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Something Smells Fishy in Napoli

Is Italy trying to compete with Austria for the next season of "Locked up Abroad," or is kidnapping family members a freaky new European pastime? Either way, the latest news out of Naples makes our skin crawl.

On Sunday it was revealed that a 47-year-old Italian woman, Maria Monaco, was held captive for 18 years in a filthy bedroom outside the southern city. As of late, filth and strange smells have become synonymous with Naples, but one neighbor reported an unusually strong stench near a room in the rural family home. That's where the carabinieri found the victim.

Monaco's relatives reportedly stashed her in the basement in 1990 after she became pregnant with an illegitimate son. Unsurprisingly, she's now being hospitalized for a psychiatric condition and her family, including the 80-year-old granny, are all under investigation.

Related Stories:
· Woman Freed After Being Locked up for 18 Years [AP, via Google]
· Crime coverage [Jaunted]
· Italy Travel coverage [Jaunted]