Yea, I noticed that a little too late. When I read your question, I thought it was coming from the OP. I need to pay better attention to usernames.
I’m British and therefore an EU citizen. I don’t need a Visa to live or work in Italy. I also work in academia.
Captain, I feel straight up envy. Do you think you will be fluent in Italian when you get back? I mean, does anyone know if that is possible?
Captain, there’s something I like to do and which in Italy led to some extremely-nice finds.
Take map, documents, credit cards, money, car. Drive off as fancy takes you, avoiding the bigger roads. Stop as fancy takes you. Don’t open the map until it’s time to go back.
Italy’s tourist information tends to limit itself to Renaissance and Ancient times, but things got built at other times, too. I saw Romanic churches and Medieval castles which weren’t marked in any maps.
The food is going to be different from what you’re used to (yes, even what you’re used to in Italian restaurants in the UK) in that for example the concept of “main and two sides” doesn’t exist on the shores of the Mediterranean. The biggest meal for many Italians is lunch, which usually consists of two dishes plus dessert. In Spain salads (not the veggie, the kind of dish) are a “first” or set in the center to share; in Italy, a “second” (instead of fish or meat). You may discover that your coworkers find you strange for putting less than a whole slab’s worth of grated cheese on any first.