Finally the light came on on the seventeenth-century door of Port’Alba. The administration of Palazzo San Giacomo is giving a concrete follow-up to the promises made for the restoration of the monumental arch at the intersection of the square Dante and the way of books: we are moving from words to facts. Or rather, to resources.
In recent days, the Municipality has in fact allocated 200 thousand euros for the renovation of the door. 8 months have passed since Il Mattino started a press campaign for the redevelopment of the city’s culture street. Since then, several things have changed Port’Alba. And for the better. Starting from the establishment of the Cultural Association of the area chaired by Alfredo Mazzei, which has now reached 110 membersand which has signed a framework agreement with Conservatory and Academy of Fine Arts.
But the crucial issue remains that of the arch, which for about 10 years – due to a dispute between the Municipality and private individuals over maintenance responsibilities – has been harnessed by containment nets installed, over time, after falling rubble. Well, precisely on this point a decisive turning point has arrived: a substantial allocation, with the works that will start “soon – they assure from the Municipality – certainly by autumn”. Another story that is stirring in the area concerns the first renovation works on the former bookshop Tullio Pironti.
The pressing
Before delving into the next steps, which will lead to the dismantling of the protection networks from the monument after about 10 years, let’s review the story. Let’s go back to the beginning of last November: it was then that, in step with the appeal of the booksellers, Il Mattino began a daily press campaign for the restoration of the arch, involving intellectuals and experts (from Marta Herling to Peppe Barra, from Nicola Augenti to Roberto Esposito, from Maurizio de Giovanni to Valeria Parrella), to raise public awareness of the need to regenerate the street of books and restore a monument which, according to the numbers of visitors, is among the most seen in the city.
It was in that context that – precisely in January 2024 – the aforementioned Association for Port’Alba was also born, whose establishment led to resolving the other age-old problem of tax relief for the organization of cultural events. As evidence of this, there are the numerous book presentations which, in the last quarter, have revived the street frequented by Eco, Kerouac, Croce and other heavyweights of world literature.
Concertsliterary discussions, cultural awareness initiatives. Port’Alba, in the heart of Naples, is also in the hearts of Neapolitans, as demonstrated by the participation in our press campaign.” It was in this spirit that, during the collective mobilization following our articles, the first event to relaunch the path of culture was organized on 18 November 2023: the White Night of books. That was the occasion when the mayor Gaetano Manfredi, having arrived among the historic volume stalls, promised that «by November 2024 the arch would be rearranged». Even Gennaro Sangiuliano’s Ministry of Culture immediately showed itself to be sensitive to the relaunch of the Via dei Libri in the heart of Naples: the Superintendence, not surprisingly, allocated a sum of around 150 thousand euros for the works concerning the façade of the arch.
The procedure
But the question of dismantling the containment networks that disfigure the door built by the viceroy Antonio de Toledo concerns the interior of the vault, and not the facade of the monument. In this sense, to make the operations more complex, the thorny issue linked to the dispute between the owners of the hanging garden that stands above the monumental door came into play (the building to which the terrace belongs is the one in which Santa Caterina was born Volpicelli) and the Common. The question of responsibility for maintenance – and therefore for infiltrations – had ended up in court for several years.
And it is precisely on this issue that the turning point came: «The Municipality – they explain from the mayor’s offices – intends to adopt an administrative solution that allows intervention on a private building. The methods are being evaluated, but the intervention will be financed with 200 thousand euros.” Naturally, to avoid legal problems, the procedure is being studied by the lawyers Palazzo San Giacomo. Certainly, “work will have begun by autumn.”
The atmosphere
We are talking about one of the most visible monuments in the city. Tourists and Neapolitans continually crowd Port’Alba, the connecting road between the square Dante and the Decumani. Here, as is known, are also the vacant premises of the former Pironti bookshop, which – we wrote about it on these pages in recent months – had received the attention of a nearby bar. In recent days, workers have been seen at work in the shop of the late Tullio, the former Neapolitan boxer-publisher.
The rooms have been cleared and cleaned and the materials for a possible wall that divides the room in two are being prepared. This is one sign among many of the fact that the atmosphere of Port’Alba, in recent months, is in transformation. The other sign is, as we have written, the establishment of the Association, a choice which is leading Port’Alba towards the model San Gregorio Armeno, the shepherds’ road protected by the Superintendency.
«We are working hard and the results are visible – explains Monica Amodio, of the bookshop of the same name and secretary of the Port’Alba Cultural Association – We are realizing a dream thanks to our passion and thanks to the passion of the citizens and writers who want to protect the identity of this place. People are participating en masse in our events, often organized in partnership with the Academy of Fine Arts and the Conservatory of San Pietro a Majella, entities with which we have closed a framework agreement. Thanks to the approximately 15 events held since the end of April, thousands of readers and people who want to breathe culture have returned to Port’Alba. We started with 17, now we have over 110 members.”
It would be the crowning achievement of the redevelopment. Many things have evolved in recent months, including the issue of tax relief: “As a third sector association – continues Amodio – we now enjoy a reduction in the tariff for land occupation, things have improved”.
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