Vesuvius, Napoli, Garbage Strikes, and a Slovakian Super Kicker

by Pat Darnell

Last time we were in Napoli Summer of '07, there was a garbage strike. We flew to and from Italy through NAP. It was my first time to see the monster, Vesuvio'.

Picture: AP | Infrared Picture of Vesuvius, This is a night-time infrared photo of Mount Vesuvius in 1943.

Dec. 6, 2004 — Italian authorities have renewed the cash offer of up to 30,000 euros (about $40,000) for any family wishing to move outside the shadow of Mount Vesuvius in the attempt to reduce the potential hazard of what has been described as the world's most dangerous volcano.

Campania, the region that includes Naples, last month set up a 30 million euro ($40 million) Vesuvius hazard risk program, confirming and improving last year's cash offer for those wishing to relocate to safer areas. [ Rossella Lorenzi, Discovery News; Vesuvius Residents Paid to Move Away. SOURCE]

Meanwhile, later in the New Century -- Garbage was piling up
May 30, 2007: roxygypsy [HERE] "I heard Naples has had a trash collection strike for months, and the garbage is so high you can't navigate. Any truth to that? And does it extend to Sorrento, where we'll be staying in a week or so?"

May 30, 2008: bob1edmonton [HERE] "Just got back from Naples unbelievable problem. Highly recommend you bi-pass Naples a huge health risk. Sorrento does not have the same problem. Comments from locals say it is do to lack of a new landfill and the mafia controlling pickup. Really recommend a state of emergency as a plague could originate there and spread throughout the world. A disgrace to Italy and lack of government leadership."

May 30, 2008: krabikrazy (ibid)
From the BBC
-The Naples Doctors Association recently expressed its concerns over the potential for disease to spread, with rats, cockroaches and insects thriving in the mountains of garbage.
"As we clear the backlog the rats come spilling out of the bags," said Domenico Montella, a rubbish collection supervisor.
"Sometimes there are hundreds of them, scattering in all directions.
"They have been treated to quite a feast," he jokes. "Some of them are bigger than my forearm."

May 30, 2008: jjkdc (ibid)
Unless things have changed DRASTICALLY in the last few weeks, the city center is fine. I was there for 5 days in early April. There streets were NOT teeming with rats and roaches. They were teeming with the people who live there.
The garbage-disposal problem in Naples is not a new problem, though the media sometimes makes it sound as if it is. This has been a problem for a number of years now.
If you have an interest in going to Naples, by all means go to Naples. If you want to go to Sorrento, then go to Sorrento. They are like night and day, and cannot be compared with one another.

But in 2009 Facebook Social Network can see Napoli through any catastrophe:

Last Thursday, Mr. Hamsik was out for a stroll when he was robbed at gunpoint of 800 Euros, and his Rolex watch. Fearful that this would hasten his departure, and perhaps doom their season; fans of the Napoli team jumped onto Facebook and created a group with the sole purpose of saying “Sorry.” Four days later, this group has over 4400 members all wanting to apologize, and let him know that the regular people of Napoli don’t condone what happened.
One of their star [soccer] players is [the] Slovakian gentleman named Marek Hamsik, who has been linked with a big money move to teams across Europe. [Tuesday, December 23rd, 2008 by Simon Heseltine; HERE]

Let me think a moment, as if I'm wearing the shoes of Marek Hamsik... hmmmmm "....in shadow of notorious, active volcano that once destroyed Pompeii, -- garbage and filth piled higher and deeper for almost four years, -- mugged and robbed while strolling the city even though a well-known hard-working person....."

"Sure, I'm staying! That's amore."