Campsites,Italy # 5of13

Campsite La Dune, in the “heel” of Italy, has room for 2,300 RVs, trailers, and tents, with dozens of small rooms and many permanently parked small trailers for rent. There were several stores, a large restaurant, and a supermarket larger than the markets in many small towns. They were spending 1,700,000,000 Lira, to revitalize La Dune. A lot of renovation was under way, including re-paving of all the streets. Campsite La Dune at Terme d. Torre is a huge vacation city.

There are several enormous campsites near Punta Sabbioni, just north of Venice. The Union Lido campsite had thousands of trees planted in rows, with campsites in the resulting squares. Along with spots for many hundreds of trailers and RVs, additional hundreds of people were in tents, little huts that were for rent, and a motel. The campground included a Post Office, telephone office, ambulance, restaurants, an ice cream plant, and grocery stores. It was started by some German motorcyclists many years ago, but it seems too much like an Army Camp to suit us. They check ID’s as we go in and out, they have siesta time when no auto can move, or even be started, and they woke us each morning with announcements broadcast over the PA system.

As we checked into the campsite at Capo S. Maria di Leuca, the exact tip of the “heel” of Italy, an old black and white “Bowery Boys/Dead End Kids” comedy movie, was playing on the TV. The owners of this campground, for 20 years, said we were the first Americans, ever, to stay at their place.

The campsite in Campora S Giovanni was located behind a huge gasoline station, and next to a very pleasant building that housed a motel and restaurant, neither of which were yet open for the summer season. As we prepared our dinner, three young women arrived at a nearby trailer, cleaned up the patio and prepared dinner. Three men arrived, shook hands and introduced themselves to the ladies. Dinner was served on the patio and a quiet party was underway. The next morning the trailer was closed, there was no sign of the party participants.

In 1970, as we left Rome I had the idea of stopping in Florence to buy the ring Emmy was so nuts about. We arrived near Florence and spent the night in an Autostrada rest stop. Sometime during the night we heard a big truck driving very fast, then a thud, then nothing. We listened a little longer and heard nothing more. As we were leaving the rest stop about 7:15 AM, we saw a big truck right in the ditch near the entrance—that accounts for the thud we heard. We had slept three in the bed in the VW Van, one in the roof bunk. Emmy said, “Hey, it’s too crowded,” but she loved the ring.