Removals from East Ham
to Italy.
Across France and under the Alps. The longest overland run of the four and the one with most restrictions waiting at the other end — traffic zones, small lifts, and buildings older than the concept of a removal van.
The route
M25 and M20 to the Channel, then across France on the A26 towards Reims and Dijon, down to Lyon, and over the Alps — Mont Blanc into Aosta or Fréjus into Turin. Italian autostrade take it from there: the A4 east for Milan and the lakes, the A1 south through Bologna and Florence for Tuscany and Rome, and onward for the south.
Winter matters here in a way it does not on the Spanish route. Alpine tunnel closures and restrictions are ordinary rather than exceptional, which widens the transit window.
City moves
Milan
The most common Italian destination for people leaving London, usually for work. It moves like a London move with Italian rules on top: apartments, a ZTL, a booked window, and a lift that may not take a sofa.
Rome
Older, denser, harder. Historic-centre permits, internal courtyards, and stairwells where a hoist is not an exotic solution but the normal one.
Everything else
Tuscany and Umbria
Farmhouses outside Siena, Lucca and Cortona, usually at the end of an unmade white road with a gate. Small-vehicle territory, and almost always a renovation in progress.
The lakes
Como, Garda, Maggiore. Lakeside property with steep access and frequently steps down from the road, which is a carrying problem rather than a driving one.
Puglia and the south
Bari, Lecce, Ostuni. A long way down the peninsula and served less frequently, so patience with the schedule matters more than the logistics of the property itself.
Paperwork
A UK export declaration, an Italian import entry, a detailed inventory and your codice fiscale. Transferring residence brings relief, evidenced by property documents and residency registration that agree with each other and with the load.
Before we quote
We want the region, the nearest town, whether the property is habitable on arrival, the access, and how firm the date is. If building work is still running, say so — pricing in storage is far better than delivering into a room with no floor.
The hub page covers transport methods; France shares the first half of this route.
East Ham to Italy — questions
What is a codice fiscale?
The Italian tax code. The import entry cannot be completed without it, and you will need it for nearly everything else in Italy too. Obtain it before the move rather than after.
What is a ZTL and why does it matter to a removal?
A limited traffic zone. Most Italian historic centres have one, camera-enforced, and entering without a permit generates fines that arrive weeks later. Access has to be arranged with the comune in advance, and the timing of the delivery is built around the permitted window rather than around our convenience.
Which Alpine crossing?
Usually Mont Blanc from Chamonix into the Aosta valley, or Fréjus into Turin. Both carry lorry restrictions and both can close or queue in winter weather. That is why Italian transit windows are wider than French ones and why we say so at quote stage.
Our Italian house is still being renovated.
Extremely common on this route. Delivering into a property with no finished floors or no lockable door is how furniture gets ruined. We will ask what state it is in and, where it is not ready, hold the load rather than unload into a building site.
Do Italian buildings need a hoist?
Often, in cities. Older apartment blocks have stairwells and lifts that simply will not take furniture, and an exterior hoist through a window or balcony is the standard Italian solution rather than an exotic one. We arrange it where it is the right answer.
Moving to Italy?
Two addresses, the floor at each end, and roughly what is going. That is enough for us to price it properly.