Practicalities

Academic background carries a lot of prestige. If planning to work as an archivist you should take any certificates proving your qualifications and have a CV and references ready to hand. If you already have a job lined up they will want to see these and if you are going on the off chance you will at least have them ready. Word often gets round that a British person is working in an archive and, like in Britain the archive community is small. This means that other repositories might be keen to give you work or to show you around their offices once they know that you are already working nearby.

Although Italy is part of the EU if you are there for a period longer than 3 months it is recommended that you go to the local “Questura” police station and get a “permesso di soggiorno”, a permit of residence.

Accomodation can be hard to arrange before you get there but once there it is an idea to look in the universities at student notice boards for people wishing to share apartments. They are often more than happy to share with an English speaker in the hope of improving their own language. Alternatives are staying in hostels and religious houses which can provide cheap temporary lodgings.

Another factor to consider if thinking of working in Italy is where in the country to work. The North and South of Italy are very different places in terms of their work ethic. Milan, where most business archives are is a modern European city with a financial district like London or Paris and as such it wants to get the most out of its workers. Hours are strictly 9 – 5. Further south, on the other hand, life in general is much more relaxed, lunch hours are sit down meals which last more than an hour and frequent breaks for an espresso in the nearest bar are acceptable.

Last modified 07/09/2004