We returned to the beach of the way Augustine in Torre del Greco, which exactly one year ago had been affected by a beach cleaning project in which the then newly elected mayor Luigi Mennella had personally participated.
Via Agostinella, lounge chairs and tables on the beach
It had been one of Mennella’s first cleaning interventions as mayor: the Agostinella beachin the San Giuseppe alle Paludi area, one of the few free descents in the center of Torre del Greco, if we exclude the equally sparse descents on Via Litoranea.
The mayor intervened personally, dragging with him a part of the then newly formed municipal administration, in support of the activity of cleanup of AEC volunteers. Armed with shovels, bags and gloves, large quantities of waste were removed, as well as mattresses and even the skeleton of a car.
An intervention then also influenced by the protests from regular users of the beach: families of the district who taxed themselves to be able to enjoy that patch of sand between the rocks, to which we at VesuvioLive.it had given voice.
The situation one year later
A year later, things have (almost) not changed at all. The descent, built in an underpass of the railway line, it is not made safe in any way: without handrails, with slippery and dilapidated steps, on which waste accumulates, washed away by the rain but also that brought by uncivilized citizens.
Overall, the situation still appears better than it was a year ago, when degradation was the clear result of years of accumulation and neglect: today, after the in-depth intervention last June, it is the result of “just” one winter to create a situation that is still somewhat tolerable, but which without the necessary maintenance is starting to quickly return towards disaster. Also due to the increasingly frequent torrential rains, and not only in the winter period.
Mattresses and bottles, but also forms of art
But it is not only atmospheric agents that ruin the Agostinella beach: they are present the “usual” mattressessome abandoned, some apparently used as a bed by some unfortunate person. Beer bottlesrecently abandoned cigarette packs: a sign of an all too human passage that did not bother to remove what was used for one’s relaxation.
Human passage means though also art forms: a book abandoned in a hurry, a selection of pebbles and pieces of marble, some engravings by budding artists and attempts at painting by those who have been inspired by the increasingly rare peace and tranquility that this corner of Torre manages to convey.
Agostinella beach, time stands still (for better or for worse)
In this scenario, the locals continue to “self-manage” the beach: the families who frequent the Agostinella independently take care of the summary cleaning of the beach. This creates a friendly and “safe” environment for children too. The sea, thanks to the rocks, appears clear and calm, at least at the time of our inspection: a small beach, beyond everything, quiet and familiar.
So familiar that people have chosen to “furnish” the beach with chairs and tables brought directly from home, leaving them on site to make less effort. Everything is “protected” by chains and padlocks, to prevent anyone from thinking of stealing.
A partial glance surreal, but it brings to mind images from decades ago: when the beach was a moment of meeting and conviviality for everyone to experience freely. Above all, an example of how the art of making do in our area meets the needs of individuals, sometimes without too much detriment to the community.
