Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content The pungency of 250,000 tons of rotting garbage is almost indescribable soiled blanket that smothers us each night," says Ferdinando Mosca who owns a fruit shop across the street from the entrance to the Cava Sari landfill in Terzigno Mosca is not exaggerating. Since Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's election promise to solve the Naples garbage crisis nearly three years ago the Cava Sari landfill has been used to hide the Italian government's unwillingness to confront the Camorra crime syndicate Naples may be the face of the problem with widely circulated images of trash strewn in its streets but environmentalists say the real problem is the illegal importation and dumping of toxic waste that make up a hefty multimillion-dollar business for the Camorra As long as the Camorra keep the streets of Naples clean no one stops whatever else they put in the landfill Berlusconi is facing new calls for his resignation and allegations that his government is in bed with the mob "Berlusconi may have won his election on solving this garbage crisis," says Francesco Paolo Oreste a special-unit police officer who has become a political advocate against the government's handling of the crisis "Then he should lose his premiership because of it." Because no one has bothered to control what goes into this putrid dump in Naples's Campania region the people who live along its perimeter are paying the ultimate price and respiratory illnesses are a testament to the severe pollution of the air and water and the children can't play outside because of the intensely sickening smell and no one wants to buy any of the agricultural products grown in these fields the landfill sits inside the Vesuvius National Park on the flanks of a live volcano "How can we accept that we have to pay for the Camorra's profits and the government's convenience with our health and that of our children Tensions hit a new high last week when the government announced it would go forward with plans to open an even bigger landfill nearby The Cava Vitiello landfill is also being dug inside Vesuvius National Park about nine miles from the Cava Sari site and will hold 3 million metric tons of trash torching garbage trucks and attacking police lines The riots temporarily halted the collection of garbage in Naples which quickly led to overflowing bins and renewed international attention "Every time the streets of Naples fill with garbage our children pay the price here in Terzigno," says Nazara Gargiulio a local teacher who heads the group Volcanic Mothers The focus may be on the streets in the city of Naples which are relatively clean except for a few pockets of filth and overflowing bins but it is in Terzigno where residents have reached their limit Last week Berlusconi promised to clean up the streets of Naples within 10 days which he did by diverting trash to neighboring landfills but he can only keep up the façade by letting the garbage trucks return to the Sari landfill Residents here say they will allow that only if the government starts controlling what gets dumped which has the ultimate control of these landfills The tension is likely to reach its pinnacle Thursday or Friday night when garbage trucks will again unload at Cava Sari The police will escort the trucks in and out of the landfill but residents say they will put up fierce resistance fanning a fire he builds nightly in his parking lot to try to counter the smell from the landfill Neapolitans produce more raw garbage than any other Italian city Only 5 percent of Naples's 1 million residents recycle even though there is a system in place to collect separated paper which have moderately successful recycling programs no one enforces recycling measures in Naples And when trash starts to pile up in residential streets rogue collectors take it out to the countryside and burn or bury it often paid by local residents' groups who don't want the trash in their backyard "You have to change a mentality of an entire city that hasn't given a damn about what goes in their bins for decades," says a local protester called Gennaro who has held a nightly vigil at a roundabout near the entrance to the Sari landfill for almost a month "Vesuvius is the symbol of survival and strength but Naples is clearly the symbol of everything wrong with this country." met with local mayors on Tuesday and promised to temporarily put on hold the opening of the Vitiello landfill but only if the residents stopped their nightly protests He also promised to try to diminish the rancid smell by covering the top layer of rotting trash inside the Sari landfill with compost to mask the odor says he believes that the Camorra gangs have infiltrated the protests and will spur new violence "The people here are not protesting against the police or government," he says But Oreste says the government still needs to do more It needs to finally stand up to organized crime and scrap the new dump plans altogether and give that land back for park use And officials also need to spend a week in Terzigno "Berlusconi has no idea what his disastrous negligence smells like or looks like on a daily basis," Oreste says "They come in and put a few Band-Aids on the problem to take the spotlight off But those of us who live here know that underneath it all Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground Newsletters in your inbox See all At the MATT (Territorial Archaeological Museum of Terzigno) the exhibition Pompeii beyond the walls - The villas of Terzigno in the shadow of Vesuvius which displays archaeological finds from the Roman-era villas buried by the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD and discovered in the area of the Ranieri quarry in Terzigno An exhibition that stems from the desire to enhance the archaeological heritage and has seen the participation of the Municipal Administration of Terzigno and the Vesuvius National Park and the direction of the Archaeological Park of Pompeii.On display are various finds of clay pottery antefixes and agricultural tools for cultivating the land attached to the villas Like most Roman villas it served mainly as a farm but it also had a manor quarter for the owners’ otium The part brought to light is mainly related to the rustic one for wine production From Villa 2 excavated from 1984 to 1992 come finds of terracotta pottery and agricultural tools The heart of the building consists of the courtyard Here there are traces of old restorations: in 79 AD the villa was already a couple of centuries old and was affected by the earthquakes that were precursors to the eruption The other rooms around the court were used for peasant life and other agricultural production Particularly significant are the numerous frescoes from various rooms of Villa 6 which refer to the paintings of the II style depicting architectural perspectives and elements related to the Dionysian world One can also admire the painting of the Lararium found in the kitchen room with the depiction of the two Lares and the sacrificing Genius and two serpents approaching an offering plate Villa 6 was excavated during several excavation campaigns from 1993 to 2011 and is now re-interred which is co-financed by the Vesuvius National Park Authority will allow people to rediscover the beauty of the sites and works as well as acquaint them with significant aspects of life in Roman times in the country villas found on the outskirts of the ancient City of Pompeii and the inhabitants’ relationship with Vesuvius led by INGV, in collaboration with Cnr-Igag Laboratoire Magmas et Volcans in France and Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh has allowed better date the event and follow the eruption effects up to a thousand kilometres distance The event would have happened between 24 and 25 August of 79 d.C according to the famous letter from Pliny the Younger to Tacitus eruption of Vesuvius destroyed part of the territory and surrounding towns an international team of researchers has analyzed again that event to get to a comprehensive state-of-the-art on the knowledge of the most famous eruption ever starting from the exact date in which it occurred laboratory analyses and historical fonts has allowed follow all phases of the eruption over time from the magma chamber to the ash deposition in areas extremely far from Vesuvius published on the journal Earth-Science Reviews has been coordinated by Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV) in collaboration with Istituto di Geologia Ambientale e Geoingegneria at Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (Cnr-Igag) Centro Interdipartimentale per lo Studio degli Effetti del Cambiamento Climatico (CIRSEC) and Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra at Università di Pisa Laboratoire Magmas et Volcans at Clermont-Ferrand (LMV) in France and School of Engineering and Physical Sciences (EPS) at the Heriot-Watt University of Edinburgh in UK The study has been conducted in the framework of the project ‘Pianeta Dinamico’ funded by INGV The team of multidisciplinary researchers has collected then critically analyzed the huge scientific production available for this eruption “Our work examines with a wide and multidisciplinary approach different aspects of the 79 d.C referring to the magmatic and eruptive processes of one among the most famous and devastating events occurred in the Neapolitan volcanic area” volcanologist at INGV and coordinator of the study “The work starts by dating the eruption which would have occurred in the autumn and not on 24 August of 79 d.C and continues by analyzing the volcanological data available in proximity of the volcano getting to thousand kilometres distance where traces of the eruption have been found in the form of fine ash” the date of 24th August has been the subject of debate among historians archaeologists and geologists because it is inconsistent with numerous evidences” researcher of the Igag-Cnr and co-author of the article the finds in Pompeii of typically autumnal fruits or the heavy tunics worn by the inhabitants that were badly reconciled with the date of 24-25 August” The definitive proof of the inaccuracy of the date “An inscription in charcoal on the wall of a building in Pompeii which translated quotes 'The sixteenth day before the calends of November indicating that the eruption certainly occurred after 17 October” La data più accreditata è quindi ora quella del 24-25 ottobre The study has been integrated by a quantitative assessment of the impact of single phases of the eruption on those areas “The spirit of our work has been that of understand how a past event can represent a window to the future by opening to new perspectives for the study of similar events that might occur again” volcanologist of INGV and co-author of the research “This study will allow improve the applicability of forecasting models from precursory phenomena to impact in eruptive and depositional processes It will also allow contribute reducing the vulnerability for those areas and infrastructures exposed to volcanic risk not only close to the volcano but also – as the 79 d.C event teaches – at hundred kilometres distance from it” it has become increasingly important to understand the impact of eruptions on climate also to be able to study the origin and impact of some short climatic variations we still do not know a lot - and with the appropriate resolution - of the climatic conditions at the time of the eruption of 79 d.C.” comments Gianni Zanchetta of the University of Pisa and co-author of the research.  “In this work we combined knowledge on regional climatic conditions at the time of the eruption to attempt a first synthesis" comments Monica Bini of the University of Pisa to direct future research on this aspect which still has many dark sides” The results of this study have received the appreciation of a world icon of volcanology like Raymond Cas emeritus at the School of Earth Atmosphere and Environment of the Monash University (Australia) “The 79 AD eruption of Vesuvius volcano is one of the most iconic in the field of physical volcanology” “Observations of the eruption as well as endless studies of the deposits and interpretation of the eruption processes underpin many of the concepts and understanding of explosive eruption processes in modern volcanology A review of what is known about the eruption and its deposits is therefore very important to research volcanologists and justifies a thorough and long review paper The authors are to be congratulated on the extremely comprehensive details extracted from the huge historical record and contemporary scientific literature on this iconic eruption” What: New multidisciplinary study on the Vesuvius eruption 79 eruption of Vesuvius: a lesson from the past and the need of multidisciplinary approaches for developments in volcanology (2021) Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2022.104072 For information: Biagio Giaccio, Cnr-Igag, e-mail: biagio.giaccio@cnr.it; Mauro Antonio Di Vito, Ingv, e-mail: mauro.divito@ingv.it; Giovanni Zanchetta UniPI, e-mail giovanni.zanchetta@unipi.it Ufficio stampa:Gaetano Massimo MacrìCnr Press Officergaetanomassimo.macri@cnr.it Social media policy People are protesting against the construction of a second rubbish dump in the nearly village of Terzigno Rome - The European Commission warned Italy on Saturday it may face sanctions if it doesn't remove the 2 000 tons of trash that have piled up in the streets of Naples in the country's latest garbage crisis burned Italian flags and hurled stones and firecrackers at police to protest the stench and filth at a local dump as well as plans to open a new one in Vesuvio National Park Clashes continued overnight and residents around Naples set fire to heaps of trash The situation was calm by Saturday afternoon European Environment Commissioner Janez Potocnik said the violence between residents and police over where to dump Naples' waste showed that Italy hasn't taken sufficient measures since the last garbage crisis flared in 2007 Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi has promised a swift solution to mess saying the government will take over management of the dump and pledging $20-million in compensation to residents Naples and surrounding areas have suffered garbage crises for years poor management and infiltration by the local mob Berlusconi intervened to help ease an emergency caused when collectors stopped picking up trash because dumps were full and residents were protesting the creation of new ones Potocnik said the latest pileup showed that the government still hadn't taken definitive measures to resolve the garbage problem “The Campania Region still has no waste management plan and the Acerra incinerator is not functioning properly and (is) at full capacity,” Potocnik said in a statement the authorities are neither able to carry out a program to dispose of the old baled waste nor to manage the new daily waste production.” the European Court of Justice found that Italy was in breach of EU rules for having failed to set up sufficient waste disposal infrastructure Potocnik warned sanctions could be next if the EU sends the case back to the Court of Justice Berlusconi's disaster chief and garbage czar give us a hand to find an alternative,” the ANSA news agency quoted Bertolaso as saying Government ministers and politicians blamed the local mafia a former interior minister who heads Parliament's anti-mafia commission said there was a “serious interference” of the Camorra in Naples' garbage collection “We have to create the structural conditions so that the problem is resolved at its roots,” he said Mayors from the Naples region mired in a garbage crisis rejected a compromise offer by Italian authorities yesterday to freeze the opening of a waste dump in exchange for an end to violent protests “We decided not to sign the (compromise) document without additional guarantees that a second dump at Terzigno will not be opened as requested by our people,” the mayor of nearby Boscoreale Hundreds of people had joined more demonstrations late Saturday in Terzigno and overnight several dozen protestors hurled rocks at police who responded with tear gas according to footage broadcast by Sky TG-24 television At least six officers have been injured in the clashes In a bid to calm tensions over the waste crisis Italy’s top security chief Guido Bertolaso late Saturday signed the plan to halt delivery of waste to the tip at Terzigno for three days to allow for an “analysis of health and environmental issues” It also called for the decision on whether to open a second garbage tip to be postponed indefinitely provided the demonstrations stop Mr Bertolaso’s “indefinite freeze” is rejected by demonstrators who want the project to be scrapped altogether Mr Langella spoke on Sunday after meeting with Bertolaso and leaders of the Campania region around Naples Mr Langella said he continued to be open to talks as Terzigno mayor Domenico Auricchio called for calm “I urge people to trust the state and put an end to the violence,” said Mr Auricchio “Violence and vandalism do not serve anybody’s interest.” Gutted refuse lorries and trash bags slit open littered streets in the area yesterday A new meeting between Mr Bertolaso and the mayors in Naples was scheduled for tomorrow Mr Bertolaso said yesterday that the opening of a second tip was no longer on the agenda for the time being “We wanted to delay the opening till December 2011 but the mayors thought that this was not enough so we agreed on an indefinite freeze,” he said The protestors’ blockade of Terzigno’s existing dump has caused 2,400 tonnes of rubbish to pile up in the streets of Naples would be 800 metres from the edge of Terzigno in the Vesuvius National Park some 135 square kilometres of outstanding natural beauty in the Bay of Naples The protected area of rare wildlife and plants includes Mount Vesuvius best known for its volcanic eruption in 79 AD that destroyed the ancient Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum The long-running waste issue has been blamed on a lack of local incinerators and landfill sites controlled by the local Mafia some of which were used for the illegal dumping of toxic waste European Environment Commissioner Janez Potocnik said Saturday Italy faced legal action by the European Union and massive fines for failing to improve waste management around Naples please register for free or log in to your account A police car set on fire by demonstrators after clashes with riot police in Terzigno Naples’ latest garbage emergency turned nastier after demonstrators blocked the access to the Terzigno dump the transport company that deals with the Circumvesuviana has communicated a new stop on the line to Sarno This time it is between Terzigno and Poggiomarino that is involved After i numerous stops always along the same lines as in recent weeks the question is now peremptory: what is happening on the Vesuvian line of Sarno away poggiomarino the route between Terzigno and Poggiomarino is stopped therefore all trips will stop between these two stations but lately on the line to Poggiomarino there is one new product every week Passengers departing from Naples will see their journey stop at Terzigno while for those leaving from Sarno the story repeats itself but in reverse: the train will stop at poggiomarino A change of plan that was certainly not on anyone's itinerary Keep an eye on them notifications and official announcements At the moment it is not clear whether there will be a replacement service on the suspended route we earn a commission from qualifying purchases through ticketing links This commission does not entail any additional price for the user.