They met in California back in the 1970s when they were both 18 and went on to marry at the age of 21.
Over five decades later, Randy Allen and Cindy Harding Nannarelli from the U.S. are both living in Italy with their husbands.
In fact, the two couples鈥 homes in Noto, Sicily, are located just a short distance from each other.
鈥淲e share a lot of meals together and also a lot of friends too,鈥 Randy, a former realtor, tells CNN Travel.
Randy and Cindy鈥檚 longstanding relationship began when they 鈥渄ated for about a year鈥 back when they were teenagers.
Long-standing relationship
鈥淚 met a boy and came out,鈥 Randy adds. 鈥淎nd Cindy decided to still be my friend.鈥
According to Randy, he and Cindy realized how much they meant to each other after spending a few months apart, and 鈥渂oth kind of proposed to each other, even though she knew I was gay.鈥
鈥淲hen you鈥檙e 21, you don鈥檛 really know what a soulmate is,鈥 explains Cindy, a former teacher. 鈥淵ou just clump it all together.
鈥淪o it was like, 鈥榃e need to be together, because we have so much fun together. And we really care about each other.鈥 And that just meant getting married [to us] I guess, which is what we did.鈥
While they were legally married for almost three years, the pair say that they only lived together for about nine months.
Despite pulling the plug on their marriage and realizing that any romantic relationship between them was doomed to fail, their friendship stayed strong.
In 1978, Cindy took a trip to Europe, where she met and fell in love with an Italian man named Sandro and ended up remarrying and relocating to his home city of Florence.
鈥淭here was a long period where we lost touch,鈥 says Randy, explaining that he moved around a lot during that time.
鈥淏ecause there was no other way to stay in touch but to write letters or make expensive telephone calls.鈥
Thankfully, Randy was able to travel to Germany on a work trip in 1996 and decided to take the train to Florence to visit Cindy.
While he only stayed for five days, Italy 鈥渕ade a huge impression鈥 on him and he continued to travel there to visit Cindy and Sandro, who have two sons together, over the years.
In 2006, Randy met his future husband Steve Bertiz in what he describes as a 鈥済ood old-fashioned way.鈥
鈥淲e were introduced by a mutual friend in a bar,鈥 he says. 鈥淎nd two years later, we got married.鈥
Italian connection
As Steve had never been to Italy before, they travelled there soon after, and Randy was able to introduce his new husband to Cindy and Sandro.
The two couples bonded quickly, and with Cindy travelling back and forth to the U.S., regularly visiting Randy and Steve in California, they were able to spend time together in both Italy and the States in the following years.
Randy and Steve say they hadn鈥檛 seriously thought about leaving the U.S. until the result of the presidential election of 2016.
鈥淚t was the day after Donald Trump was elected,鈥 says Randy. 鈥淲e woke up and we couldn鈥檛 believe it happened.
鈥淭hen we looked at our phones. And it was official. And we both just thought, 鈥榃e need to think about living somewhere else.鈥欌
Although they say they seriously considered relocating to Mexico or Portugal, Italy won out in the end.
鈥淚t was my favourite place,鈥 admits Randy, adding that he immediately ruled Florence out as Steve 鈥渞eally hates cold weather.鈥
鈥淚t gets very cold in Florence 鈥 by his standards,鈥 he adds. 鈥淎nd also, it was expensive and we鈥檙e not super wealthy.
鈥淲e wanted to live somewhere where we could own our home, not have a mortgage, and really be able to live on our pensions and Social Security and things.鈥
Although they鈥檇 never been to Sicily, Randy and Steve felt like it could be an ideal place for them as the latitude and the weather 鈥渨ere similar to California,鈥 and decided to pay a visit.
When Cindy heard that they were headed to Sicily, she insisted that they visit Noto, a town she and Sandro had previously spent some time in, and the two couples decided to go together in late 2018.
鈥淲e [she and Sandro] spent three days here and fell in love with it,鈥 says Cindy, adding that it reminded her of a town in San Francisco that she and Randy had lived in while they were married.
On arriving in Noto, Randy and Steve quickly realized that it was the right place for them, and ended up viewing a house 鈥渂y accident.鈥
Accidental viewing
They were printing out their boarding passes for their return flight at an office in town when Cindy happened to ask if anyone knew of any good property deals.
鈥淥ne of the guy鈥檚 grandmothers had just died and he said he could show us her place and warned that his dad wouldn鈥檛 accept anything less than 90,000 euros,鈥 says Randy.
鈥淲e agreed to take a look and our hearts literally stopped.鈥
Although they were ready to buy the two-bedroom home there and then, Cindy convinced Randy and Steve to give it a little more thought.
They went out for lunch, 鈥渞emodelled the whole place鈥 in their heads, and then arranged to meet with the father of the man who鈥檇 shown them the property.
鈥淚 was translating back and forth all their questions,鈥 says Cindy. 鈥淎nd he looked as stunned as I did when they said, 鈥榃e want it. We鈥檙e buying it.鈥欌
Randy and Steve excitedly headed to a nearby ATM, and managed to withdraw 1,000 euros (about US$1,080) which they left as a deposit.
They then shook hands with the surprised Italian and agreed to buy the home for 90,000 euros (around $97,000.)
But while the sale process only took a few months, it would be another three years before they鈥檇 officially move to Noto.
During this time, Cindy began acting as a 鈥渟ort of project manager,鈥 for the couple, who had asked her to help oversee the renovation work on their home, travelling back and forth between Florence and Noto, an 80-minute flight, as well as searching for her own property in Noto.
鈥淲hen we came with them in the beginning, I had pretty much wanted to buy something,鈥 Cindy says, explaining that she was looking for something slightly cheaper that she could renovate 鈥渓ittle by little.鈥
Cindy and Sandro eventually purchased a property close by around two years later.
Meanwhile, Randy and Steve, who previously worked for the government, were tying up loose ends in the US 鈥 Steve had to work to a specific retirement date 鈥 and making arrangements to fly to Italy with their dog Luigi.
In October 2021, the couple arrived in Italy with Luigi after selling their home in California and everything they owned, aside from a container of items that they had shipped over.
鈥淚t was very surreal,鈥 says Steve.
Unfortunately, their shipping container took longer to arrive than they expected. And as the gas had not yet been connected at their Italian property, they had to walk over to Cindy鈥檚 home to shower every day.
鈥淲e never walked over in our bath robes, but we did carry our towels,鈥 says Randy.
鈥淎nd I鈥檓 sure all the neighbours were wondering, 鈥榃ho are these Americans, and why are they carrying towels around the neighbourhood?鈥
Randy and Steve entered Italy with an Elective Residency Visa, a long-stay permit for non-EU citizens who intend to take residence in Italy, which requires a passive income of 38,000 euros ($40,700) per couple.
Shaky start
During those first months, they quickly discovered that Sicily was far less vibrant during the winter times and most things shut down over the Christmas holidays.
鈥淲ith COVID, it was doubly worse. So those first few months were a little lonely,鈥 admits Randy.
Despite feeling a little unsure of themselves, they resolved to stick it out in Noto.
鈥淚n the end, we just realized that we made this commitment,鈥 says Steve. 鈥淎nd we鈥檙e going to make it work. And we did. Thankfully, it has worked out really well.鈥
Randy and Steve admit that they initially worried about how locals might react to a gay couple moving into their small town, but they鈥檝e found everyone to be very welcoming.
鈥淲e really didn鈥檛 know after we committed to buying what would happen to us here,鈥 admits Randy.
鈥淲e did research on Instagram and happily discovered that it鈥檚 quite gay-friendly here.鈥
They recount how, the day after right-wing politician Giorgia Meloni, who vocally supports 鈥渢raditional family-first鈥 values, was elected as Italy鈥檚 prime minister, an older couple who live across the street brought them some homemade applesauce.
Randy, Steve and Cindy have all found life in Italy to be more affordable than in the U.S.
鈥淚 think price-wise, the cost of living generally, is about 30% cheaper here,鈥 says Steve.
They note that most things, particularly property taxes, are considerably less and they鈥檙e able to live quite comfortably.
Randy and Steve have spent around 190,000 euros (around $205,000) on renovating their home, which included reinforcing the attic floor and the roof, so far and recently purchased a nearby apartment, which they plan to convert into a guest apartment.
While they鈥檝e been embraced by the Noto locals, the couple admit that many are baffled that they chose to leave California for Sicily.
鈥淭heir impression of California is that it鈥檚 all movie stars and glamour with beautiful sun all the time,鈥 says Randy. 鈥淪o they don鈥檛 quite understand why. But we just say, 鈥業t鈥檚 a better life here.鈥欌
After living in Italy for over 40 years, Cindy, who previously taught Tuscan cooking courses and has written two cookbooks, 鈥淶ucchini Blossoms鈥 and 鈥淔ried Sage,鈥 considers herself to be pretty much Italian.
However, she points out that she was 25 when she left the U.S. and it was much easier for her to adjust to living in a new country.
Cindy notes that there are certain things she finds that most Americans have difficulty getting used to, and the local opening hours are high up on the list.
鈥淭he bank, the grocery store, the post office closes at one o鈥檆lock,鈥 Cindy says, adding that she had the same issues when she first moved to Florence in the 1980s, but the city has become more flexible since then.
鈥淪o if you鈥檙e an American it can be very frustrating if you want to get things done.鈥
While Cindy is still based in Florence, she says she travels to Noto once a month, with her husband Sandro joining her when he can.
She admits that Sandro wasn鈥檛 that keen on living in Noto at first, as they鈥檇 previously discussed buying a home by the sea in Greece, but 鈥渉e really loves Sicily now.鈥
鈥淣oto is six kilometres from the seaside,鈥 she says. 鈥淪o that was what drew him into accepting living here.鈥
Chosen family
The two couples get together whenever they can and say that people are often fascinated by their past history.
鈥淲e鈥檙e contemplating a book,鈥 says Randy, before explaining that he and Steve also rent an apartment in the same building in Florence that Cindy and Sandro live in.
In the years since Randy and Steve moved to Sicily, some of their friends and family have chosen to follow suit, and the couple now have a prepared speech for anyone asking them for advice.
鈥淵ou really have to pound it in that it鈥檚 a much slower lifestyle,鈥 says Steve. 鈥淭he total change in schedules, as far as shopping and being able to do certain things.
鈥淎nd just the small town thing. We ask them, 鈥楢re you ready to be separated from everything you know? Your friends. Your family. The convenience.鈥
鈥淚t is beautiful here. But there are moments where you鈥檙e probably going to miss certain things.鈥
Randy and Steve take Italian lessons regularly and stress that they鈥檇 recommend anyone thinking of moving to Italy to make learning the language a top priority.
鈥淗ere in Sicily, it鈥檚 rare [for people to speak English,]鈥 says Randy, noting that things are different in Florence, where English is more widely spoken.
鈥淪o you really have to speak some Italian. You can鈥檛 walk up to a deli counter and not be able to tell them what you want and how much you want.鈥
After over two years in Italy, Randy and Steve are pretty settled and have no desire to return to the US.
鈥淚鈥檓 gonna be 70 [soon,]鈥 says Randy. 鈥淗ow many more years are there [left]? 20 at best? So I think for the duration, this is going to be it for me.鈥
Their dog Luigi has since passed away, and they鈥檝e adopted two new dogs, Mimi and Lola.
While they do miss aspects of life in America, particularly Mexican food, they feel that their quality of life is much better in Sicily.
鈥淲e鈥檙e eating, I think much better than we were,鈥 says Randy. 鈥淎nd we鈥檙e probably healthier as a result.鈥
For the time being, the couple are making the most of their new lives in Italy and spending as much time as possible with their dearest friends Cindy and Sandro.
鈥淪he and I, and our husbands, are family,鈥 says Randy. 鈥淐hosen, but nonetheless family.鈥
