English After a lifetime of moving across the United States – from the Midwest to Alaska – Mark Hinshaw, an architect, urban designer, and author, made a decision that would dramatically reshape his life. Disillusioned with the direction of the US and drawn by the understated beauty and affordability of a little-known Italian region, Mark and his wife chose to settle in Santa Vittoria in Matenano, a hill town of just 1,200 residents in the heart of Le Marche.
From the USA to Le Marche
Mark and his wife discovered this region almost by accident. While traveling to Italy was something of a tradition for Mark, the idea of actually living there had never seemed plausible.
“Every few years I’d find a new place I wanted to explore. But I never really considered living here, it just didn’t seem realistic. I assumed it would be too expensive, too complicated, or there would be some kind of barrier. I didn’t know anyone who had done it, so I had no one to talk to about what it was really like.”
That changed about 15 years ago when, after remarrying, Mark began bringing his wife along to visit his favorite Italian towns. On one trip, she suggested they go somewhere entirely new – somewhere neither of them had ever been. That spontaneous idea brought them to Le Marche, a region still relatively unknown to expats despite its central location:
“I had never even heard of it, and neither had my friends who had spent time in Italy. It’s just not on the radar for Americans. And yet, it’s right in central Italy, three hours from Rome, three hours from Bologna, about four hours from Florence. It’s not remote. It’s well-connected by train. But still, Americans don’t talk about it. They don’t come here.”
After several return visits, they began seriously exploring the idea of relocating. A conversation with a British couple who had already made the move opened their eyes to the practical side: the couple lived comfortably on €30,000 a year for two people. That affordability made the dream tangible.
With a fixed pension and a desire to retire in peace, Mark and his wife began researching towns, hired a bilingual, licensed real estate agent and finally bought their current house:
“This is the largest home I’ve ever lived in – 440 square meters. In the US, we couldn’t afford anything close to this. Real estate prices are out of control. The average house there is around half a million dollars.”
Their home, perched on the edge of town with views of both the sea and the Apennines, was listed for €200,000. They offered 10% less, and the sellers accepted.
“It has a garden, a roof terrace, private parking, and more space than we know what to do with” he laughs. “Some rooms are just sitting empty.”
Navigating Bureaucracy and Residency
While buying a house was relatively smooth, applying for a visa required more effort. Still, Mark says the process was less difficult than expected. They applied for an elective residency visa, which requires proof of passive income. When they applied in 2017, consular staff responded positively, noting that they had clearly done their homework and weren’t moving to a high-cost city. However, as of today, the income requirement has risen to €31,000 per person, and it must come from passive sources – not employment.
Later, the couple applied for the EU long-term residence permit, which took over two years to process. But eventually, they received it. The permit grants nearly all the rights of citizenship, including access to free healthcare and freedom to work or travel within the EU, though it excludes voting rights.
Living and Contributing in a Small Italian Village
Living in a rural town like Santa Vittoria in Matenano means enjoying an intimate, authentic pace of life, but also facing the realities of population decline. Like many small towns in Italy, it’s slowly aging, and younger generations are moving away.
Rather than seeing this as a drawback, Mark and his wife saw it as an opportunity to give back. His wife launched The Hidden Alchemist, a boutique skincare shop located in the heart of town. Using herbs grown in their garden, she crafts plant-based remedies for skin issues like eczema and minor wounds – everything handmade and local, aligned with the Italian philosophy of km 0.
Mark, meanwhile, leveraged his urban planning background by creating continuing education programs for international professionals. “They come here to study how Italian planning works and earn professional credits” he says. These study trips also support the local economy by involving small hotels, apartments, and restaurants. “There’s a group of 20 coming this month. We’ve arranged housing in local homes, coordinated meals with restaurants, and because we’ve been here eight years, we know everyone, it’s a real collaboration.”
Integrating Into the Local Community
Mark and his wife arrived in the fall of 2017 and began slowly integrating into the community.
“When you make such a dramatic change, people are naturally curious”, he says. “For at least a year, locals kept asking us when were we going back or assumed we were just on vacation. As far as I know, we were the only Americans in town”.
Choosing to settle in a small, traditional village with no English speakers proved to be both a challenge and a gift, but was absolutely intentional. It pushed them to fully immerse in the culture, develop relationships, and most of all learn Italian:
“People here speak dialect, especially the older generation, so that made it harder. We defaulted to standard Italian, but even that took time. But I learned the way a child does, by listening (and using Duolingo). And people are kind. They’ll correct you, but they do it gently. They’ll say, ‘Here’s how you should say that’ and that’s how you learn.”
Village Life: Its Rhythm, Its Challenges, and Its Rewards
Santa Vittoria in Matenano may be small, but it offers everything they need. There are multiple food markets, barbers, restaurants, a pharmacy, a bakery, and even a cartoleria. The town is fully walkable, which has contributed to a slower, more manageable pace of life.
“One of the biggest cultural shifts was letting go of the American productivity mindset. You think you’re running a five-minute errand, but it turns into 40 minutes because you end up talking to everyone. In the US, you expect to check off ten things on your to-do list. Here? You’re lucky to get two done. But that’s okay.”
The adjustment also meant accepting the rhythm of the day: “Nothing is open between 1 and 4 p.m. At first, I’d go out at 2:00 and be shocked everything was closed. Now? I take a nap. It’s become part of the rhythm. You rest. You slow down.”
Living in a rural town does still require a car. Mark no longer drives due to vision issues, but his wife does, and after months of daily studying, she passed the Italian driving test with a perfect score.
For them, the benefits of rural Italian life far outweigh the difficulties.
“The food is fresher, the ingredients are better. We eat what grows around us. Visitors rave about Italian food, but what they’re really tasting is the quality, real ingredients.”
Perhaps more than anything, it’s the intimacy of village life that has transformed their daily experience: “We know nearly everyone by name. They help us, we help them. It’s a mutual support system.”
The Book: Stories of Real Italian Life
Although Mark had a long history of writing professionally, it wasn’t until he moved to Italy that his creativity took a new direction.
Inspired by the people and culture around him, he began writing essays about moments that revealed something deeper about humanity, community, and kindness. He published a few in an American magazine, and over time, a collection grew: “I realized I had so many of these stories, and I thought, why not turn this into a book?” he says.
What sets Mark’s book apart is its focus. It’s not a memoir or a typical expat narrative: “This book is about the people we met. It’s about them.”
One chapter tells the story of the town’s maintenance worker – a man who, with broom in hand, sweeps the streets in summer and clears snow in winter, always present but rarely acknowledged. Two years after the book came out, Mark heard a knock on the door one evening. It was the man himself, holding a small bottle of homemade grappa. He had finally read the chapter about him and came to say thank you. “Nobody’s ever told me I do a good job” he said, tears streaming down his face.
This kind of stories stem from a simple premise: if you open yourself up to a place, if you participate rather than observe, surprising and meaningful things will happen. That’s the spirit behind Mark’s book. It’s called “Mostly true tales of life in an Italian hill town”, a nod to the fact that while every account is grounded in real events, names and details are sometimes softened to protect privacy or preserve relationships. The stories are not about creating a perfect narrative, they’re about telling the truth in a way that honors everyone involved.
Mark didn’t expect this book to change his life. But it did, in small, human ways. People thanked him and opened up to him.
One Piece of Advice for Anyone Dreaming of Moving to Le Marche
Moving halfway across the world, especially to a tiny village like the one Mark and his wife chose, requires more than just logistical planning. It demands a genuine willingness to adapt and an open mind. When they made the move, they knew they wouldn’t be arriving into an established expat community or finding others who had already lived the same experience. But rather than seeing that as an obstacle, they embraced it as a challenge and an opportunity to fully integrate.
“My biggest advice is to learn to adapt to the culture. Forget everything you learned growing up, because you’re going to have to relearn everything like a child. Everything will be different and confusing at first. There’s no point fighting it, because the culture won’t change just because you showed up. If you want a happy life here, you have to change yourself and work through all those steps. It’s not always easy, but it’s worth it.”
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