 main index © Jeff Matthews 2002-2012 Naples Miscellany 30 (start mid-March 2010)  * (Mar
10) I did say I was getting tired of reading optimistic reports
about the future of Bagnoli, but this one looks good.
For the first time in a century, the town of Bagnoli
is no longer totally separated from the sea by the
steel-mill and cement factory. Those were torn down
some years ago, but now even the physical wall,
although only 50 yards of it—slab after slab of
towering grime along via Nuova Bagnoli—has been breached
as work continues on the silvery space-ship-looking
Portal to the park (photo, right), a large square that
should be finished soon. To be a wet blanket about it,
50 yeards is nothing. I have just driven around the
entire old steel-mill premises and there are still
miles of wall to go. The area is still a dreary
wasteland of post-industrialism. I have no
predictions. I read of the park, the sports fields and
fountains, the gym and the museum of Industrial
Archaeology, etc. They say 2013. In terms of local
construction and track record for these projects, that
is right around the corner. (photo credit: NewFotoSud) (See items for Mar 13 & 30,
below, and this update.)* (Mar 11) Mauro Dimitri, head of the World Federation of Urology, has announced the creation of the "super-tomato," officially called the "Maxantia" (pending registration of the name). It is the work of the Biomolecular Institute at the Naples National Research Center. The announcement stresses that the Manxtia is not a genetically modified product, but rather a blend of two existing varieties: the San Marzano, well-known for its anti-inflammatory properties, and the Black Tomato, a purple fruit high in anti-oxidants. According to Dmitri, the Maxantia "...has nutritional characteristics ideally suited for preventing disease...[and has]...anti-oxidant activity superior to all other tomato hybrids...[making it]...suitable for defending against prostate cancer and reducing the risks of many other diseases in which oxidative stress and...free radicals play a role. These include cardiovascular disease, arthritis, Parkinson's Disease and osteoporosis..." Campania regional authorities are now encouraging local pizza makers to use the Maxantia as an alternative to regular tomatoes.  *
The International Continental Scientific Drilling
Program (ICDP) has announced a plan to begin exploring
the waters off the Campi Flegrei in the bay of Naples
starting in April-May. From ICDP literature:Drilling will employ the most modern drilling equipment, the Innovarig (photo), designed by GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences in Potsdam, Germany and built by Herrenknecht Vertical and H. Angers’ Sons. The first work will be off the premises of the old steel mill in Bagnoli and will bore down to 500 meters. Later exploration will branch out onto the center of the Gulf of Pozzuoli and reach a depth of 4 km.  *
(Mar 13) Displays of "industrial archaeology" exist
all over the western world, converted "rust belts,"
now museums where we revisit the pre-plastic age when
we mined minerals and made steel. In Sardinia, for
example, there is the “Geo-mining Historical and
Environmental Park” to "...recover and maintain the
entire set of mining infrastructures for
environmental, scientific, educational, cultural and
tourist purposes." (See this link.) In Naples, a
similar project is underway with the steel industry on
the premises of what used to be the Italsider steel
mill in Bagnoli (see item at the top of this page)
[The area under discussion is in blue in this image.]
It was an industrial plant that for a century was as
solid in the west as Vesuvius was in the east; they
were both big and belched smoke and, at least in human
terms, Italsider, too, seemed anchored in the earth
and there to stay. The archives of the former Ilva
steel mill (later called Italsider) are now hosting an
exhibit entitled La
memoria d'acciaio [Remembering Steel] on the
premises of the ex-mill. It is a photographic and
industrial artifact museum, plus documentation that
contains a few surprises, such as the one that has
astounded everyone: When the original decision was
made (at the turn of the 19th-to-20th century to build
a steel mill in Naples, it was planned for the eastern part of
town, in what was already the center of early
industry. They changed the plan and put it in the
west, thus defacing (ah, the perfect vision of
hindsight!) the Bay of Pozzuoli, what was once one of
the most scenic bays on the planet. (back
^)* (Mar 17) The Italian Merchant Marine Academy opened in November of 2005 in Genoa. Before that time, many of the officers aboard Italian merchant vessels had received training elsewhere or, themselves, were foreigners. It does seem fitting that Genoa, the birthplace of Columbus, should have been chosen to fill this enormous gap in Italian maritime activity. Now, the Academy has opened a second campus in Torre del Greco, a suburb of Naples, an area that handles 40% of Italian merchant shipping. The academy is free to students, and the new facility near Naples seemed perfect since the area has always had a strong tradition of young men "shipping out." Strange thing, however—of the 20 students who will start courses in Torre del Greco in the autumn, none comes from Naples or, indeed, anywhere in the Campania region. Most are from Sicily, with a few from Puglia, Tuscany, Sardinia, and even Liguria (the regional capital of which is Genoa). But none from Naples.  *
(Mar 20) "Waiter,
we’ve been waiting for 2,000 years! Is our table
ready, yet?" Yes, finally! Vetutius Placidus’
thermopolium in Pompeii has been totally restored and
will open tomorrow for a sneak preview for the 300
lucky persons who got their email reservations in the
other day when the announcement was made. In
ancient Rome, a thermopolium
(from thermo=heat)
was a restaurant, probably more like a fast-food
place, a commercial establishment where you could buy
hot food, either to eat on the premises or take with
you. Typically, they had a small room with a masonry
counter in front for the food. Some would have
decorative frescoes or shrines to Mercury and
Dionysus, the gods of commerce and wine, respectively.
As far as I can tell, you won’t get anything to eat at
Placidus' grand reopening except for a small sweet
pastry “inspired by ancient Roman cuisine." The
establishment will re-reopen with expanded hours and,
so they say, other menu items in a few weeks. [See related item on Roman
fast-food.] (photo: Daniele Florio)* (Mar 23) “Agricultural archaeology” is a relatively new term—at least to me. It means the study of crops that have been typical of an area through the ages in order (1) to better understand the history and culture of the area, and (2) to help sustain biodiversity. In the local area, for example, it is of interest to us to know what the Romans of Pompeii ate. In some cases, they ate the same things that modern residents of the area eat—the lunga di Sarno, for example, a hazel nut characteristic of the areas around Vesuvius for at least 2,000 years; also, Cato and Columella both spoke of the cabbages and onions of Pompeii. A convention has just been signed in the presence of the president of the Campania region, Bassolino, and the regional clerk for agriculture, that will protect the lunga di Sarno as well as other species of agricultural crops typical of the area. “Protect,” here, includes encouraging local farmers not to desert traditional crops. * (Mar 23) Susana, Lady Walton, passed away on March 21, 2010, aged 83, at La Mortella, the garden paradise she created on the island of Ischia many years ago. She created, as she said, "a garden for an artist," and then, later, through the creation of the William Walton Foundation, dedicated the premises to the memory and music of her husband, William Walton. Lady Walton was energetic and gracious and will be remembered fondly by all who ever came in contact with her. Her ashes will rest near those of her husband in the Upper Garden, the highest point of La Mortella. Rest in peace. * (Mar 30) Bizarre &/or Brief:  —The
youngest grandmother in Europe is a Neapolitan. She is
29 years old.—Someone in the papers is concerned about the weed garden growing on the roof of the Royal Palace. Seeds blow in and take root and every year at this time the RP starts looking like some sort of Gaelic thatched house. —In Bagnoli, money has finally been appropriated to convert whatever that ex-steel mill building was (photo, right) into the long-awaited Industrial Museum; also, there is money for an aquarium. —Rain water is leaking into the famous Catacombs of San Gennaro, putting a number of precious paleo-Christian art works at risk. |