I just heard from a friend that knows I am heading to Italy. The wall St. newspaper she said, had a write up about Italy having no place to put their trash and it is piling up all over Italy.Anyone that has just returned did you see this? I am sure someone would have mentioned it.

Just got back 3 days ago and saw no trash pileups. We were in Tuscany and Piedmont regions.

Naples had a terrible problem earlier this year. Haven't seen anything about it recently, so it's probably been taken care of.

No excessive trash seen in Milano, Roma, or around Lago Di Como...the only thing that I saw "piling up" were other touristas...

Are you talking about refuse in general or Eurotrash? I understand the former Italian royal family recently visited Italy for the first time since their exile. Perhaps that is what your friend was reading about?

do you really think that one whole country could be covered with trash..?There is no more trash right now than at the side of the streets in N.Y. and it stinks less than around Broadway in N.Y.! There has been a strike in Naples earlier this year though, but the situation is alright now.

I go to Italy every year, admittedly to the Northern Lakes. I have never been to Southern Italy I have always been very impressed by the cleanliness and lack of litter there and by the way that you can see shopkeepers cleaning their windows and the pavement round their shops every morning. I have just returned and the standards were as high as ever.

Oh Jumbo...thanks for the laugh!!! I haven't noticed any garbage problems but there is Eurotrash all over the continent!

The pile-ups happen in Naples when "good families" have disagreements. The good families run the trash system. This does not apply to some other big cities, i.e. Florence. When we were in Naples approx. May 22 the garbage hadn't been picked up for about 2 weeks and was piled high. Florence has garbage pick up 3X per day.

What about the graffiti? Is there more than in '96. I found it to be unbeleivable in Germany compared to the beautiful country I used to know.

Only a week ago I saw Eurotrash anarchy symbols on a rural bridge in the midwest where I live.

Just returned from Milan and Lake Como. No trash pileups, but graffiti on just about every surface in Milan. What is with that?? Office buildings, Hotels, Shops....everywhere. It certainly left an impression!

Jor, like Dkw said the graffiti was everywhere. With all the current events I was disheartened by a few very nasty anti american spraypaintings but you have to consider the source... one that vandalizes property cannnot be the sharpest tool in the shed. Again, you could tell a big difference in Italy where families run things. No spraypaint, gypsies and such. This was May 10-23.

I will settle for the graffiti instead of the "families". No "families" here. just families.

Agreed. There's nothing glamorous about them, just violent cruel people unfortunately. When we were in Sorrento a shop owner told us to "please keep our receipt in case a policeman asks" - what a terrible way to have to live.