It's a beach town, with a small harbor.
Our realtor Rhode Island, who also lives in this neighborhood, lovingly calls it "Beirut".
From some angles, I see her point.
The concrete walls and buildings are barely hanging in there.
And yet, there are definitely signs of life dwelling within...
Every house is surrounded by high walls.
Most of them with some kind of protective fencing at the top.
Apparently the US Support Site, now positioned twenty minutes down the road near Aversa, used to reside here.
You can see some of the old housing buildings in the background here, residing right across the street from the beach.
When the Americans left town, apparently so did the businesses,
and the buildings were left disheveled.
There is odd beauty in the dilapidated state of things...
The small harbor definitely has its charms...
In Italy, the beaches are full of private clubs.
Umbrellas and chairs are rented at the club, and there is generally a cafe or restaurant on site. Not much different than what we experienced in Cabo, really. Minus the jet skis on the beach, and the margaritas, I suppose...
Mid August, when we walked down to the beach to check it out. It was a madhouse.
Today, less than two weeks later, the beach has completely cleared out.
Lovely.
You have heard of the Camorra, yes?
When I watched the movie Gomorrah with the Major a few years ago, I had no idea that I would be living in its shadow someday.
Gamorrah Movie Trailer
I remind myself that I have lived in Washington DC, Baltimore, and New York City - some of the most crime-ridden cities in the world...
It's a rainy day here... and Google isn't helping to disperse the clouds - what with the instant delivery of local mafia stories.
Time to make some coffee. And we're all out.
So I'll just go see what I can find of interest at the local market... shake off the rain... and perhaps a gelato.
