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The best way, if you can spare the time, is to get to know an area well before deciding to buy there. Negotiate a hotel room for a long stay or rent a place, and make friends in the local bar.

Remember that accommodation will cost a lot less out of season and you'll be seeing properties in a less romantic light than in high summer when anything looks great.

The first stage is the signing of a compromesso. This scrittura privata or "private contract" between yourself and the seller is a legally binding document and if you change your mind you will loose whatever deposit you have paid and usually be liable to pay an additional penalty. Deposits vary but are often around 10 to 20% of the agreed purchase price.
The compromesso will give details of exactly what it is you are buying including the particulars as recorded in the local catasta, the long-established Italian "land registry". Make sure these details are correct and correspond to what it is you think you are buying before you sign the document.

At a time specified in the compromesso the final atto, or contract, will be signed in front of the local notaio, a public official who witnesses public contracts. Remember the notaio is not acting for any one of the parties - if you want to be sure that there are no nasty surprises hidden in the contract, which might, for example, give rise to neighbour problems in the future, get a local lawyer, or avvocato, to act for you. At this stage you will normally have to hand over the balance of the purchase price and pay any fees due to the notaio and estate agent, or mediatore.

Citizens from European Union countries will find few problems in buying property and for nationals from further a field the bureaucratic hurdles needn't be too much of a barrier. This doesn't mean, though, that you're exempt from the thorough paperwork so beloved of European public officials.

For many things, such as opening a bank account, a residency certificate, or certificato di residenza, is often required.

Citizens of EU countries and many other nationals can stay in Italy for up to three months with just a valid passport. If, however, you want to live in Italy for longer periods you will need a permesso di soggiorno, or permit to stay, from the Questura, or main police station, in the nearest provincial capital.

For EU citizens a European version of the permesso is pretty well automatic and, at the moment, is usually renewable every ten years. For non-EU nationals you will have to answer questions such as means of living, whether you own property, etc, and you have no automatic right to stay. For the latest detailed information contact the Italian Consulate in your home country before leaving.

The last of the trinity of essential documents to get is your codice fiscale, the Italian equivalent of a "national insurance" number combined with a tax code. This is one of the easiest documents to obtain, and is available from tax offices in the provincial capitals in a matter of minutes.

Italian tax matters are rarely straightforward and it is worth every penny of the usually modest fees to use the services of a local commercialista, or accountant.

If you are neither resident nor working here, you need only bother yourself with property taxes on any buildings that you own. Each comune, or town council, levies I.C.I. (imposta comunale sugli immobili) that is a modest tax on property based on size and type of property and charged to owners. Your local comune also raises a separate, but low tax to pay for refuse disposal called T.A.R.S.U. (tassa per lo smaltimento di rifiuti solidi urbani).

If you wish to work here things get somewhat more complex and a commercialista becomes essential. Italian income tax, I.R.P.E.F., and national pension and health payments, paid to an authority called I.N.P.S., are the two principal fiscal burdens you will have to get to grips with.

If you are self-employed or have your own company you will also have to get involved with I.V.A. (Italian value added sales tax); the threshold for IVA mean that virtually anyone who is self-employed has to charge IVA on sales or services. At the risk of sounding repetitive, don't try any of this without a commercialista.

When it comes to banking, keep in mind that local bank managers in most banks have a high degree of autonomy and you can often negotiate interest rates on loans and even bank charges on transactions.

The Italian public health service, at least in Le Marche, works very well. A modern, well-run network of hospitals covers the whole region and even in the most out-of-the-way corners you'll never be far from emergency treatment should you need it. Do not forget to obtain a European Health Insurance Card, which is free to all EU citizens. If you still have the old E111 form, you will need to replace it with the new card. The card is not valid for private treatment. For further information, visit the EU website: http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/healthcard/links_en.htm for information in English.

For minor aches and pains make for the local farmacia, or dispensing chemist. They keep normal shop hours and operate an emergency 24-hour service on a rotating shift basis, details of which are displayed in the window.

Drivers need a current licence and if it is not the pink EU type it should be accompanied by a translation in Italian, available from the Italian State Tourist Office in your own country or the frontier offices of the Italian Automobile Club (A.C.I).

If travelling in your own car you need the vehicle registration book - if it is not in your own name you must have the owner's written permission to drive the car. You will also need your insurance certificate. Motorists must have all their documents with them while driving as police spot-checks are common.

The only toll motorway (autostrada) in Le Marche is the Bologna-Pescara A14 along the Adriatic coast. Some of the main SS (strada statale) routes are fast, toll-free dual-carriageways, or superstrade.

The area's antique towns were never built for cars and you will find that some historic centres are now closed to unauthorized traffic. Parking, particularly in the morning and early evening, is often a headache. Where signs indicate a time limit you will have to set a disco orario to your time of arrival; you can buy the disc from most newsagents and garages.

If parking spaces are marked with a blue line, it means you have to pay - usually by buying a ticket from a nearby machine. Off the motorway, petrol stations close for up to three hours at lunchtime and all day Sunday. Carry a few uncrumpled banknotes to use in the 24-hour, self-service petrol dispensers now common in garage forecourts.

Seat belts are compulsory and you must carry a reflective warning triangle to be placed at least 50 m behind your car when broken down. You are also now required to have a reflective jacket if you break down.

Speed limits are 50 kph in built-up areas, 90 kph on country roads, 110 kph on dual-carriageways and 130 kph on motorways. It is now also compulsory to switch on your dipped headlights during the day on all main roads.

Police speed checks are frequent and on-the-spot fines are severe. Contrary to received opinion, the standard of driving in Le Marche is generally good.