The easiest way to reach our house is by taking a small steep unmarked road off the main road. I thought it would make it easier for our guests to find the road if we put up a sign at the beginning. Little did I realise that I poked a hornets nest.
I wanted a simple sign with the name of our house on it and nothing else. I like to do things by the book, so I thought it better to check with the local council. Sure, it was no problem. I just had to pay them a fee. However, because the road was a main road for which the Region of Sardinia is responsible, I had to also ask for permission in Cagliari. I asked a geometra (a surveyor), if he could help me. No problem. We met up with the sign maker at the spot where I wanted the sign. Due to some regulations it had to be moved a meter here and half a meter there. We settled on a spot and agreed that the sign should just have 'Casa Orosei' written on it. Subsequently, I sent him the font. After some weeks, I got the application forms filled in by the geometra. It all looked very professional. With a map showing the exact location of the sign and a sketch of the sign. However, apart from 'Casa Orosei', most of the sign was taken up by a standardised picture of a bed. I explained that we are not a hotel and all I wanted was just a small sign with the name of our house on it. No. That was not possible. Ok, then we would have it like that. Months later, I was contacted again. The permission had gone through. Great. As we we were staying in the house over winter, I thought putting up the sign could wait a bit. But no. After a month or so, I was told the permission had run out. However, if we put the sign up immediately, nobody would know the difference. So, up it went in hurry. Despite the bed, it looked alright and it was clearly visible. During the daytime. At night it was almost invisible. Unlike other road signs, the white colour did not reflect light. A bit upset at this point, I asked why. The explanation was simple. This was not a road sign, it was advertising. Advertisements were not allowed to reflect light. But I had not wanted advertising. Surely, a sign with just 'Casa Orosei' on it can't be accused of being an ad. And if it was advertising, why was I not allowed to have the content I wanted on the sign, i.e. no bed? Well, those are the rules. If I wanted advertising to look the way I wanted, then it had to be put at a designated spot away from the crossroads. At a crossroads only this type of “advertising” was allowed. To add insult to injury, I now have to also pay an annual advertising tax. In the end, a simple sign cost me €800. Of course, driving along the road, one can see countless signs advertising and indicating all kinds of places and things. People here do not let the rules get in the way of doing reasonable things. Not even the authorities. I was told the story about the auditor of a province here who had two houses and wanted to connect them, although it is against the rules. The first year he built a path between them. The second a roof over the path. Then a wall on one side. Within five years he had connected the houses. Using wood, rather than the customary stone, he could claim it was not a permanent structure and therefore fine. So, I decided to rebel and throw caution to the wind. I'm putting reflexive tape on our sign. Time to adapt to the way people do things here. Feels good.
PS: A word of caution. The story of the auditor is an old one. In the past 40-50 years, Italy has undergone a major social transformation. If the same thing had been done today, the consequences could be grave. Eric Cantona, the football player who became an actor, employed a a French architect to design and build a beautiful house just outside of Cuglieri. As the rules were not followed, it had to be torn down.
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