The ‘Risanamento’ in Naples. Transformation, Demolition and the Survival of Medieval Architecture

Damiana Di Bonito, Ph.D.

The project aims to examine Neapolitan medieval architecture impacted by the waves of urban transformation of ‘Risanamento’ that took place between 1885 and the second decade of the 20th century. This phase witnessed a widespread reorganisation of Naples’ Quartieri Bassi – Pendino, Porto and Vicaria – and numerous monumental buildings on the historical urban grid underwent radical building intervention, which had important consequences on the architecture and its decoration, in some cases, causing loss, spoliation and destruction.

The investigation will begin with a reading of a number of essays edited by Giuseppe Ceci, Le chiese e le cappelle abbattute o da abbattersi nel Risanamento edilizio di Napoli, published in several issues of the periodical “Archivio storico per le province napoletane”, between 1891 and 1892. The author traces the history of numerous church buildings – both medieval and modern, more than sixty in total – that were destroyed, demolished or had their furnishings rearranged, offering direct testimony of the events. The study makes use of the careful re-examination of historical data, compared with historical topography and surviving material evidence, in keeping with modern investigative methods. From this perspective, cases that require new analysis include the church of San Pietro a Fusariello, demolished at the turn of the century, and the church of Santa Maria a Piazza, whose medieval bell tower was demolished in 1924.

The investigation will be conducted with the use of documentary sources from Neapolitan archives, combined with an examination of historical photography from the late 19th century. These resources serve to extensively document the phenomenon of urbanism and prove to be particularly effective for the purposes of this study when it comes to tracing the alterations made to historical buildings and their decorations.