This work, NSA Naples Deepens Ties with Gricignano Community in Italy, by Josephine Schneider, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright Italy — Air quality tests following an explosion and chemical leak at an industrial business near a U.S Navy base were negative for dangerous levels of toxins The multiple tests conducted by Italian authorities throughout Saturday “returned negative results,” Naval Support Activity Naples said in a text message the same day sent to the military community using an alert system normal activities can resume with no further action needed.” Italian officials had advised people in the area to take precautionary measures to protect their health and minimize exposure to potential air pollutants Those actions included limiting outdoor activities wearing masks and cleaning external surfaces The advisory was scheduled to last through 7 p.m Saturday and included families living at or near NSA Naples Support Site which is about 15 miles southwest of where large amounts of ammonia were released base officials said the leak had been contained but the health advisory would remain in effect until the evening Friday during maintenance work on a tank at a company offering cold storage for perishable products Three workers were able to escape but a fourth It was the second fatal accident at the business in less than two weeks Three firefighting teams responded to the chemical leak and nearby homes and businesses were evacuated Anhydrous ammonia can be corrosive to the skin Italian authorities also advised residents to keep their windows and doors shut and to close forced air ventilation systems It wasn’t clear Saturday if those precautions were still needed NSA Naples Support Site is near the town of Gricignano di Aversa about 14 miles north of the base’s Capodichino site at Naples airport commissary and other facilities are on Support Site It is surrounded by a mix of industrial complexes the son of Pasquale and Elena Nardacio Della Gatta He was a steelworker in the Youngstown area a handyman and owned several small businesses He enjoyed going to flea markets on the weekends but his greatest joy was spending time with his family Andrea will always be remembered lovingly by his wife Antonio (Stacie) Della Gatta and Stefan Della Gatta; five grandchildren he was preceded in death by his first wife at the Rossi Brothers and Lellio Funeral Home The family will receive relatives and friends from 4 to 6 p.m Family and friends are encouraged to offer prayers for the family and support via phone call email or may visit the Book of Memories at www.rossifunerals.com Copyright © 2025 Eastern Ohio Newspapers, Inc. | https://www.vindy.com | 240 Franklin Street SE, Warren, OH 44482 | 330-841-1600 | Terms of Service NAPLES, Italy — The high number of delta variant cases of COVID-19 in Italy's southern Campania region has triggered a mandatory indoor mask order at Naval Support Activity Naples, base officials said Thursday.   Indoor masks at the NSA Naples Capodichino and Gricignano di Aversa sites are now mandatory regardless of vaccination status, the base said in a post to its Facebook page. Mask wearing outdoors is required if social distancing of 6 feet or more cannot be maintained. Italy reported 69 COVID-19 deaths Wednesday, an increase over 54 the day before, according to the Italian Health Ministry. New infections grew to 7,162 from 5,273. In Campania, 336 people with COVID-19 were in the hospital Wednesday and another 20 were in intensive care. There were 558 new cases. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says community transmission levels are substantial when new cases average 50 to 99.99 per 100,000 people over seven days. Exceptions to the NSA Naples mandatory indoor mask order include people in their own home, those working alone in an office with a closed door, or those eating or drinking with proper social distancing. Children under 2 years old, people with a documented medical necessity and those actively working out in a gym also were excluded from wearing a mask indoors, the base said. A probe led by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service found that the unidentified 22-year-old seaman shot at or near a group of adolescents with an airsoft rifle from the balcony of his on-base housing, said Lt. Cmdr. Matthew Comer, a spokesman for Navy Region Europe Africa Central. One of the adolescents alleged that they were struck with a plastic pellet. As is policy with nonjudicial punishments, the service is not naming the sailor, who was assigned to the Navy Computer and Telecommunications Station Naples, Comer said. The Dec. 16, 2021, shooting happened on the base’s Gricignano di Aversa site. It was not reported to base police and the person who reported being hit did not have any apparent injuries, the NCIS investigation found. No subsequent shots were fired, but about 45 minutes later another minor reported seeing a man carrying a gun on base. That report caused the lockdown and hunt for the service member, who ultimately was found in his room, Comer said “The service member was compliant with police instructions and immediately turned over the airsoft gun,” he said. The sailor is in the process of leaving Italy and separating from the Navy, Comer said.  Airsoft guns often are realistically modeled to look like real weapons. They shoot nonmetallic soft pellets and frequently are used for target practice and military-style games. Personal weapons, including airsoft guns, are prohibited on base, a Navy spokesperson said in December. NSA Naples’ Gricignano di Aversa site includes schools, housing, a commercial center, a hospital and a hotel. It is about 13 miles from the base’s Capodichino site, which includes administrative and support services and is home to U.S. 6th Fleet. Approximately 8,500 people are assigned to the base, according to its website. NAPLES, Italy — The identity of a man arrested in connection with a shooting Thursday at Naval Support Activity Naples in Italy is being withheld pending potential charges. No one was injured in the incident, which involved an airsoft rifle, officials said. It was unclear Friday whether the man, who is a “person of interest” in the case, was still in custody. His name will be released only if charges are filed, Lt. Jamie Moroney, an NSA Naples spokeswoman, said Friday. It also was uncertain Friday what charges he may face, but personal weapons, including airsoft guns, are prohibited on base, Moroney said. Moroney declined further comment on the investigation, which is being led by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. Often realistically modeled to look like traditional firearms, airsoft guns shoot nonmetallic soft pellets. They are frequently used for target practice and military-style games. The man’s arrest followed reports Thursday evening of what sounded like gunfire near Naples Middle High School, at the base’s Gricignano di Aversa site, triggering a two-hour lockdown of the base and a search for a potential gunman. The Gricignano di Aversa site includes schools, housing, a commercial center, a hospital and a hotel. It is about 13 miles from the base’s Capodichino site, which includes administrative and support services and is home to the U.S. 6th Fleet. Approximately 8,500 people are assigned to the base, according to its website. About 8 p.m., security forces arrested a man at an on-base apartment and confiscated an airsoft rifle, officials said. “Tonight was a good reminder of why we train, so that we can have a unified response when we need to protect our community,” the base said Thursday on Facebook. NAPLES, Italy — More than a hundred military families in Italy and Spain say they’ll have to start choosing between their children’s well-being and their financial stability after government insurer Tricare stripped a longtime pediatric clinic of its in-network status. Joy Center, a U.S-based clinic founded in Naples in 2010 that offers psychological, psychiatric, speech-language and occupational therapy for children and their families, no longer will be a Tricare in-network provider as of Sunday, clinic founder and supervisor Amy Zier told Stars and Stripes on Thursday. As a result, parents who want coverage for those services must switch to a different provider that now appears to be the only authorized similar clinic in Italy and Spain, based on a search of Tricare’s online list of in-network overseas providers. That Italy-based provider, Reach Aut, was founded by at least one former employee of Joy Center in 2020, Zier said. Reach Aut now has clinics in each of the same cities overseas as Joy Center. Natallia Stiefel, who is married to an active-duty sailor, said the couple’s 6-year-old son has been receiving speech therapy at Joy Center near NSA Naples for nearly a year. Stiefel was hoping to get approval from Tricare for an out-of-network referral to Joy Center, but the request recently was denied without explanation. Their only other option is to change to another Tricare health care program. That would mean an out-of-pocket expense of about 20% of their son’s therapy costs, Stiefel said. “His therapy isn’t cheap, so it becomes a financial strain to continue what we’ve been doing,” she said. Zier and parents whose children were treated at Joy Center say the decision puts patients’ continuity of care at risk, potentially undermining progress and development at a time when children are most vulnerable. “I’m upset that Tricare would do this,” said Katlyn Cunningham, whose 5-year-old daughter has been receiving services at Joy Center near Naval Support Activity Naples since July. “That’s our kids. They are messing with our kids. They are messing with all these children, all of the services they need to thrive and … be successful at life.” Stiefel said she visited the other clinic and did not find it suitable. “I feel at this point, if I don’t stay with Joy Center, it’s pretty much there’s not going to be any therapy (for my son),” she said. Tricare offers health plans and other services for active-duty service members, retirees and their families. As of Friday, the insurer had not answered questions posed by Stars and Stripes last month and Wednesday seeking information about the change, the reasons behind it and the impact for patients. Cunningham, Stiefel and other parents who spoke with Stars and Stripes said Tricare did not tell them about the change. But in a Nov. 23 post to its official Facebook page, the U.S. naval hospital in Rota, Spain, said it had been notified by Tricare that Joy Center no longer was an authorized provider and would not be for the “foreseeable future.” The post had no explanation for the decision. As a result, military hospitals in Italy and Spain no longer will refer patients to Joy Center. Parents who want to keep their children enrolled in the center’s programs likely will have to pay part of the cost of services previously covered in full by Tricare. Zier said she was notified of the termination in November by Tricare’s Italian country representative, who said Joy Center had been dropped from the network based on an analysis of beneficiaries’ needs and current network providers. The representative did not respond to Joy Center’s request for additional information, such as the reasons for the decision, but did direct the clinic to refer its patients to Reach Aut, said Zier, who plans to appeal the decision. The decision was surprising because Joy Center had not received any criticism of its programs from Tricare and there had been no mention of challenges or improvements needed, Zier said. Previously, Tricare had asked Joy Center to add services in Vicenza and Aviano, in 2015 and 2019 respectively, because there was no other provider, she said. But there were indications that the clinic’s position in those locations had changed. A January 2021 letter from Tricare’s overseas management division said there wasn’t a need for Joy Center in Aviano, she said. “It was confusing because we had so many people coming to us for help, either for their children or for themselves,” she said. Cunningham said that despite the potential of having to pay for her daughter’s care, the family will continue to go to Joy Center. The clinic not only helped her daughter but also offered Cunningham skills and insight to better understand her daughter’s needs, she said. “She loves it there,” Cunningham said. “We love going there, learning so much about her and what makes her tick and how to help her.” NAPLES, Italy — To say that Saturday’s DODEA-Europe South tennis finals presented a challenge for Lawrence Caro would be an understatement. The Sigonella Jaguars No. 2 seed overcame self-doubt, a grueling semifinal match against No. 1 seed Leonardo Proietti of the Marymount Royals and a bee sting in the final match to emerge the boys singles winner. Caro bested Samuel Stutzman of the Naples Wildcats, 8-1, at Naples’ Gricignano di Aversa site. Stutzman beat Caro twice before, including earlier in Saturday’s tournament play. “I took a step back and said to myself: ‘I have to believe in myself,’” said Caro, 17. “It feels extraordinary (to win). I didn’t think I was going to be here.” Caro wasn’t the only member of the family to play in the finals. His 14-year-old sister Charlize won her semifinal against the Wildcats’ Lilliana Stutzman, 8-1. That set up the No. 4 seed to play against No. 1 seed Aleigh Lamis in the girls singles final. Lamis, a 17-year-old Naples senior, won 8-2 to emerge the winner in the last singles match of her high school career. Lamis called the win “surreal” and the culmination of a longtime goal. “It means a lot to be No. 1 in my senior year,” she said. “I had to dig deep and find my passion and know I want to win.” The tournament saw Friday rained out after just a round of singles play. Instead of the usual best-of-three format, coaches made the decision to condense matches to a single set. That allowed the completion of nearly the entire tournament without a lunch break over a span of more than 12 hours, said tournament organizer and Vicenza coach Mark Gillett. With singles play wrapping up around 3:30 p.m., doubles matches started soon after, ending around 8:30 p.m. Results saw the Royals team of Proietti and Brian Hoton beat the Wildcats team of brothers Stephen and Samuel Stutzman in boys doubles. Lamis and Stutzman were victors for Naples against Marymount’s Isabella Nudi and Allegra Vittigli in girls doubles. The dove, the Easter cake par excellence, it is a real tradition in Italy and Naples is no exception. With its soft leavened dough, enriched with candied fruit and icing sugar, the dove it is a symbol of peace and rebirth. In Naples, numerous bakeries and pastry shops compete every year to offer the most delicious and artisanal dove. Here is a selection of the best artisan doves in Naples of 2024. See this content on Instagram A post shared by Bar & Pasticceria Colotti (@pasticceriacolotti) the headquarters of Pasticceria Colotti is in Arenella in Via Giuseppe Orsi A small business a few steps from Piazza Medaglie d'oro but highly rewarded on TripAdvisor by users with 90% of 5-star votes Phone: 081 556 7366Address: Via Giuseppe Orsi 26/28, Naples (Arenella)Social: Facebook, TripAdvisor See this content on Instagram A post shared by Vanily Pastry (@vanily_patisserie) Perhaps for some it is less known than for others "big names” of the Neapolitan pastry shop, this pastry shop of Gricignano d'Aversa it has nothing to envy to anyone, indeed surpasses and outclasses many others. The pastry chef is Luigi Conte who in 2022 was awarded the first prize for the "Best Innovative Colombra” at the Tirreno Fair organized by the International Federation of Pastry, Ice Cream and Chocolate.A prize of the highest value! See this content on Instagram A post shared by Vanily Pastry (@vanily_patisserie) Website with online salesPhone: 081 014 8221Address: Via Larga 30, Gricignano di AversaSocial: Facebook, 📸 Instagram: See this content on Instagram A post shared by Pasticceria Gelateria Mennella (@mennella1969) one of the most renowned Neapolitan pastry shops in Italy.Founded in 1969 it is today one of the most important traditional Neapolitan pastry shops perhaps it is because you have read our selection of the best pastieres in which Pasticceria Santaniello stands out.Founded in 2008 it immediately stood out as one of the excellences of Campania pastry also winning the first prize in 2022 for the best pastiera See this content on Instagram A post shared by Pastificio Gentile (@pastagentile) with Pastificio Gentile the level rises considerably Quoted by Gambero Rosso during the blind tasting of the best doves classic with these words: It is a historic pastry shop in the center of Naples located right in via dei tribunali.On TripAdvisor it is at 15 th among the best pastry shops and ice cream parlors in Naples an absolutely respectable place considering that there are more than 200 pastry shops and ice cream shops in the city and that among the pastry shops alone it is positioned even higher Phone: 081 45 43 10Address: Via dei Tribunali 327, NaplesSocial: Facebook, TripAdvisor See this content on Instagram A post shared by Amunì – Sicilian Flavors (@amuni_frattamaggiore) stands out from the others because it deals exclusively with Sicilian products with Sicilian recipes PRO: it differs from the others precisely because of the Sicilian location of the productsAGAINST: Frattamaggiore is a bit awkward to reach Phone: 081 1991 21 82Address: Piazza Riscatto 31, FrattamaggioreSocial: Facebook, TripAdvisor In this case it is not a traditional or gourmet pastry shop but a pastry shop that makes products with a very strong eye on the little ones During 2022 they stood out for one of the best-selling doves on the Neapolitan panorama we earn a commission from qualifying purchases through ticketing links This commission does not entail any additional price for the user.