When you share your plans: “I’m going to Italy for two (or three) months!” be prepared to handle the reactions. You’ll find three main reactions.
1.The detractors, who will try to tarnish or take your dream. (For example: “It is way too hot that time of year.” “You really should not go alone.”)
2.The attachers, who will try to make your dream theirs. I had one distant relative offer to stay with me for 2 of my 8 weeks, having never visited me in over 30 years! And another friend, to whom I offered a visit, spoke then only of “her summer in Tuscany,” and “her trip to Italy,” and nothing of visiting me!
3.And the best of the group, the enhancers. These are your friends who are rooting for you, and share the little restaurant they found behind the Uffizi, or how to find the best olive oil. They are savoring your adventure with you.
Sometimes you will get hybrid reactions, like this one from my friend Terry: “Have I told you recently how much I hate you?! Seriously, I’m so jealous I can’t stand it. I’m really proud of you!”
And, by the way, for non-EU citizens, the maximum number of days to go without requesting an extended Visa is 90 days. Used to be that you could just go over a border and re-enter, but since the European Economic Community, this has changed. Now you may legally be in an EU country (any country or number of them) for 3 months, then need to be out of all EU countries for three months, then you can be back in for 3… you get the idea.
See www.expatsinitaly.com for more details.