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Thanks for posting the link. It is an interesting article
I was in Rome years ago and saw some of what the article references. Rome seems to have issues with garbage collection for a long time. However, from what I saw, Rome is not that much worse than cities like Paris or Chicago, or even some parts of London.
For example, the garbage mentioned around the Church of St. Peter in Chains, is something I noticed when I was there. The Church itself if amazing, with a statue of Moses by Michelangelo yet the courtyard right outside the front door was full of garbage.
I did think that Rome did a better job at some of the more popular areas, like the Colosseum and the Forum.
Naples had a similar problem a few years back but that was mainly to do with the Italian Mafia controlling the litter collections or as they liked to call it waste management, which if I recall was Tony Sopranos official job title.
In terms of London, but very careful about dropping even the tinest piece of litter, as the couincils often employ private companies on vast commisons, who immediately demand your details ir they get the police. It's the same with dog fouling.
I've been to Rome, again, in the last 10 years & honestly have no memories of unusual piles of garbage. I'm not saying it isn't there but large cities always have some issues & I didn't notice that too much or perhaps didn't visit the areas where it is overwhelming the touristic experience. Then again I live in a (relatively clean - to me) city & have vacationed in places like India & the Philippines where litter & garbage are genuine issues.
Cities are living, changing places where everyday work & life carries on despite being around historic places. Traffic, crowding, immigration, garbage, graffiti & tourist traps for the naive & inexperienced are there but to be expected I think. I've heard that Naples does indeed have a real waste disposal problem but have never visited. I know that Lisbon's graffiti was actually an interesting aspect by itself & that they seem to be capitalizing on it by encouraging real street art.
Cities are living, changing places where everyday work & life carries on despite being around historic places. Traffic, crowding, immigration, garbage, graffiti & tourist traps for the naive & inexperienced are there but to be expected I think. I've heard that Naples does indeed have a real waste disposal problem but have never visited. I know that Lisbon's graffiti was actually an interesting aspect by itself & that they seem to be capitalizing on it by encouraging real street art.
I agree with this perspective- last year I was in India and Nepal. This was an organized tour but I'd been there on business a half-dozen times so I knew that in addition to the beautiful hotels (at reasonable prices), fantastic food and gracious people, I'd encounter sights and smells that weren't pleasant. I could write a book solely on the subject of how women are doing there (lots of good news but lots to be done). It's why I travel- to get away from the familiar and to learn.
Interesting that a comment on the Disney thread applies here.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hefe
Otoh I had a coworker who lived for almost annual visits with his family, he thought it was a fantastic vacation. He didn't have a passport & no interest in ever getting one. Euro-Land, or whatever that curated & corporatized travel-simulation confection is called is all he ever wants to know about the world beyond borders. Different strokes....
So, there's always Disney for those who want comfort and predictability!
I've been to Rome, again, in the last 10 years & honestly have no memories of unusual piles of garbage. I'm not saying it isn't there but large cities always have some issues & I didn't notice that too much or perhaps didn't visit the areas where it is overwhelming the touristic experience. Then again I live in a (relatively clean - to me) city & have vacationed in places like India & the Philippines where litter & garbage are genuine issues.
Cities are living, changing places where everyday work & life carries on despite being around historic places. Traffic, crowding, immigration, garbage, graffiti & tourist traps for the naive & inexperienced are there but to be expected I think. I've heard that Naples does indeed have a real waste disposal problem but have never visited. I know that Lisbon's graffiti was actually an interesting aspect by itself & that they seem to be capitalizing on it by encouraging real street art.
I was in Rome for around a week just a few months ago. It had the usual occasional mess and chaos- including a few overfull garbage and recycling containers- that you'd expect from a big bustling city but it was hardly a "dump". There were also plenty of quiet, leafy streets, pleasant parks, and beautiful plazas.
My daughter and her husband went to Rome when they were stationed in England back in 2007. She said it was dirty back then. No thank you.
I'm not sure what you mean by "No thank you." Surely most people don't choose vacation destinations mainly on the basis of cleanliness. If that were the case, no one would ever go to New York City.
I will echo that I saw no difference in trash than many cities in the US. Yes,in most of Europe, graffiti seems to be a concern and it is no indication of neighborhood like here in the US, but Italy is perhaps my favorite country. We have been there 4 times, 2 cruises and 2 land trips.
Thanks to the abundance of information on internet and cheaper airfares, travel is more accessible than ever. This is mostly a good thing, but some places are going to feel that surge. Has anyone ever been to Barcelona or Dubrovnik or Venice and forget to check the schedule for ships that day? The sheer masses of choke the streets.
My son and I were in Rome just this past September. Other than Ubering in from the airport and an Uber to the Vatican, we walked all around the city taking in the sights. I didn't notice anything like the kinds of trash & filth the article refers to. We stayed near the Trevi Fountain and, to be sure, the crowds were insane and there were a few street vendors selling souvenirs just like they sell miniature Eiffel Towers near the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Other than that, the only thing that I found a bit strange were the Jeeps every couple blocks with the machine gun toting soldiers standing watch. I guess if I were from some little town in Nebraska I might have been stunned by the realities of a big city, but I live in Los Angeles. I can see more homeless tent encampments and trash simply driving down to the beach than I did in several weeks in Europe.
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