2008 is the Year of the Rat according to the Chinese Zodiac, and in Pianura, a city north of Naples, Italy, they are discovering this in a literal way. Sanitation workers quit picking up Pianura’s garbage shortly before Christmas in December 2007, claiming the landfills were full. As a result, trash is piled six feet high in places, a terrible stench lingers in the air, and people are worried about their health.

Does this mean travelers should abandon plans to visit the city of Naples? The answer is no. While reports you see on TV about the garbage crisis are accurate, they are also misleading, because Naples is the name of both a city and the province it inhabits. So when you hear a reporter say, “Naples, Italy” they are not necessarily referring to the city. In this case, those horrible images you see are of small towns in the province of Naples.

But don’t get me wrong, the city of Naples is a messy place. The streets here constantly look as though a rowdy party took place the night before and everyone’s too hungover to tidy up. On the other hand, the city is not neck-deep in garbage as the news may lead you to believe. It’s just the usual mess around town, no more, no less.

While the city is doing OK, it is the nearby towns that suffer, towns such as Pianura, where desperate citizens have set fire to the refuse, clashed with police, and lynched local officials - in effigy, mind you. Some of the trash was shipped to Sardinia, and at one point, the army came in with bulldozers and cleared the streets. But simply shoving the piles of trash out of the way is not a true solution. It’s not snow; it won’t melt.

So who’s fault is this? The Italian government blames the Camorra, Naples’ branch of the mafia. (I guess it was no coincidence, then, that Tony Soprano, New Jersey’s fictional mafia don with ties to Naples, was in the waste management business.) It’s also interesting to note that citizens of the province of Naples pay the highest garbage taxes of all of Italy. It’s a stinky situation all the way around.

Meanwhile, a local d.j. made a parody of a popular song called “Toda Joia, Toda Belezza,” which loosely translates as “Total Joy, Total Beauty.” The d.j.’s version is “Quanta Joia, Quanta Monezza.” Monezza is Neapolitan dialect for trash. Both versions have been popular refrains around our household lately. It’s a catchy tune either way, and one that will always remind me of 2007.

I am curious what others have seen/read/heard about the trash crisis in Naples. Had you been thinking it was the city, too? I even thought that at first, and couldn’t figure out why what I saw on TV didn’t jibe with what I see on my walks. I’m sure I’ll be posting more about this situation. It’s certainly not going to disappear overnight.