First (significant) Aqua Alta of the season

Here's a photo of the street in front of Ca Zenobio in Dorsoduro at about 10:30 this morning, almost an hour BEFORE peak tide.  If there was this much water way out in this section of Dorsoduro, then there most certainly was some ankle deep water in St. Mark's square.  I received notices on my phone earlier in the morning from the comune (city hall) that the water would be 105-110 cm around 11:30 am, which means the sirens did go off 3 hours before peak tide for the first time this season.

I did not hear the sirens this morning- because we had left Venice at 6:45 am on our way to the Questura in Marghera, for another session of dealing with the Italian government.  Mike's Carta di Soggiorno, the document which allows him to remain in Italy legally indefinitely because he is the spouse of an Italian citizen, needed to be renewed, which meant we needed a trip to the Questura. Even though the document is good forever, there is a little bit of fine print on there that says if you use the document for identification, it must be renewed every 5 years.  The Italian medical system requires this document for identification, so , in order to have Mike's medical card (Tessera Sanitaria) renewed, we also had to have his Carta renewed.

If you read my blog, you might be familiar by now with my being the Queen of Procrastination. And here's when procrastination comes to bite me in the rear end!  Technically we should have changed our residence with the city hall months ago, however I had had such a vicious go round with Veritas, the Water company, that I couldn't stand the thought of any more bureaucratic issues, and I let changing of the residence slide. And forgot about it. Until the end of September when it occured to me that we needed that to do these other renews that were coming due in November.  Long story short, the residence process was completed in October.  I expected the new certificates to be mailed to us, but they never came.  We had to go to the Anagrafe office yesterday to request them. This was a very simple process, for which we paid 16. 54 Euros each.

With those in hand, we had everything necessary to go to the  Questura to renew the Carta di Soggiorno. I had researched all over the internet to determine what documents were needed. All I came up with from reading 3 different sites was we needed  new photos and proof of residence.  OK, we had those things. At 6:57 we boarded the #6 vaporetto to Piazzale Roma.  At Piazzale Roma we got on the 6/ bus to Marghera. By 8:05 we were in the line-up outside the Questura. Slowly the line moved up until it was our turn.

You have to understand how the Questura operates. Here's the process. First, everyone lines up like cattle outside. Then, one by one, you tell the guard at the entrance booth what you are there for.  He does a brief review of your documents to make sure you have everything, then he hands you a number.  Then you go inside the main building. And wait. And wait. And wait until your number is called. There may be hundreds of other people in there, all waiting for their turn to give over their permesso documents, in hopes of getting approved at some point in time. It can take hours for your turn. Today at the guard desk, we were handed a yellow ticket with the number 88 on it. And the guard gave us the unfortunate news that we needed a 16.00 Euro marco bollo, which we did not know we needed, and obviously, did not have.  (A marco bollo is a little sticker you get from a Tabacci shop that is used to pay a government fee, like applying for documents)

Mike and I went into the main building, and quickly determined that # 21 was the current person being served. Hmm. We were # 88. After a very quick discussion, we both agreed  there was time enough for me to go out on the street to try to find a Tabacci shop to get this marco bollo we needed.  I marched myself back out to the main street, and turned  to my right. A short way down the street was a coffee shop. I stopped in, and inquired if there was a Tabacci nearby. The girl there said to go back in the opposite direction, there was a Tabacci not too far away.  She was right, one was about 150 meters down the street. I not only bought the marco bollo, but had a macciato and a pastry as well, then walked back to the Questura.

For an American expat, it is totally weird to be in the Questura, in this room of a few hundred other immigrants, of whom you are the only American. I've been to the Questura 3, maybe 4 times now, and every time it's the same. We are the sole Americans in the place. Just is always a weird feeling.

I was probably back inside only 10 minutes when a man came out of a doorway and called "Yellow 26".  No one responded. Then "Yellow 86".  No one responded. Then "Yellow 88".  Hey! That's us!
The guy calling numbers escorted us to a desk at the back of the room. We handed over documents one by one- Mike's original Carta di Soggiorno, the new residence certificates, his photos, the marco bollo and my Carta d'Identita (an official identification card that says I am an Italian citizen). He asked for bank statements so we could prove how we supported ourselves here. I said we didn't have that document with us.  No problem, he told me I could just write out a statement and sign it.  Done. In about 5 minutes, the whole thing was done. He stamped the top documents, and handed one over to Mike. We were told to return the first week in February to pick up the completed Carta. Yes, the stamp! You know you are in like flint when the stamp is stamped.  I wanted to jump up and do the happy dance. The stamp! Oh, thank you, God, he used the stamp!

There was one last thing. Mike had to go to another room to get fingerprints done, and we had to return a signed stamped document from the fingerprint guy back to the man we dealt with at the desk. Finished in about an hour, total.  Unbelievable. We were prepared for the worst, to be there all morning. Mike had even brought  bananas and some cookies in his backpack, and his Kindle. I had also brought something to occupy my time ( paper and pen so I could write for a few hours, figuring this would be a great time to get some words written for my NaNoWriMo novel).  We were shocked we were out of there quickly. Shocked and over joyed. We were high 5-ing each other on our way back to the bus stop. We weren't exactly done with the Questura yet, we'd have to go back in February one last time, but this was huge progress, definitely deserving a few high 5's!

We decided that since we were finished so early, we had plenty of time to go to the health department office in Dorsoduro, not far from Campo San Barnaba, to get Mike's Tessera renewed, now that we had a temporary new Carta in our hot little hands.  As the bus pulled into Piazzale Roma, it was just about 10:30 am, and it dawned on us that we most likely would hit some Aqua Alta.  Mike wanted to just go on home and leave the Tessera for tomorrow. I made a case for getting it done today. We did it today.

We experienced the first of the high water at Ca Zenobia ( see the photo above).  People walking down that side of the street were in it up to their ankle bones.  We stayed dry on the opposite side of the street. We could not avoid a teeny tiny little bit of it on the street in front of Giustinian (the medical building), but only got the soles of our shoes in it, no real problem.

We did everything we could at the medical office - they would only do one part of the process, for the actual new plastic card we would have to return again in February, with the offical new Carta in hand, then they would issue a new card. But there is another document that allows Mike to visit the dr. and get prescriptions, which they did process this morning. Also high 5 worthy.

Leaving this building, we wanted to head over to Campo Santa Margherita, but knew we'd hit high water there, so decided to stop for a bite to eat on the Zattere, then take the boat home.  We were able to sit in the sun, enjoying a perfect spot, while the water was rising in front of us.  We managed to dodge all the high water by doing some wave hopping right on the waterfront, until we had to turn and walk onto the vaporetto dock. That's where we ran into problems and could not avoid getting our shoes wet. We ALMOST did it, almost stayed completely dry!

The good news is we are done with government stuff until February. This is very good news, trust me.
What did we learn from today? Always ask first if you need a marco bollo.

Mike's Carta di Soggiorno

Now that I am finally a dual citizen, Mike is eligible for a Carta di Soggiorno. This Carta is for people who are allowed to stay in Italy indefinitely, such as anyone married to an Italian citizen. The card is good for 5 years and can be renewed after that. Once you have the Carta di Soggiorno you are then eligible to sign up for the National Health service. I will have to blog about that experience as well.

We knew we had to go to the Questura to apply for the Carta, but weren't sure of exactly what kind of documentation was required. To be absolutely sure we were following the correct procedure, we made an appointment at the Immigration office here in Venice.

The man at the Immigration office provided us with a list of documents we'd need to produce:

--My Carta d'Identita
--My certificate of Residence here in Venice
--Our new Italian marriage certificate
--Mike's US Passport
--Bank statements indicating we had sufficient means of support
--A declaration made by me indicating Mike was my husband and that the purpose of the request for the Carta was to keep the family together ( this declaration was a form provided by the Immigration office)
--4 photos

With the required documents in hand, we set off for the Questura in Marghera. We don't live far from Piazzale Roma, so that was an easy walk to the bus station. We knew which bus we needed ( the 6/, same one we take to go to the Panorama), but needed to have the bus driver point out the correct bus stop to get there. The driver called out the stop, and we, along with about 15 other people, got off the bus. Fortunately for us someone in the line had obviously been to the Questura before, so we were able to follow them as they made their way in and out of a few streets.

It was 8am and raining. Already there was a long line waiting at the Questura. Well, not quite a line, more like a mass of people. There's an unusual procedure to get people into the place-- you wait in this first line, until 8:30. At 8:30, they open the gate, and people begin pushing like crazy to get into the next line. I've never seen anything like it. It was as if none of these people had any concept of personal space. And we were all in a line which was only going one place. Even if we all had 6 inches to ourselves ,it wouldn't have amounted to any difference in the time it took to proceed in the line until we got to the front.

After making our way to the front of the line, it's your turn to talk to the man at the intake window. He reviews your documents, determines if you have the correct items, and hands you a number. This number determines your position in the next queue. Then you go inside the Questura and wait until your number is called. We got in the building at 9 am, and it took until almost noon for us to have our number called.

Our number was 34, in the yellow queue. There were several other queues, all different color codes. While sitting in the waiting room, a little boy about 5 years old ,who was sitting a few seats from mine, threw up. If that were my child, I would have made a mad dash for outside, or the rest room. I was horrified that his parents didn't move a muscle. And they only cleaned the mess up after someone else nearby yelled at them to do it. I felt sorry for the man sitting next to me. He obviously couldn't take that, he had to hide his eyes and turn away. Oh,the joys of waiting at the Questura!

When it was our turn, we were interviewed by a guy behind a counter. He took all our documents, and also asked for the Permission to Stay document Mike had gotten when he first arrived in Venice. That's the one you must get within your first 8 days here. Fortunately I had that in my folder also, cause I would not have wanted to make a return trip. I think we were in there with this man about 10 minutes. He stamped alot of papers, stapled Mike's photos to them, and told us to go 2 doors down to the Fingerprint office. That 10 minutes was pretty incredible, as we were seeing wait times of up to half hour for each person going into that office. Wow, this was almost too easy!

At the Fingerprint office, we waited in another line. This took forever also, but only because everyone working in that office went out for a cigarette break for about 20 minutes. Once they came back from the break, things proceeded quickly. Finally we were done. I looked at my watch as we boarded the bus back to Venice and it was almost 1:30.

If you need to go to the Questura, I highly recommend you get all your documents in order before you go, and be prepared to sit for a long time. Next time I will bring a book. And yes, there will be a next time. Mike was granted a temporary Carta. He must return in 3 months to pick up his permanent one.

Dual Italian Citizenship - It's Official, I did it!!!!

Here it is--- I received my dual Italian citizenship official documents.!! Now it's time for that happy dance!!

Finally, after many many long months and a very arduous journey, I have my brand new Italian Carta d'Identita in my hot little hands! It's the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.. the Holy Grail!!! To all of you who have been reading my blog and sending emails , many thanks for all the support. And to Mary, my dear dear friend in San Francisco, you have been a beacon of light along the way. We've been able to laugh together through the darkest moments. I cannot wait until your journey is also completed- we'll be lighting up the skies with fireworks for both of us!

It took about 5 months to receive the fax back from the Italian consulate in the U.S. indicating that they had no record of my ever having renounced Italian citizenship. I have no idea why it took so long for this little one line of faxed information, but , it was a major hold up. Being past that hurdle, I thought it would only be a matter of a week or two to complete the rest of the process. Ha, ha! The fax from the U.S. was received in the Comune on September 1. It's taken 2 more months to register my documents in Italy. Luigi, my immigration lawyer here in Italy would email me every few days saying "Any day now!".

And- finally, "Any day" arrived. I received a letter from the Comune indicating they had completed everything and it was time for me to come in person to sign papers and pick up my Carta d'Identita. Luigi confirmed everything was in order, and we made plans for me to take the train to Castel San Pietro Terme on Thurday, October 29. The big day!

I should have known from the way the day started out that it was going to be one of those days. At 3am that morning, we were woken up by incredible rain storms. We ran around to batten down the hatches and put down old towels, as rain was spilling in under the two back doors of the apartment. All I could think of was how miserable the walk to the train station was going to be at 6am in this kind of rainstorm. Fortunately for me, by 5:30 am the rain stopped.

The train from Venice to Bologna went off with out a hitch, but the connection to Castel San Pietro was delayed 20 minutes. That wasn't too bad. I was able to call Luigi's assistant Daniella, who was waiting for me there and let her know. When the train arrived in Castel San Pietro though, I discovered there was no way to get into town. There was no bus running at least for another hour, and no taxi cabs in sight. Fortunately, Daniella offered to come pick me up. She found me easily--- it's a very small waiting room at the train station and I must have looked like the only American! Danielle has been tasked with helping me obtain all the documents I need today, and submit my passport application.

Things are looking up- but only momentarily. First stop is the Anagrafe office, where we discover the city is without electricity, they will not be able to print out any documents. We must wait. Daniella and I go to the Tabacchi shop to buy the marco bollo I will need later for my passport application, however they too are with out power and cannot sell anything. They tell us to try the Post Office. We go to the post office-- same thing. No power, they cannot work. Just as we are leaving the Post Office, the power returns, so we can do part of the necessary paper work we need to do there. This step of the Passport process costs 47 Euros. We return to the Tabacchi, they have power also, we hand over 46 Euros and change for the marcobollo. Ok.. so we're making progress.

Back at the Anagrafe office, power has also been restored. The girl there is beginning to print out the papers that I need to sign for the Carta d'Identita and Certificate of Citizenship. It is then that I discover all my documents have been done in my maiden name! Ey Caramba!!!!! I was completely taken by surprise, I expected my married name would be used. The women in the Anagrafe office tell me this is the Italian law, and if I want to be Italian, it has to be this way. By the looks on their faces, I could tell that they meant business. Daniella makes a quick call to Luigi, who apologizes for not telling me this would be the case, and says I have to have it this way. I wanted to put my foot down and insist on my married name, but it was quickly becoming obvious that would never happen. I needed this done now, I decided to go with whatever the Italians wanted to do.

I signed a few copies of the Certificate of Citizenship, and in a minutes time my brand new Carta d'Identita was in my hand. I wanted to jump up and down and shout with joy right there in that office. The girl in charge there gave me another document which includes my Certificate of Residency and we are off to the next office- Status Civilie, to collect an official copy of my new Italian birth and marriage certificates. Just as we open the door to leave the Anagrafe office, the power goes out again!!!! This just cannot be happening today of all days!

The Status Civile office is just around the corner, and fortunately the power was only down a second. Getting the birth certificate was easy, but the marriage certificate threw a monkey wrench into everything. The girl in this office could find my marriage certificate data in her computer system, but was getting an error message every time she attempted to print it. She called out the Direttore, the woman I had met 8 months earlier, on my first trip to the Comune. She looked in this huge book, found something, and had a look over the shoulder of the girl at the screen on her computer workstation. Ah... that must be it.. we want the certificate of the second marriage., and voila, the certificate is printed out! Mission accomplished. As we are gathering up our belongings, this girl looks at me and asks " Why do you want to be Italian??? We all want to be American!". Oh, the answer is easy-- I'm living my dream !!!

By now, the Questura is closed, so Daniella and I take a cab into Bologna to the Questura there to submit my passport application. The traffic jam in Bologna is unbelievable, but aside from that, the passport submission went very smoothly. I should have my passport in about 10 days. I was able to catch a train back to Venice and be home by dinner time.

Finally, finally, finally, I have been recognized as an Italian citizen. Every bit of this has been absolutely worth it. Yes, we are doing the happy dance!