Dear Sirs,
We'd like to clarify some of the differences between the administrative and judicial processes.
(1) Administrative process
The administrative process is done before the Comune (municipality) and your physical presence is required in Italy.
Just to clarify, for the Italian recognition practice before the Comune it's only a temporary residency, it will not interfere with your current residency is the US or Canada, as it will be registered only before the Italian offices and no communication occurs between the offices in the US or Canada regarding your residency.
According to Italian law, your presence in Italy is necessary to wait for the "vigile urbano" (municipal police) to confirm that you're physically present inside the apartment.
This is done in a maximum of 45 days (deadline defined by law), but in our zone normally they are very quick and conclude the visit between 5 to 12 days, so our clients plan their stay for 20 days with a flexible return ticket.
For your practice, you could do the same.
For your information, you won't need to pay taxes for the Italian government.
If done before the Comune, other family members wi'll be able to use the same documents for future practices, even if you don't come necessarily at the same time.
Just to conclude, so you can have all the elements, if done before the Comune the practice is faster, finishing in a period of 6 months approximately, during which you'll be able to go back to the US or Canada after the "vigile"s visit.
This practice is more direct in the sense that the clerk only checks the documents and attests your Italian citizenship, it is not submitted to a judge or the Public Ministry.
(2) Judicial process
The judicial process is done before the Italian Court and your physical presence is not required.
This kind of practice is longer, taking between 3 to 4 years, depending on the Court's work load.
Before the Court the practice is indirect in the sense that it depends on the understanding of the judge and interference of the Public Ministry.
If done before the Court, if your family members don't start the practice at the same time, they will need the whole set of original documents to star their practices in the future, it's not possible to use copies.
We hope to have clarified the differences between the administrative and judicial processes.
We always prefer to be transparent in our communication so you can have all the elements to decide in the most convenient way for you.