
One of the first things that you\u2019ll notice about living in Italy is that many things are still done the old-fashioned way; which is to say as inefficiently as possible.\u00a0 For example,\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>often\u00a0<\/span>you must physically go to the post office and wait in endless lines to accomplish the smallest of tasks\u2014the least<\/em> of which has anything to do with mailing letters and other such things that Americans normally associate with post office activities.<\/p>\n On the positive side, there is an enormous sense of victory when these goals are (eventually) achieved.\u00a0 Case in point is the coveted \u201cIl\u00a0Permesso di Soggiorno<\/em>,\u201d which is a sort of residency card that long-term sojourners in Italy should (theoretically) obtain.\u00a0 The first step in the process is to go to the nearest post office and pick up an application packet.\u00a0 I know, this sounds like something that your beagle could do for you, but let me assure you that it is not.\u00a0 The trick is that there are\u2014for some unknown reason\u2014a limited number of these little jewels scattered throughout the city and your job is to engage in a sort of scavenger hunt in order to secure one in your own possession.<\/p>\n You might best approach this quixotic expedition by making a game out of it: pretend that you are Indiana Jones and you are searching for the Holy Grail while evil forces conspire to foil your plans.\u00a0 You may chuckle, but this analogy is closer to the truth than you\u2019d believe.\u00a0 As I said, the precious packet is as rare as a black pearl and you\u2019re opposed by indifferent (or worse, antagonistic) public employees who seem to gain sadistic pleasure in thwarting your efforts.<\/p>\nIl Permesso di Soggiorno<\/h2>\n