Garbage Crisis in Naples: Is this picture worth a thousand words?
Naples is nearly a ghost town in August, as you can see from this photo. This particular street, Via Chiaia, is usually crowded with locals and tourists shopping, loitering, chatting and enjoying a drink at the sidewalk cafes. Yesterday, it seemed like an evacuation or mandatory curfew was in force. In reality, the streets are empty because nearly everyone takes a vacation this time of year.
However, as you might have guessed from the title of this post, I have another reason to show you this photo. I’ve been getting an increasing number of emails from friends, family and strangers wondering if the streets of Naples are piled 10 feet high with flaming trash as they have seen on TV.
Simply put, the answer is NO.
While the garbage crisis is very real, many reports about it are misleading. If you think that people in the city of Naples are wearing face masks and burning huge mounds of rubbish in the streets, then you have been misled.
Think of it this way, if you saw a news report about a garbage crisis in New York, you would wonder if they meant New York City or New York State. It’s the same sort of situation here. Naples, you see, is the name of both a city and a province. Many people don’t realize that the city of Naples is the capital of the province of Naples. I certainly didn’t until I came here.
The garbage crisis is real; however, it is taking place in the province of Naples, not the city itself. Nearby towns such as Mondragone and, especially, Pianura have been hit the worst. It’s a complicated situation driven by corruption, greed and the mafia. Nor is the situation anything new. Politicians keep making promises, but nothing has been resolved.
Naples garbage crisis is a huge source of frustration to locals. I can think of no quicker way, in fact, to raise the decibel level around the dinner table than to bring up the monezza (trash) situation, aside from, perhaps, taking Naples’ legendary soccer/football/calcio player, Maradona’s name in vain!
Meanwhile, the trash on our street here in the city of Naples’ Spanish Quarter gets picked up every Sunday night.
I’m glad to hear that you aren’t swimming in garbage. This world needs to figure out what to do with all the waste we create–or we’ll all be in the midst of a garbage crisis. Just sayin’.
Heya Prof. J! I agree, the entire world is having a garbage crisis, when you get right down to it, not just Naples. (Although, I’d love to go swimming… Just not in any garbage!) ~Tui
Another reason blogging is so important - world media can distort things so completely, and it’s so much better to hear from folks who are actually experiencing the news situations.
Thanks for the clarification.
It certainly makes me view the news with a different perspective. Thanks for stopping by! ~Tui
Great photo! It’s so strange to see Via Chiaia so quiet. I took a similar photo of Via Dei Mille the other day. Will post it (eventually).
Yeah, it’s weird having the streets so vacant. Guess it’d be a good time to shoot a period movie piece here. I look forward to seeing your street photo, too. Thanks for stopping by! :) ~Tui
[…] So instead of a Prada-shopping priest, today’s photo illustrates that old chestnut, ‘what a difference a day makes.’ It’s a photo of the same shopping street, Via Chiaia, that I posted a photo of in my last post. I took it at the same time of day, but there are a lot more people around now. Many shops are still closed for August vacations, but as you can see, people are starting to flesh out Naples’ streets once again. Share and Enjoy: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages. […]
Love the light streaming in :)
Thanks, Michelle! Afternoon is my favorite time to stroll in Naples. The lighting is so dramatic, and everything is draped with such sharply-defined shadows (not something you see a lot in the Pacific Northwest, I tell ya!) ~Tui
[…] From time to time, strangers send me emails. The most common queries are, “What’s the garbage situation in Naples?” (which I’ve addressed here, here and quite sarcastically here), “Do you take the photos on this blog?” (Yes, I do, as mentioned here.) I even get an occasional job offer (keep ‘em coming!) […]
[…] This September, an Italian priest named Antonio Rungi is launching a beauty pageant for nuns. Considering that his hometown of Mondragone, Italy, which is in the Province of Naples, not the city of Naples (remember our recent geography lesson, kids?) is a rather messy place, it’s probably a good thing that the contest is going to be hosted on the priest’s blog, and not in the town of Mondragone itself. […]
I love the Via Chiaia shots. It’s true downtown is pretty clean. Our centro in Santa Maria Capua Vetere just outside of Naples is pretty spic-n-span too, but the roads leading into town? erghh… depressing.
sigh… It’s soooo distressing, isn’t it? Whatever happened to all of Berlusconi’s campaign promises? Seems they went out with the trash, too. Thanks for visiting my blog, btw. Haven’t seen you here before. :) ~Tui
[…] Mental Mosaic says the streets of Naples aren’t full of garbage, and she’s got the pictures to prove it. […]