Tropea, the most beautiful village in Italy
The mayor of Tropea told us the secret of picking up trash.

Tropea, a city in southern Italy where I serve as mayor, is a small city with a population of about 6,300, but it is a popular destination for tourists every year. So, depending on the season, the city can be littered with a lot of trash. For example, Italians often chew chewing gum, and despite the presence of trash cans, many people spit it out on the street. In response to this situation, I pick up trash in the city every Saturday and Sunday. In the beginning, I took the initiative to pick up trash and go plogging with my wife, and we posted pictures on social networking sites every time we went out. The number of participants increased and now many volunteers are following my back to pick up trash like Forrest Gump. So when I was asked about holding ” SPOGOMI” for the first time, I immediately said yes (laugh). I think it’s just what we’ve been looking for, and it’s a really great experiment.

For example, in response to the incessant littering of cigarettes, we are handing out free portable ashtrays with a beautiful picture of Tropea to visitors so that they can properly dispose of their cigarette butts. As the theory goes, a broken window is a sign of disorder in a town, so we are always making various efforts to keep the town clean, such as pulling out weeds as well as litter from the streets. In Italy, the rules for industrial waste are strictly enforced for companies, but the rules for household and other types of waste are still very loose. There is also a noticeable lack of citizen awareness about the rules. That is why I have to be the one everyone kept an eye on and set an example for people from Tropea. In order to teach tourists good manners, it is necessary for us, the residents, to change first.

Despite being in a big city with so many people living in it, I was really surprised at how clean every nook and cranny was. The day before yesterday, I went to Kagawa Prefecture to pay a courtesy call to the governor, and I found that even the provincial towns are really beautiful. I think this is the result of Japanese education. I heard that there is a culture in Japanese elementary schools where students clean their own classrooms. I would definitely like to incorporate this into Tropea’s schools.

It is often said that the south of Italy is poorer and less civilized than the north, but I would like to say that Tropea is different. From a marketing point of view, I think there are still very few municipalities that realize that it is advantageous to clean up the city. By the way, a lot of the marine litter that washes up on Tropea’s beaches is of Sicilian origin. I would like to convey to other cities through ” SPOGOMI” that being poor has absolutely nothing to do with keeping the city clean.

First of all, love your city. As you can see from the soccer fans, many Italians are proud of their birthplace. Everyone knows that if their city is dirty, it will be detrimental to your physical and mental health. If each and every one of us picked up the trash around us, the world would be a better place. Everyone would smile. Let’s work together to create a culture where people pick up trash when they see it, instead of ignoring it. I will participate in the Italian competition as mayor, and I will make sure we win!