Why is Italy so dirty and why don't they have bike lanes on the sides of the roads because 90% of people ride

Question

bikes.

Answer 1

You have to remember that most Italian city centers are historical legacies from hundreds of years ago. There were no cars  back then so the roads are small and buildings are huddled together in close proximity. There was also little need for a garbage disposal system (consumerism and excessive packaging are relatively new phenomenons) as most waste was organic, easily flushed out into drains.

Today the world is a different place yet these historical places are protected by the government. It's almost impossible to carry out structural and facade changes to these buildings and roads, so instead of having an insulated refuse room in every building, Italian cities are littered with massive garbage bins at every street corner. It's disgusting but almost nothing could be done thanks to its extremely bureaucratic government system. Lets not even talk about special lanes for bikes.

Answer 2

What part of Italy do you live in? Do you mean people ride scooters or bicycles? I live in Rome and it is very clean for the capital but no one rides push bikes...I have lived in Sicily last year and same goes there....and Calabria where I was the start of the year. No more dirty then other highly populated places.

Answer 3

Please don’t generalise. It all depends on where you are living. In general, taking a European or a US standard,  Italy is not dirty, but there are some hot spots and certain parts are dirtier than most (I shall resist saying which, in order to avoid local insults).

The problem lies in the lack of a social conscience in these places, where the average citizen is an extreme individualist and does not really appreciate the beauty that surrounds him. It’s nothing to do with “race or ethnics”, but “habits”; just to give you a comparative example, take Naples (disorderly at best) and Capri or the Amalfi coast (clean and orderly). Both inhabited by the same stock of people, two worlds.

As far as bicycle tracks or lanes are concerned, you should see all the small towns in the Emilia-Romagna Region (or the nearby Veneto). In Ferrara, a Mediaeval jem, where a branch of my family comes from, there are not only bike tracks all over, but even “Ciclogarage”, where you can leave your bicycle for any length of time or rent a bike to cycle around. In fact the City Centre is closed to cars, but not to bikes. When I lived in Ferrara I always moved around with my bike, like 90% of the population, I can assure you it is one of the cleanest cities in the World, and as an Airliner and Aviation man, I've really seen it all. A matter of “culture”.

ps the "Ferrara" model, if I may be allowed to use my pet name (but lots have the same model), is gradually being extended all over. All you have to do is ban cars from the centre, use bikes or little public electric trolleys and hey presto, you have a clean, humane environment. Easy. But it's a  "cultural leap".

Answer 4

Naples (in this moment very dirty in some outskirts) is not the most representative city of Italy so don't extend what you hear from tv and newspapers to all Italy

regarding to bike lanes... it depends on which city you are talking about. Now even in little villages there are lane bikes.

Get better information

I live in Italy and i know what i say.

bye

Answer 5

Se non ti piace l' Italia, puoi anche smammare, nessuno ti trattiene.

Answer 6

italy is old people didn't have cars they walked so they made road smaller