Weird administration. We purchased our ticket to enter the park and as we proceeded to through the turnstile we were accosted by a rotund woman who told me that we can’t enter the park with the tripod. If I would have been told before I purchased the ticket I guess I would have thought twice about entering or taking the tripod, but seeing that she waited until after I purchased the tickets, leaning against a railing opposite the ticket office, smacked of bloody mindedness. After a too and fro we proceeded with the tripod to the site, my thought was that everything was alright from now on. I was wrong after an extensive walk to the other part of the park I could hear somebody shouting. I thought it was the normal way in Italy to communicate with somebody, but then I realized it was directed at me. It was a Carabinieri, who was annoyed that I didn’t do homage to him, was trying physically to remove my tripod from my possession. I didn’t allow this to happen, so I was arrested. The Carabinieri didn’t speak English and I don’t speak Italian. I was then ordered to follow him to a two story building where I met a group of his superiors. It was explained to me that as I have a tripod and this classified me as an professional and I need a special permit to take photos. I asked if you can get a permit which says that I’m an amateur and looking at my photos I’m definitely no professional. After a stunt silence I was told in no uncertain terms, NO! I protested and then was told by the head honcho of the group of fearless Crime Prevention Officers, who have just collard a major tripod criminal, that I have to talk to somebody on the phone whose English was better. To cut a long story (it went on for 1 hour) I was given the freedom to take photos under the proviso that I don’t use the tripod. I was assigned the original Carabinieri to keep a watchful eye over me; I felt extremely save now. The end of the story is that the Carabinieri confided in me that at 2 PM his shift finishes and that he will not be able to accompany me any further, as he must be home in 15 minutes time, but that another Carabinieri will come to look after me. This never eventuated. We finally left the park through a large gate at the side of the car park, unattended, which means we could have driven around the park, without having to and would not have encountered the motley variety of miscreants. I guess I need to explain the reason for having the tripod is, that your hands are not as steady as they used to be if you are 70.