Fréjus tunnel
Piedmont, Turin, and on down the A1
The default for anything in the north-west and for most loads heading to central Italy.
Greenwich → Italy
Removals from Greenwich to Italy
Two things shape an Italian move and neither of them is the distance: how we cross the Alps, and whether a vehicle can legally get within reach of your front door.
First decision: how we cross
Three ways in, chosen when the load is booked and checked again before the vehicle leaves Greenwich.
Mont Blanc tunnel
The Aosta valley, Milan and the lakes
Shorter for Lombardy and the lakes. Both Alpine tunnels close for weather and maintenance, so neither is ever assumed.
The Ligurian coast
Genoa, the Riviera, and everything east along the coast
Longer, but never shut for snow. It is the planned fallback on every winter load and the first choice for Liguria itself.
Second decision: whether we can reach the door
Most Italian towns of any age have a zona a traffico limitato around the historic centre — permit-only, camera-enforced, often with a time window. Driving a removal vehicle through one without a permit earns a fine per camera, and the fines arrive months later when everybody has forgotten.
So the delivery address gets checked against the local ZTL before the move is scheduled. Where a permit is available we apply for it. Where it is not, we park legally outside the zone and shuttle in with a small vehicle. It costs a little time and it costs a great deal less than the alternative.
Hilltop villages in Tuscany, Umbria and Le Marche add the other version of the same problem: a track rather than a street. Those we look at on satellite and, where we can, ask you for photographs of the final approach.
Worth raising early
Antiques, pictures, and the paperwork nobody expects
A lot of what leaves a Greenwich house is old. Most of it is simply household goods and travels as such. But Italy takes cultural goods seriously at both ends of the journey, and genuinely notable pieces — an early painting, a documented piece of furniture, a collection — can need documentation that an ordinary inventory does not cover.
This is not a reason to panic and it is a very good reason to mention it at survey. If something in your house needs specialist handling or specialist paperwork, the time to find out is while the vehicle is still empty.
Where in Italy
Milan, Turin and the north — predominantly work moves, usually into an apartment, usually on a date that cannot slip. Courtyard entrances, small lifts and a parking permit arranged with the comune.
Liguria — Genoa, the Riviera towns, Sanremo. Comes in along the coast and skips the mountains entirely, which makes it the most weather-proof Italian destination we serve.
Tuscany, Umbria, Le Marche and Abruzzo — the renovation regions. A different sort of load: fewer white goods, more furniture, and a delivery address at the end of something narrow.
Rome, Naples and the south — apartment deliveries with ZTL attached, and the longest drives on our Italian book once you get past Naples into Puglia.
The customs side
A move from London to Italy is an import and is declared as one. Used household goods moving with a genuine residence transfer normally come in without duty, but the relief rests on the documentation being consistent with the load. Ours is built from the survey inventory so the two always agree.
Comparing routes? The hub sets out all four, and France shares the first half of this drive.
Moving to Italy — the practical questions
How do you get a removal vehicle from Greenwich to Italy?
Out via the A102 and the M25 to the M20 and the Channel, then down through France. From there it is the Fréjus tunnel towards Turin, Mont Blanc into the Aosta valley, or the coast road through Ventimiglia into Liguria — chosen by destination, season and vehicle.
What does Italian customs want?
A detailed inventory with values, your codice fiscale, proof of your Italian residence or your application for it, identification, and a declaration that the goods are used personal effects moving with your change of residence.
Do I need a codice fiscale before the move?
Yes, in practice — it is the tax reference the import is filed against. An Italian consulate will issue one before you travel, and doing it early is far easier than doing it from a rented flat in Milan.
We have antique furniture. Is there anything extra?
Possibly, and it is worth raising early. Italy takes the export and import of cultural goods seriously, and genuinely old or notable items can need documentation beyond an ordinary household inventory. Most family antiques are simply household goods, but we would rather establish which yours are at survey than at a border.
Can you deliver into a historic centre?
Not with a large vehicle in most cases. Italian centri storici are usually ZTL — restricted traffic zones, camera-enforced, permit-only, often with a time window. We check your address against the local zone before scheduling, apply for a permit where one exists, and park outside and shuttle in where it does not.
The house is mid-renovation. Can you still deliver?
Yes, but tell us how mid. Delivering into a building site needs different protection and a different unloading order. If the property genuinely is not ready, holding the load in storage here is usually cheaper than delivering it twice.
Can a motorbike travel with the load?
Yes, with the fuel drained, the battery disconnected and the bike listed separately on the documentation. Cars go by dedicated vehicle transport, not with us.
Is Italy dearer to move to than France?
Generally, for the same volume — it is further and the Alpine crossing adds cost. The bigger variable is the delivery: a ground-floor apartment in Turin and a hilltop house in Umbria at the end of a track are very different afternoons.
Planning a move to Italy?
Send both addresses and a rough inventory. We will check the crossing, the ZTL and the delivery access before we quote anything.