Dog poop depositories – a sign of things to come?

Fifty-three weeks since I was last on this old frontier line between Austria and Italy. Fort Mitterberg was constructed in the 1870s to defend Austria’s southern Alpine frontier. By 1915, when the conflict eventually erupted, it was already an anachronism and swiftly forsaken for electrified fencing and mine fields.

Mitterberg Fort

Since I was here a year ago and wrote a blog about it, the fort has been re-roofed and is resplendent in the bright March mountain sunshine. Little else has changed. Then, I notice a new feature – a cream box (prominently signed Dogtoilet) for disposing of dog poop. A metropolitan norm in North America and much of north-west Europe, I am surprised to see it in Italy. Of course, Italians, who have unalloyed passion for the Alto Adige, would say this was not Italy – it is just a frontier territory.

Still, the new concept - managing your dog - has invaded Italy…. How long before it reaches Rome?

a dog poop depository