When I wrote the notes for this prompt, I was in Sorrento and unfortunately a bit sick again.

I heard a variety of languages around me – Italian, German, what I thought was French, from the tourists. I heard very little sounds of nature. I was so high up that I couldn’t hear the ocean, and I wasn’t able to hear or see any seagulls. I was feeling a bit disconnected and foggy from being ill, but also feeling happy because the surroundings were so beautiful, and the sun was on my face (it had been cloudy in Bologna).

Around the sounds of people, I felt the sun on my face, cold breeze from being up high on a cliff viewpoint, the warm curb under, and the taste of the lemon dessert I’d just bought.

The natural setting I was in had long been altered by people. As well as being important to Etruscan trade, and was then ruled by the Roman Republic. The Lombard ruled it, and then the Ottomans arrived briefly. Today, it’s a huge tourist destination, and sits right outside of Napoli. You can see the Mt. Vesuvius looming across the bay. It’s been so altered by humans it’s hard to imagine what it looked like originally, but sometimes looking at the pockets of brush you can picture it.

There were many more green spots in Sorrento than in Bologna. Even in the viewpoint, I was surrounded by palms, and grass, and trees planted for shade. There were still similar green practices (raccolta differenziata), but the car dependence was still noticeable. It relates to the ingrained practice of sustainability in Italian culture, but the need for increased incentives to move away from private transport (cars) and the need for infrastructure, especially in the southern part of Italy.