Once Upon a Time in ... Napoli

Do local historic scars hinder sustainable development?

Fifty years ago, The Godfather was released in theatres across the globe, starting a trend of fictional moving pictures glamorizing and romanticizing the very real complexity of Italian organized crime in popular culture. More recently, the TV series Gomorrah had us all gripped to our seats as we hoped (in vain) that our favorite characters would make it to the next episode. Just last month, the third season of Mare Fuori came out and is having a national success. The show tackled the theme of organized crime in Naples through new lenses, the ones of hope and second chances. It offered a whole new meaning to the word mistake, indirectly highlighting how, more often than not, in the case of Southern Italy, wrong choices are a direct consequence of geopolitical context.

The Metropolitan City of Naples (Italian: Napoli, Neapolitan: Napule), the capital of the Campania region in southern Italy, is a paradise burdened by unsolicited difficulties resulting from the unification of the country and its aftermath, notably the collapse of the Bourbon Kingdom of the Two Scillies in the 1860s. This moment of nationalism gave way to generational poverty, opened the door to corruption, and took away the rights of the entire Campania region to develop at the same pace, with the same resources and opportunities, as the rest of the country. This article does not argue that Italy should not have undergone a unification; it merely gives a peripheral opinion regarding the geographical dualism between the southern and northern parts of the nation today and the unfair stereotypes forced upon Neapolitans. Recounting and analyzing the historical events would require an entire magazine issue dedicated to the matter. With more than 70% of greenhouse gas emissions occurring in cities, effective contributions from vast municipalities like Naples will determine whether or not countries can meet their goals and targets made official during the Paris Agreement. Today, ironically, Naples’ first threat is the ghosts from its past instead of the present challenges of a world-changing due to global warming.

Photos by Barbara Majorano

For context, after Rome and Milan, Naples is the third largest city in the country, home to actress Sofia Loren and the adoptive family of late football legend Diego Maradona. Its outstanding cultural heritage, gastronomy, and views of the sparkling Mediterranean Sea will continue to draw travelers to its coast for years. However, to this day, Neapolitans are unfairly described as lazy thieves who would rather steal than study hard and work to make an honest living. Just this past summer, I was sitting aboard a ferry taking me from Naples to the island of Procida. I have done that particular boat trip probably 4287 times in my life, yet I always sit in the same place and look at the coast with the same awe. As I rushed towards my aforementioned seat, I was pleasantly surprised to find four French-speaking men more or less my age, fortunately not sitting in my usual spot. Despite the distracting beautiful scenery, I couldn’t help but eavesdrop on the French men’s conversation as they were frantically taking pictures of the Vesuvius, which was having a particularly extraordinary day thanks to the pink and blue colors of dawn. While one of them discussed which filter would make his picture the most ‘Instagram-able,’ their conversation quickly deviated to how different Naples was from the northern part of the country. Evidently, they had been on some kind of a road trip, and one of the French men confidently states, ‘It’s incredible the difference between here and the North. It really is much more beautiful here, but why is it so sketchy?’ to which one of his friends, who probably had as many brain cells as a monkey, answered, ‘It’s a well know fact, there is Working Italy and Stealing Italy; right now we are amongst the thieves.’ As I looked at them with total disdain, disgust, and disrespect, I wished I had had the self-confidence to tell them what’s what.

This criticism of Naples made by men who aren’t even locals goes to show how deeply entrenched the division between northern Italy and southern Italy is, not only on a national level but internationally as well. This dualism and its direct impact on the development of Naples will be a decisive factor in whether or not the city will be able to scale up the spending on climate-resilient infrastructure projects to prepare for future weather hits.

The Neapolitan reality, in my humble opinion, is as follows. Mainly in the suburbs circling the city's edges, unemployment rates are incredibly high, especially amongst the younger population; that is true. Organized crime is a stereotype but a very brutal reality; that is also true. Drug cartels are present at every major piazza; that is arguably true. There is somewhat of a reluctance towards committing to long studies, which is sometimes true. Many steal and use tricks to make profits; that is often true. There is a sense of incivility which explains why the city as a whole is degraded in some areas; that is probably true. Here is where the notions of context and access to opportunity come into play. When one is born in a city whose suburbs are often crippled by corruption and injustices from the past, a town that offers poor public services like schools, libraries, public transport, and health care, a city that cannot supply honest, well-compensated jobs and break the link between the authorities, people of power and organized crime; what options do the inhabitants have? I would say their city failed them, and not the other way around. But in the case of Naples, is the city really failing its citizens, or is the nation abandoning them?

Photos by Barbara Majorano

The municipality is being blamed for the mismanagement of talent and resources. However, when faced with entrenched corruption and a general lack of national support, the city can not independently answer to the local needs of the population. There is not enough local revenue to spend on public services that are outdated, unreliable, and inefficient. The people, as a result, have either accepted the status quo or renounced it. Many low-income households, mostly located in the suburb of Scampia, located 14km away from the city's historical center, rely on bribes and tax avoidance to make ends meet. This reinforces the general distrust towards the police and the local governments from the rest of the households that manage to avoid resorting to criminal behavior. The reason behind these illegal actions isn’t misplaced greed or laziness. It is a consequence of a lack of access to quality education and social welfare programs such as female empowerment and housing designed by the government to protect marginalized groups. Add to the mix the presence of a powerful drug cartel that happens to plague these low-income neighborhoods along with the rest of southern Italy; it is tough to break generational poverty as jobs in organized crime are passed on from father to son, uncle to nephew, and cousin to friend. As a result of these activities, the municipality loses revenues, can not become transparent and accountable, and is not creditworthy for foreign investors. Most importantly, they can not capitalize on the future productivity of a young population as it is not getting educated and trained in recent trades. It is also extremely common for families of middle and high-income households able to provide education for their children to see their offsprings leave Naples at the end of their studies to migrate to the north, where the job market is strong.

The island of Capri, located in southern Campania, is an excellent example to illustrate the consequences of this status quo on economic and social development. One hour away by ferry from the Bay of Naples, it is one of Italy’s most desirable destinations, attracting celebrities and billionaires from all around the world who anchor their yachts, enjoy their meals, and shop on the island year-round. Despite all of this exposure, international luxury resort companies like the Four Seasons do not operate their hotels on the island. The ultra-luxury Amalfi coastline and Capri do not have a Four Seasons, yet Milan and Florence, in the North, do. Though profits would be booming, the trade-offs in dealing with local rules and regulations, or lack of them thereof, are not worth it.

This weaker economic development and performance make the city of Naples very vulnerable to future climate change-related hazards. Italy, as a nation, faces high hydrogeological risks from floods and landslides in the winter and heatwaves paired with droughts in the summer. Naples, as a result, is not only exposed to these hazards but incredibly vulnerable in terms of adaptability. To brace for future hits, cities worldwide need to have a diversified economy reliant on various sources of income, from manufacturing to agriculture and tourism. Diversifying an economy prepares cities for future shocks as they hold fewer risks of being paralyzed due to a catastrophic event by relying on different income sources. Through various sources of capital, cities can invest in their infrastructures, from electric grids to telecommunications. This maximizes planning, designing, building, and operating, which guarantees emergency response when needed. Right now, in 2023, Naples is not in a position where it can focus on this new way of running a city and, consequently, needs a better adaptability landscape to respond to climate change. The bureaucracy of the entire nation makes overcoming reforms and red tape as tough as mounting Mount Everest. Add to that a layer of favoritism in the economic development of the North over the South, and you got yourself a recipe for disaster. As climate hazards intensify, become more frequent, and impact more geographical land over more extended periods, Naples is at risk for loss and damage to its historical sites, businesses, and general well-being.

Photos by Barbara Majorano