Good morning. Yes, we got a long term visa while we were in Italy. We had a contract to stay at Marina de Ragusa in Sicily for the winter, and that sufficed to satisfy the officials ass to a residence in Italy. The marina was very helpful in writing a short note to the immigration officials that we had this contract and were staying in the marina. Also, the immigration officials in Ragusa were used to dealing with US citizens that were going through this process. This definitely made it easier.
I had a long message typed for you, but Cruisers Forum won't let me send it because it's too long. Send me an e-mail at swbrownn7 at gmail.com and I'll give you some more details.