6.  The applicants were respectively born in 1963 and 1959 and live in Rome. 7.  A.C., the applicants' mother, was the owner of a flat in Rome which she had let to A.F. 8.  In a registered letter of 2 May 1987, A.C. informed the tenant that she intended to terminate the lease on expiry of the term on 31 December 1987 and asked her to vacate the premises by that date. 9.  In a writ served on the tenant on 15 June 1987, A.C. reiterated her intention to terminate the lease and summoned the tenant to appear before the Rome Magistrate. 10.  By a decision of 30 November 1987, which was made enforceable on the same day, the Rome Magistrate upheld the validity of the notice to quit and ordered that the premises be vacated by 31 December 1988. 11.  On 2 October 1989, A.C. served notice on the tenant requiring her to vacate the premises. 12.  On 30 October 1989, she informed the tenant that the order for possession would be enforced by a bailiff on 19 December 1989. 13.  Between 19 December 1989 and 25 January 2000, the bailiff made forty-seven attempts to recover possession. Each attempt proved unsuccessful, as the applicants were not entitled to police assistance in enforcing the order for possession. 14.  In the meanwhile, on 27 February 1996, A.C., the applicants' mother, died and the applicants inherited the flat. 15.  On 28 March 1996, the applicants became party in the national proceedings as heirs. 16.  On 14 February 2000, the applicants recovered possession of the flat