Our story between two worlds
One of us grew up in a small town in northern Italy, dreaming about seeing more of the world so she packed her life into a few suitcases and moved to the United States leaving behind family, familiarity, and everything she had ever known.
The other grew up in Detroit, Michigan, surrounded by the energy of American life, never imagining that one day Italy would become home.
We met in Washington, DC, built our life together there, and experienced firsthand what it means to navigate another country’s culture, systems, and way of life. We learned how exciting relocation can feel, but also how isolating, confusing, and overwhelming it sometimes becomes once the reality of paperwork, housing, healthcare, bureaucracy, and starting over sets in.
Years later, we made another life-changing decision together: moving from the United States to Italy.
This time, the roles were reversed.
One of us was returning home after years abroad and now a family of her own, rediscovering Italy through new eyes. The other was experiencing Italy for the very first time not as a tourist, but as someone building a real life here - learning the language, adapting to the culture, navigating residency, healthcare, daily life, and all the small details no one prepares you for.
That journey became the foundation of Verso Italia.
We created this company because we realized how rare it is to find people who truly understand both sides of the relocation experience. We are fluent not only in English and Italian, but also in the emotional and practical realities of moving between these two countries.
We know the excitement of imagining a new life in Italy.
We know the stress of trying to make it happen.
And we know how much easier the journey becomes when you have someone guiding you who has already walked that path themselves.
Today, we combine our personal experience, professional expertise, and trusted local network to help others make the move with clarity, confidence, and support every step of the way.
Because relocating to Italy isn’t just about changing countries.
It’s about building a life that finally feels like home.
Born and raised in Italy, Alice moved to the United States for graduate school and built a life in Washington, DC before returning to Italy years later with her American husband.
Having personally experienced relocation from both sides, she now helps North Americans navigate the move to Italy with local knowledge, bilingual support, and firsthand understanding of what it really takes to build a life abroad.
alice ferretti
Born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, Jaime Castello spent years building his life and career in the United States before making the move to Italy with his Italian wife.
Having experienced firsthand the challenges of adapting to a new culture, language, and way of life, he now helps others navigate the relocation process with practical guidance, local support, and the perspective of someone who has successfully made the transition himself.
Jaime castello
“Because they managed all the complex nuances, I was able to bypass months of stress and fast-track straight to enjoying my new life”
Moving to Italy is an incredible adventure, but I can absolutely say navigating the bureaucracy can be overwhelming and is not understated from anything you may have read or heard. I prepared a great deal before the move. I'm a details person so knowing as much as I could about such a huge endeavor really helped me feel prepared. However, while I definitely understood the general mechanics of the process, not speaking the language made execution incredibly difficult. Even with translation tools and instructional videos, filling out forms like the Permesso di Soggiorno left me with critical questions unique to my situation. Its one of those situations where you don't want to fill out a form incorrectly, who knows what the impacts would be! Add to that a time crunch after you arrive to fill out and submit the paperwork and it becomes a very stressful situation quickly.
Thankfully, Verso Italia stepped in and handled every single detail of my move perfectly. They guided me through each step of the process, replacing my constant worry with absolute confidence. What sets them apart is their deep understanding of the dynamics of moving between cultures; they truly get where you are coming from and where you are going. I know it sounds silly and obvious to say, but Italy truly is a different place than anywhere I've lived across the United States. That meant things I thought I knew how to do, I had to relearn how to do here. Add to that the language issue and you really will face more challenges than you may think, no matter how much research you've done. Almost nothing here is done online (if it were, things would be easier as you're learning a new language). I suspect its true no matter the language that translation apps are great, but they leave a TON to be desired. I've seen a number of really interesting translations and all I can do is laugh and apologize that I don't understand (one of the first phrases I learned here). Turning on utilities or making a doctors appointment were tasks I'd never had to give any thought to, but Verso Italia knew who to call for what tasks and tracked each of them making sure I had what I needed each step of the way.
Verso Italia also pointed me toward invaluable resources that I had never heard of, despite spending months scouring Facebook groups and Reddit threads. Because they managed all the complex nuances, I was able to bypass months of stress and fast-track straight to enjoying my new life—learning the language, traveling, and exploring my new home. In fact, compared to other expats I have met since arriving, my transition was remarkably fast and smooth.
I am incredibly grateful for their assistance and their continued support. Knowing I can still reach out to them whenever a future question arises provides immense peace of mind. If you are planning a move to Italy, I cannot recommend their services highly enough. They are worth every penny!
“Turns out, this is vastly more complicated than we expected”
My wife and I originally made a plan for retirement in the US. We bought our forever home and we poured everything into it as we prepared to enjoy our golden years. A significant part of our plan was to travel! Then we took our first trip to Europe and everything changed. We had traveled around the US and we'd been to Canada and even cruised the Caribbean. We had never really experienced the rest of the world. Our hearts and minds were made up quickly We made the decision to move to Italy for several reasons, including the cost of living, the quality of life and the proximity to the kind of travel we'd never dreamed of before. We joined many groups on social media platforms and started our research. We had a general idea of what we needed to do and we started our list and began the VISA process.
Our first hurtle was securing living accommodations, a requirement for our specific VISA, and this was something that we immediately needed help with! We could have searched Immobilare and Idealista to find an apartment and then attempted to secure a lease remotely. Turns out, this is vastly more complicated than we expected. Incidentally, more properties are available through the "people network" than through the real estate sites. Each "vacation trip" to Italy was costly. Enjoyable for sure, but costly. Thankfully we found Verso Italia! Alice and Jaime have been invaluable with their support. We identified several places, they helped us narrow it down and then THEY met with the leasing company onsite. We did a video call where they did a walk through and then later, they offered advice and recommendations. After, they mediated the lease signing and served as our interpreters. This alone saved us thousands of dollars. Looking back, I don't know how we would have done that without support.
We thought we had a full understanding of what needed to be done. Identifying the list of things to do was actually not that difficult. Getting them done efficiently and effectively (without speaking the language) was another story. Even with our first consultation with Verso Italia, we quickly realized that the process isn't the challenge. Learning to deal with things in Italy was a big deal. Things don't operate the same way in Italy as they do in the US. Italians prefer to talk to you directly on the phone or in person. If you're fully fluent in Italian, this may not be a big deal. We were not, and even small mistakes or delays in the beginning quickly snowballs into major delays and issues downstream. This is really the value of working with Alice and Jaime from Verso Italia, they know the processes, but they also know how to navigate the Italian bureaucracy.
It's about the little things because there are many of them, and they add up. We had challenges with getting utilities established. We had challenges getting around for the first month. Even the mundane things like going to the grocery store and paying for fuel can be frustrating. It is all of these little things that simply having someone who understands how these are challenges and can help show you the way once (or twice) is so valuable.
In retrospect, we are so happy that we decided to hire Alice and Jaime to guide us through the steps. To give us the insight we didn't even know we needed. And to give us the confidence to take our first steps on our own in our new "La Dolce Vita".
