Peter Popham, in Prospect, shares his disgust at the dumps Italy has let Pompeii and Herculaneum become.
Both sites are located in areas notorious for organised crime, with rackets run by the Camorra, the Naples mafia, within spitting distance of the front gates. The port of Ercolano, the suburb of Naples in which Herculaneum sits, is said to be a focal point for the Camorra-run drugs trade. Up until the 19th century, Ercolano was a seaside resort for grandees, but today the old villas are hemmed in by squalor. Gang shootings are common on the streets.
UD is grateful that she and her mother (who studied with Wilhelmina Jashemski, an expert on Pompeii’s gardens) visited Pompeii thirty years ago, before it became derelict.
UD‘s been archaeologically lucky. When she was a kid, she visited the original Lascaux Caves. Later that year, they were permanently closed to the public. (Cool website here.)
May 27th, 2010 at 4:42PM
I remember visiting both sites ten years ago and not being able to see Herculaneum in the morning because the Camorra had incited a half-day security guard strike. We wandered Ercolano’s mean streets instead, looking for deals on footwear and sunglasses. I remember reading newspapers from the area and being struck by the high rate of suicide among politicians and businessmen.