Despite being a citizen, owning a home, paying bills, taxes and possessing a Codice fiscale (Italian tax number), having a package delivered to Pico has been a challenge. 

We decided to try Amazon.it delivery this year knowing Paul would be in Pico for five weeks in case a shipment was delayed. Well, five weeks isn’t enough time to get Amazon deliveries, it seems.

And, in case you were curious, US Amazon Prime benefits do not apply in Italy, but we figured we’d still give it a try and just pay for shipping. 

Ordering through Amazon.it has been an adventure. 

Package #1: attempted delivery of something inexpensive in case it got lost. The order was ultimately cancelled after multiple unsuccessful delivery attempts, even though Paul was home during the attempted delivery. Paul called Amazon.it customer service and Poste Italiane who said maybe we need a mailbox with our name on it; so off to the hardware store he went. 

Package #2: same item, multiple delivery attempts, even though in the order instructions he specified it’s OK to just leave the package at the front door. One day the doorbell rang: success!

Package #3: Last week we found a table and chairs for the terrace but delivery takes ten days which would cut it tight with our schedule and deliveries haven’t been smooth. Yesterday Paul purchased the items at the store and successfully fit them in the Fiat Pandina. Hooray!

Package #4: 12 days ago we placed an order for a multi-bin trash system to replace the 5 town-issued recycling/waste bins in our kitchen. The item was supposed to be delivered last Friday and again we received an attempted delivery message via email. So, Paul made some calls. Poste Italiane said it’s an Amazon issue, but it’s possible there are delivery issues because there are multiple streets with our address in the province of Frosinone, but only one in the town of Pico which is in Frosinone. Amazon said because it’s a larger package they would need to check with their larger package team and would email an update. 

For several days we continued to receive attempted delivery messages and Paul continued to call Amazon and Poste Italiane. He also went to the post office in Pico for advice. They provided two phone numbers for the third party package delivery company but no one picked up when we called.

Yesterday we spent some time online trying to decode Amazon.it, Poste Italiane and SDA (the third party shipping company, mind you that’s part of Poste Italiane) websites and finally reached a helpful woman who said our package is being held at a facility in Frosinone! Looking on a map, the facility is 40 minutes away and right next door to where Paul picked up a table and chairs yesterday. She also said the issue is our Amazon.it account is linked to a US phone number and we should instead associate an Italian number with the account.

Today, Paul made the 2 hour round trip excursion to the SDA office in Frosinone which turns out to be the same place D and Paul drove to last year to pick up an IKEA order. Thankfully he was able to pick up our package and fit it in the car. Paul, and the Fiat Pandina, have been through a lot!

Every day is an adventure and we’re slowly making progress on the house. As the Italians like to say: “piano, piano”, meaning “little by little”.