Elective Residence Visa

Hi all,
My name is Yuki, a Malaysian seeking advises for possible visa that I can apply in order for me to stay in Italy.
Basically, a Malaysian Passport holder can stay in Italy up to 90 days as tourist without visa. However, I would like to stay longer.
I'm a journalist by profession, and I might get myself some freelance jobs while in Italy. Hence, I'm not planning to seek for employment there. As for accommodation, my boyfriend is an Italian, so obviously, I will be staying with him (see, this is the whole idea for me to move to Italy).
I came across this "Elective Residence visa", but couldnt get more information about who is eligible for this type of visa and how easy/difficult to obtain it. It is stated that the visa is meant for non-EU residents seeking for long-term stay in Italy without planning to seek for employment. Based on this, I guess I fit in. Another requirement will be, I have to prove that I'm financially independent - that I can support myself throughout my stay. I dont have any property, but yeah, I think my cash is sufficient. I also have other saving plans.
I tried to contact the Italian Embassy in my home country, but they are not really helpful - I even asked my bf to send them email in Italian, but no reply. (FYI, I called few times, and even went to the embassy, but the staffs there are really helpless.)
Therefore, I would really appreciate it if any of you guys, especially Malaysian, who can provide me some advice on this matter.

Thank you very much,
Yuki.Ling