2022 (EN)

AFTER MORE THAN 20 YEARS, PIAZZA MUNICIPIO REOPENS. PRESIDENT CAPASSO IS MOVED BY THE ALMOST COMPLETED WORK

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Naples  ||  | 05 April 2022
Tutte le Attività (EN) - Anno 2022

The Piazza Municipio promenade leading from the port towards Palazzo San Giacomo reopens to the city, freed from the building site.
The last part of Piazza Municipio has reopened to the city after more than 20 years. The area was occupied by building sites for the construction of the "Municipio" station on Line 1 of the Naples underground.
The President of the Fondazione Mediterraneo, Michele Capasso, was moved to tears as he watched the simple ceremony from the balcony of his office overlooking the square and, around 13.30, greeted Gaetano Manfredi, Edoardo Cosenza, Antonio De Jesu, Filippo Cavuoto, Ennio Cascetta and others.
"The day after the Foundation moved into Palazzo Pierce, work began on the Metro Municipio," says Capasso, "almost 22 years ago. Every day I photographed the work, documenting its evolution and complexity. I remember the many meetings with my brotherly friend Alvaro Siza and then the many "sufferings" we had to endure, which limited our activities. But it was worth it: a work of high engineering that gives new meaning to the square. We are working at an international level so that it can take on the role of the Peace Square".
Together with the Museum's director Pia Molinari, Senator Giuseppe Lumia and other members of the International Executive Committee, Capasso goes over the key stages of the work and reports on interviews and meetings with Alvaro Siza.
Mayor Manfredi says: "We will animate this part of the square with a series of cultural initiatives and exhibition activities. Piazza Municipio is one of the most important places in the city, not only from a symbolic point of view, but also because it is one of the most significant transport nodes. With the opening of Line 6, it will become a fundamental junction. Then there will be the connection with which we are approaching the maritime station, and this is another element of connection that brings Naples closer to the sea".
Councillor Cosenza concludes: "The pedestrian area has finally reopened. There are those who have never seen this square without construction sites, as more than 20 years have passed. You can see a square from above and everyone asks: 'Why did it take 20 years to do this?', but in reality there is endless engineering underneath. There are two metro lines, there is the archaeological trail, so let's give credit where credit is due."