Following a wave of Italian and international protests, the national government has at least temporarily blocked the local decision to use an abandoned quarry at Corcolle, on the doorstep of the fabulous villa of the Emperor Hadrian, as a dump for Roman rubbish. The decision to place a gigantic garbage dump only 1.5 miles from one of Italy's greatest archaeological treasures - and Hadrian's Villa was designated as a UNESCO heritage site in 1999 - was based on necessity; an older rubbish fill at Malagrotta can contain no more.