A rain of stones on the dinner tables, in the most famous and central location of Neapolitan catering. The tragedy was very close, the other evening, in via Parthenope. The lower part of a balcony on the second floor of the building that stands above the well-known restaurant and Stella pizzeria it crumbled and a multitude of heavy boulders collapsed into the open space of the public establishment.
“We are still in shock – sighs the owner Stella Cappabianca – The only thing I can tell you is that I’m glad no one got hurt. It really could have ended in tragedy.” They are large stones, those seen in the video released yesterday morning on social media, a few hours after the accident. The article you are reading, as you may have guessed, could have been very different.
Fortunately, and by a hair’s breadth, things went differently. We are talking about an event that also shines a light on the maintenance of buildings along the seafront, the epicenter of clubs and tourism. The green containment nets placed to protect the balconies, between via Nazario Sauro, via Caracciolo, via Partenope and surroundings, they are quite numerous. «There is saltiness here – continues Cappabianca – constant maintenance would be needed».
The breakdown
As explained by the restaurant on the most famous street on the seafront, the accident occurred around 11pm on Saturday night. «There were about 150 people in the restaurantbut fortunately fewer than those that occur in the middle of the evening shift, or at lunchtime”. Dust, roar and fear among the tables. Screams and general flight from the laid tables. After the moments of panic following the fall, the restaurant workers noticed that the blows of the stones had been cushioned, among other things, by the open curtain of the restaurant – always leaked from the restaurant – which was destroyed under the blows of a rain of heavy rocks, more than debris. The police quickly arrived on site, in via Partenope. Fire Brigade and Municipal Policewho carried out the first checks.
“Stella – as the owner explains – was closed yesterday. Today, with the arrival and inspection of the technicians, we will understand more about the reopening date of the restaurant, between numbers 2A and 2B of via Parthenope. We are close to Sorbillo and other well-known places on the seafront overlooking Castel dell’Ovo». The streets overlooking the Gulf of Naples are as beautiful as they are delicate. The sea brings tourism, events and wonder. But also the need for maintenance. It is no coincidence that, as also mentioned yesterday in these columns, the damage from the storm surges at the end of 2021 is still evident.
The same ones that brought the sea directly into the kitchens of some of the restaurants near the islet of Megaride. And which they destroyed the Bourbon Arch (still awaiting restoration), Castel dell’Ovo (closed and under construction) and the pier of Broken Column, a stone’s throw from Piazza Vittoria. Here, even for this summer of 2024, you can dive among the stone boulders piled one on top of the other, after having climbed over the safety barriers, which still stand up two and a half years after the storms that brought this corner of the city to its knees.
The restaurant
‘But let’s go back to the rain of rocks of the last few hours. He slept last night «only an hour, given the shock», Stella Cappabianca. She herself tells Il Mattino about her state of mind, after the narrowly avoided tragedy between the tables of her restaurant. On the balcony collapsed – as emerges from his words – there had already been a “picking” operation a few months ago. «I’m still very shaken and the only thing I can tell you is that it could have ended in tragedy.
My parents had to sit at that table, and they probably would have died from the collapse. There could have been a child down there, he wouldn’t have stood a chance. We will remain closed until the technicians have reassured us of safety. I was reassured about the state of the balcony, after a removal at the end of 2023, an operation that we had also requested from the condominium. I’m not an expert in construction, obviously, and I don’t want to blame anyone, but I believe that in general these buildings in via Partenope, so close to the sea and touched by the salt, need constant monitoring. I’m really happy that no one got hurt, that’s the most important thing. What happened could have been really expensive.”
