Spaghetti Western LbNA #27558 (ARCHIVED)

SPAGHETTI WESTERN is a nickname for a broad sub-genre of Western film that emerged in the mid-1960’s, so named because most of them were produced by Italian studios. Originally they had in common the Italian language, low budgets, and a recognizable highly fluid, violent, minimalist cinematography that eschewed (some said "demythologized") many of the conventions of earlier Westerns—partly intentionally, partly as a result of the work being done in a different cultural background and with limited funds. The term was originally used disparagingly, but by the 1980s many of these films came to be held in high regard, particularly because it was hard to ignore the influence they had in redefining the entire idea of a western up to that point. The best-known and perhaps archetypal spaghetti Westerns were the so-called “Man With No Name” trilogy directed by Sergio Leone, starring the American TV actor Clint Eastwood and with musical scores composed by Ennio Morricone (all of whom are now synonymous with the genre): A Fistful of Dollars (1964), For a Few Dollars More (1965), and The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (1966). The last is one of the most famed Westerns of all time. Atypically for the genre, it had a relatively high budget in excess of one million USD. Many of the films were shot in the Spanish desert region of Almeria, which greatly resembles the landscape of the American West. (A few were shot on Sardinia.) Because of the desert setting and the readily available southern Spanish extras, a usual theme in Spaghetti Westerns is the Mexican Revolution, Mexican bandits and the border zone between Mexico and the U. S.

DIRECTIONS: The only reason this letterbox is placed in Pompeii is that Pompeii is in Italy, the home of the Spaghetti Western, and I was there looking for a place to plant my letterbox. If you are in Italy and want to find this box, first you must go to Pompeii. It is located on the western side of Italy, just south of Naples. Go in, park, and pay the 11 euro entry fee. I suggest you pay the 5 euro for an audio aid and learn about this fascinating place. Whatever you do, don’t hire a personal guide. With the audio device, you will be given a map. The letterbox is hidden outside the city gate in an area designated as a place of burial. Pay this area the same respect you would pay to a cemetery in the United States. The tombs are 2,000 years old.

TO THE BOX: Find location 63 on the map. This is Porta Nocera, or The Gate of the Dead, and it leads from the walled city into the burial place where many tombs dating from the first century AD still stand. From this point, go to the intersection marked with the number 62. After turning left, look for a large cylindrical bulding, or mausoleum on the right, behind a stone wall. Stand in front of it and read the inscription on a white stone plaque: VEIN F BARCHILLA SIBI ET NACRESTINO EQVITIO PVLCHRO VIRO SVO. Go up the steps on your left and enter an opening through the wall. Go to the left around the cylinder until you see where the back wall meets the cylinder. Look for the box hidden under a rock in that space.