Sevenoaks to Italy
Removals from Sevenoaks to Italy
A mountain range in the middle and, at the far end, the most difficult building access we deal with anywhere. For a household leaving an old Weald house it is also the longest test a load of jointed, veneered furniture will ever get.
Distance and inaccessibility are each manageable on their own. Italy hands you both, plus the Alps.
Who takes this route from Sevenoaks
- Restoration buyers in Tuscany, Umbria and Le Marche, frequently moving into a house still being worked on.
- Work relocations to Milan and Turin, with a fixed start date and an apartment served by an elderly lift.
- Lake Como, Garda and Maggiore second homes, with part-loads in and occasional clearances out.
The road out of TN13
M26 to the M20 and the Folkestone shuttle. From Calais the line of travel turns east before it turns south, which is the opposite of the French and Swiss routes on this site.
Out of Calais the A26 runs to Reims, then the A31 and A39 down past Beaune until the Alps are in front of the vehicle. Two ways under them: Mont Blanc from Chamonix into the Aosta valley and on to Turin and Milan, or Fréjus, which does the same job and holds up better in a hard winter. Below Milan the A1 runs the length of the country through Bologna and Florence to Rome.
Where we deliver
Customs, and what gets declared
Italian formalities run on a codice fiscale and a declaration of transfer of residence. The system is administratively slower than the French one and unforgiving of a file assembled after the goods have arrived rather than before they leave.
Who obtains what
| Document | Obtained by | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Detailed inventory (valued, in Italian) | Us | Translated as standard, with electrical items and anything of age listed individually. |
| Codice fiscale | You | The Italian tax code — needed for the declaration and for most things on arrival. |
| Proof of Italian residence or property | You | Deeds, a registered lease, or residence registration at the comune. |
| Passport and status documents | You | Copies for the file, including whatever evidences your right to reside. |
| Declaration of transfer of residence | Us | Prepared with our Italian agent and lodged against the inventory. |
| Export declaration | Us | Raised on the UK side before the vehicle reaches Folkestone. |
Rows marked You are attached to you as a person and are what hold a load up when they are started late. Rows marked Us are built here from the inventory taken at your Sevenoaks property.
Everything decided before anybody sets off
Italian jobs get more planning than any other route from this district, because there is no improvising from a hill town with a full load. Four things are settled before departure: the Alpine crossing, the restricted-zone hours at the destination, the shuttle arrangement for the final approach, and where the goods go if the house is not ready.
The last of those matters most here, because so many Italian purchases from this part of Kent are restorations. If the property has no power, no lift and a floor still going down, delivering into local storage and moving in afterwards is cheaper and very much calmer.
And on the furniture: this is the longest continuous run on the site, over a mountain range, with temperature and humidity changing considerably along the way. Jointed and veneered pieces need packing for that rather than for a drive to Tonbridge, which is exactly the argument the rest of this site keeps making.
Sevenoaks to Italy
Questions on this route
- Which Alpine tunnel will the load use?
- Mont Blanc for Turin and Milan as a rule, Fréjus when the weather or the traffic argues for it. That call belongs to the driver on the day and has no effect on what you pay.
- Can you deliver to a hill town with no vehicle access?
- Yes — a smaller vehicle takes the last stretch and the final few metres are carried. That needs surveying and crewing for, so it has to be established well before we quote.
- What is a restricted zone?
- A historic centre closed to traffic except at set hours or with a permit, enforced by camera. In practice it dictates the hour a vehicle may legally reach your address.
- Our house is mid-restoration.
- Put the load into local storage and move in once the work has stopped. A household unpacked around scaffolding is a much worse outcome than a short wait.
- How do you pack antique furniture for a run that long?
- Drawers secured, backs supported, veneered corners protected individually, and nothing stacked on a jointed carcass. It takes longer and it is the difference between arriving intact and arriving mostly intact.
- Are part-loads possible?
- Yes, and for a lake or second home generally right: a shared vehicle, lower cost, and departure when the route fills.
Moving from Sevenoaks to Italy?
Both addresses, roughly what is in the load, and whether the far end is ready. We will come back with the route, the documents and a written quote.