Moving Furniture in Italy Without Elevators

I can’t count the number of times I’ve wandered through the streets of an Italian town (take your pick) and thought, “I wonder what it would be like to live here?” Where would my local market be? What transportation would I use? Would I make friends with my neighbors? Would the local cafe owner recognize me if I came in every day? Would I ever stop thinking “WOW” every time I looked out my window?

Yes, I’ve thought often about what it would be like to live in Italy, but I’ve not done nearly as much thinking about what it would be like to move there. The very same things that make densely-packed Italian streets so charming to wander and photograph would, it appears, make them a nightmare to anyone moving house. There wouldn’t be any gigantic U-Haul moving truck pulling up in front of an Italian apartment building, I can tell you that. And in the older apartment buildings, the ones without elevators, you think someone is hauling a sofa up six flights of stairs? I doubt it.

So, how exactly does one get a sofa onto the sixth floor of a building, then? Thankfully, Shelley of At Home in Rome is here with the answer. She had her video camera at the ready when she spied a neighbor who was getting a furniture delivery. The video is sideways, but I think you’ll still be able to get the idea:

For more background, read about what Shelley saw here.