The culture of care and the care for culture: how the Catacombs of S. Gennaro transformed Sanità
A cooperative of young friends who have worked with enthusiasm for recovering and subsequently opening the Catacombs of San Gennaro, afterwards started a process to recover their local heritage and to bringing about the tangible revitalisation of the Sanità, a Naples' neighbourhood that was once prey to the Camorra, creating somewhere for arts and culture to flourish.
The culture of care and the care for culture: following this guideline this place has become a living and generative territory.
Local
Italy
Rione Sanità is a neighbourhood in Naples, part of the Stella quarter. It is located north of Naples' historical centre, adjacent to the Capodimonte hill.
Mainly urban
It refers to a physical transformation of the built environment (hard investment)
No
No
Yes
2022-03-30
As a representative of an organization, in partnership with other organisations
Name of the organisation(s): La Paranza Cooperative Type of organisation: Non-profit organisation First name of representative: Giovanni Last name of representative: Maraviglia Gender: Male Nationality: Italy Function: President Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: via Sanità 124 Town: Naples Postal code: 80136 Country: Italy Direct Tel:+39 081 744 3714 E-mail:progettazione@catacombedinapoli.it Website:https://catacombedinapoli.it/en/
Name of the organisation(s): Fondzione di COmunità San Gennaro Type of organisation: Non-profit organisation First name of representative: Pasquale Last name of representative: Calemme Gender: Male Nationality: Italy Function: President Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Piazzetta San Severo a Capodimont, 81 Town: Naples Postal code: 80136 Country: Italy Direct Tel:+39 081 1957 1624 E-mail:presidente@fondazionesangennaro.org Website:https://fondazionesangennaro.org/
I'm from Rione Sanità".
Every single inhabitant of Sanità district felt ashamed to pronounce this sentence, denying his identity. Rione Sanità was only known for criminality, until the early 2000's; it was the only way that youngers chose.
We are in the most ancient and abused neighborhood of Naples, placed on the edge of the city by a 19th-century bridge, with the clearest evidence of great socio-cultural inequality and huge resources existing side by side: the district's historic, artistic and human heritage.
This is the starting point for a process of self-development: a cooperative of young friends, born in the Rione Sanità, decided not to change city, but to change the city. Their commitment was made up of three guidelines, which they are still following today: urban development, talent nurture and social entrepreneurship. The process of re-appropriation of the neighborhoods cultural resources and and its breaking action to make the Catacombs of San Gennaro one of the favorite tourist destinations in Naples has also created a model of valorization of culture from below that becomes a "heritage community" according to the Faro Convention.
Thanks to this bottom-up approach and triggered by this extraordinary experience of "territorial conversion" Rione Sanità is slowly reclaiming its title as a place of cultural interest, especially on an international level. Using Art and Beauty they nurtured creativity, free spirit, responsibility, and active citizenship; a process that inspired other associations and cooperatives, encouraging them to dedicate service to heritage: 13 churches re-opened but also 10 historical palaces, 6 archeological.
Today the youth unemployment rate in the Sanità district is still at 65%; we also observe 30% school drop-out rate and lack of social services. But we have 100% Hope rate and today every young person in the Sanità enthusiastically tells where he was born and never misses an opportunity to say proudly: "I'm from Rione Sanità".
Heritage
Care
Young
Community
Hope
What sets la Sanità apart from other areas of Naples is its potential, composed of ancient history and sufficient assets to allow its self-promotion and recovery. So, the aim of the cooperative was to contribute to the economic and social development of the district, redeveloping and promoting the sites of inestimable historic/artistic value, and transforming Rione Sanità into a unique cultural and tourist destination.
Today, after significant restoration funded by La Paranza, the catacombs, alongside Vesuvius, Pompeii and Herculaneum, are a must-see Neapolitan attraction, and tourism to Sanità has inspired new guesthouses, restaurants and employment.
To date, 13,000 m2 of the acultural heritage have been recovered, in 2022, 200,000 people visited the sites. Visitors to the catacombs have increased fivefold, and a social economy has developed which has given rise to a network of small cooperatives and artisans. These are all positive examples that point to a brighter future. In a more generic aspect, 44 jobs for young people created, the cooperative has generated a direct impact in terms of employment of at least another 65 resources in the District Sanità. The growth in the ability to attract visitors and to create a reception system was such as to generate a total impact of approximately 33 million euros: in 2018, thanks to the “La Paranza model”, in Rione Sanità almost 33 million of Euros were made by this influence and by the tourist increasement; and, in the end, almost 200 stable working position were made.
In terms of the key points are:
- Each project aims to become sustainable after the start-up phase.
- Private funds
- Community involvement.
- Ancient history and sufficient assets to allow its self-promotion and recovery.
The spread of creativity of these last years is no longer just about how to enhance and maintain cultural heritage but has moved towards the creation of new art - in its wider sense- that permits the evolution of the Rione into a creative neighbourood.
Many buildings and streets of the Rione started to be “lighted up” by the intervention of international street artists.
The spanish street artist, Tono Cruz, guided a series of practical workshops and theory lessons for more than 60 young people: result of this collaboration has been the work “Luce”. After the lockdown the artist paid homage to the city with another artwork: “Totò e Peppino”. The work represents the famous coffee scene between Totò and Peppino De Filippo taken from the movie "La banda degli onesti".
Mono Gonzalez, a Chilean artist and set designer, "turned-on" the bell tower and the rectory of the Fontanelle cemetery with his colourful artworks. The artist Jorit guided the works of a group of youth from the district, teaching them the mural art technique. Francisco Bosoletti, from Argentina, is the author of the huge artwork "Resis-Ti amo", which occupies the entire facade of the basilica of Santa Maria della Sanità. “Perseveranza '' by Matias Noguera Matu, on the external wall of the basilica San Severo Fuori le Mura, represents an homage to the music produced inside by the orchestra Sanitansamble.
In 2019 the international artist Jago decided to donate his sculpture named “Il Figlio Velato” to the neighbourood and its citizens. During the quarantine, in 2020, Jago decided to establish his laboratory in the Rione, in one of the Rione Sanità's churches, S. Aspreno ai Crociferi. This 17th century church has been finally reopened after more than 40 years. The artist created two other works inspired by the events of the neighbourhood, which had a huge international echo and attracted tourists from all over the world: “Look down” and "La Pietà", a new version of Michelangelo's famous sculpture.
The growth of the catacombs has generated a social economy which has given rise to a network of small cooperatives and artisans. Currently 46 people are employed directly in the cooperative (34 is the average age) and about 50 in the other social enterpises born in last 10 years. A university research demonstrates that the reputation of La Paranza had an indirect impact on the employment of other 65 people inside the Rione and 217 in the whole city of Naples. It also created training courses and job placement, exchange and networking schemes for people, organisations and associations.
La Paranza has also reopened and repurposed several churches and buildings making them "commons goods" Some of them permit to create job for young people, like Catacombs or B&Bs. Other spaces are dedicated to growth and education onbeauty: the Church of San Severo fuori le mura hosts a recording studio and the youth orchestra Sanitansamble; the church of San Vincenzo and the Cristallini73 building have become public spaces where young people from the neighbourhood can practice theatre and sports for free.
San Gennaro Community Foundation was founded to give stability to what had already been achieved and also to promote new projects for inclusion. It promotes a culture of giving and encourages social cohesion, starting from the "last", the rejected stones that became cornerstones, and has created a "net"of cooperatives and assosations that constantly work with and for this neighborhood to change its fame and essence.. Paranza is part of the Co-Operazione San Gennaro Association, which brings together third sector operators from Rione Sanità to create a welfare informal system that takes care of minors from birth to employment.
Maintaining the spontaneous link with the neighbourhood is a central aspect of vision and methodology: hiring young people from the district; promoting activities to involve the local community; supporting the creation of other associations and cooperatives.
Since 2000, with the help of foundations, professionals and associations, it has been possible to create opportunities to benefit the youth. The San Gennaro Community Foundation was founded on 16 December 2014.
The Foundation brought together all the organisations that had been working in the local area for years, and was created to give stability to what had already been achieved and also to promote new projects. Culture, growth and community will foster a social and economic revival of the local area in a modern and sustainable manner.
Within the San Gennaro Community Foundation, Cooperative La Paranza is a part of the Co-Operazione San Gennaro Association, which brings together third sector operators from Rione Sanità.
THE FOUNDING MEMBERS
• Co-Operazione San Gennaro Association
• Caronte S.r.l.
• Feudi di San Gregorio S.p.A.
• Alberto and Franca Riva Foundation
• Grimaldi Foundation social
• Pasquale Di Costanzo Foundation
• Peppino Vismara Foundation
• L'Altra Napoli social
• Parish of Santa Maria della Sanità
• Parish of San Severo alla Sanità
• Co-Operazione San Gennaro Association
• Buonafede Family
• Sanitansamble, an orchestra for children and youth
• L'Altra Casa, a reception centre for mothers and children
• Sanità Music Studio, a recording studio
• Iron Angels, a creative metal workshop
• La Casa del Monacone, a Bed & Breakfast converted from an old convent
• Casa Tolentino, a Bed & Breakfast converted from an old convent
• Cristallini 73, boxe and judo free courses with the Police Association FIAMME ORO
The cooperative was established in 2006 and immediately received support from the Archdiocese of Naples and the help of foundations, donors and private organizations. After years of neglect, the catacombs of San Gaudioso were entrusted to La Paranza. The Cooperative participated together with the Archdiocese of Naples, the Association L'Altra Napoli ONLUS and the Pontifical Commission for Sacred Archaeology, in the historic-artistic call for proposals by the CON IL SUD Foundation, submitting a project titled "San Gennaro extra Moenia: a door
from the past to the future". This was the first step in the process that led them to the recovery, management and opening of the Catacombs of San Gennaro to the public.To give stability to what had already been achieved and also to promote new projects, on 16 December 2014 the San Gennaro Community Foundation was founded. The Foundation brought together all the organisations that had been working in the local area for years, it counts about thirty organizations of the third sector.
The contrast between La Sanità "of the pas" and "of the present", between its dark and light sides, was the subject of a partly autobiographical novel, Nostalgia, by the Ermanno Rea, who grew up in the district and finally left it, to make a career as a journalist in Rome and Milan. Published posthumously following Rea's death in 2016, the book has now been made into a film of the same name by Neapolitan director Mario Martone, which was unveiled in competition at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival.
The creation of a network of third-sector businesses already active in the district has favoured the engagement of profesisonals by different fields.
TEN YEARS OF EFFORT HAVE GENERATED BIG RESULTS:
• Sanitansamble, an orchestra for children and youth
• Ajunior orchestra for kids
• L'Altra Casa (The Other House), a reception centre for mothers and children
• Sanità Music Studio, a recording studio
• Iron Angels, a creative metal workshop
• La Casa del Monacone, a Bed & Breakfast converted from an old convent
• Casa Tolentino, a Bed & Breakfast created from the convent of San Nicolas de Tolentino
• Accademia della Sanità, a drama workshop
• La Casa dei Cristallini, an after-school and play space for children
• Cristallini73, building have become public spaces where young people from the neighbourhood can practice theatre and sports for free.
• Over 200 jobs, including tourist guides, dance and drama instructors, technicians, maintenance workers and other professions related to the activities of the cooperatives operating in the district.
Movies and documentaries like “Il Sistema Sanità - Le pietre scartate (Discarded stones)”, “La paranza della bellezza” (The Gang of Beauty) or “Rione Sanità. La certezza dei sogni” (Rione Sanità. The certainty of dreams) help to disseminate the impact of this unique process of urban and cultural regeneration in the Rione Sanità and explain how representatives of different fields interacted with each other in this "Heritage Community".
In every case many actors partecipat to urban regeneration process, like in the last occasion in which architects, cultural operators, art historians, sociologists, educators, psychologists and proximity operators, public bodies and citizens cooperated in the project that the international architect Renzo Piano donated to the Rione Sanità for the redevelopment of the importance of the Fontanelle area.
Fifteen or more years ago, the only tourists you would have seen wandering around this working-class and inner-city suburb in Naples, would have been lost tourists. Rione Sanità had become a stronghold of the Camorra, the Neapolitan Mafia.
In 2020 it won the TripAdvisor prize "Traveller's choice" for the constant positive reviews from the visitors. In 2021 it won "Global remarkable venue award" VI Edition – section "Best Attraction – Global winner". The Catacombs of San Gennaro are in the third place of the list of attractions and places to visit in Naples. A demonstration of the wide interest around the site is also given by the diversity of provenance of the visitors: 36 nations have been counted.
It is also confirmed by the ranking compiled by the international magazine "Time Out". Among the 51 coolest neighborhoods in the world, the Rione Sanità of Naples is in twentieth place (first in Italy).
The tours are led by loca citizens, which operate with a sense of belonging to a specific community.
A university research "Le catacombe di Napoli l'impatto sociale ed economico" (2019) demonstrates the direct Paranza's impact: starting with 5 volunteers and over 5,000 guests, today it employs 46, with an exponential growth in the number of visitors up to 200.000 in 2022; 43 sites for more than 13,000 m2 of recovered assets. The reputation of La Paranza in 2018 (just 130.000 visitors against 200.000 in 2022) had an indirect impact on the employment of other 65 people in the Rione and 217 in the whole city of Naples. Moreover La Paranza acted as a generator of drop-down events, inspiring the private initiative of other groups and families of the area.
The ability to attract visitors and to create a reception system was able to generate a total impact of approximately 33 million euros in 2018, almost 200 stable working position were created.
In 2022 Paranza is among the winners of the European Heritage Awards / Europa Nostra Awards.
This "heritagization" process, according to Walsh (2002), aims at making inhabitants in a region feel that certain cultural heritage is more relevant to them than to foreigners. The renovation of Rione Sanità has mainly been built on the restoration of local cultural ruins and historical buildings, thinking the heritage as a way to contrast the desolation of the area. In the following 15 years, many other cultural and social activities arose in the district inspired by the experience of La Paranza. The more the inner beauty of the area was enhanced, the more the local community felt inspired and desired to be socially engaged. A higher stage has been reached when the creativity melting pot of the neighbourood started to attract the attention of affirmed artists and professionals from all around the world.
The vitality and genuine atmosphere of the Rione is perceived by many artists as the perfect ground to create something new: The key are:
- The cultural richness of the area which not only offers the opportunity to live surrounded by beauty, but also acts as a source of inspiration
- The art and culture of the area belong to the citizens as part of their traditions and habits. Therefore it constantly changes and is enriched with new meanings and stories. Far from concepts of high culture or musealization, the heritage directly or indirectly impacts the habitants' everyday life, here.
- The commitment of local people working to change the situations from the inside, personally and with their own means, stimulates in the others - especially in creative personality - the desire to contribute to such a higher purpose.
The Paranza's initiative is particularly significant because it represents a success story that "started from the bottom", driven by the will of a group of young motivated people.
The idea was to create opportunities through the RECOVERY OF THE DISTRICT'S CULTURAL AND ARTISTIC HERITAGE, with the help of professionals and foundations, aiming on "the last," the "REJECTED STONES" that became cornerstones. The creation of a NETWORK OF THIRD-SECTOR businesses already active in the district has stimulated the socio-economic growth of the local area. The beauty of its sites is an attraction for international tourists and contributes to the integration of the district in the city's productivity system.
It is the district were the coexistence of socio-economic inequalities and great resources is more evident. La Paranza has created TRAINING COURSES and JOB PLACEMENT, exchange and NETWORKING SCHEMES FOR PEOPLE AND ORGANISATIONS.
Moreover, young people have been given the opportunity to TRAVEL ABROAD, broadening their perspectives and ambitions. When returning from the travels, they were aware of the resources at own disposal, so they decided it was time to act.
The strategy is also aimed at encouraging EDUCATION ON BEAUTY through different tools.
Paranza began a process of recovering and enhancing many of the empty or underused sites, transforming them into productive workspaces or education spaces. the Church of "Sant'Aspreno ai Crociferi" is now the art laboratory of artist Jago; "San Severo fuori le mura" hosts a recording studio "Apogeo Records" and the youth orchestra "Sanitansemble"; an 18th century's church is now a theatre, "NtS (Nuovo Teatro Sanità)"; "San Gennaro Extramoenia" a 6th century church is used for cultural events; three canon houses host after-schools activities, ("Il Grillo Parlante, "La casa dei Cristallini" and "Centro Anna Oppolo"). In 2008 two more canon houses were opened up to accommodate children and parents in difficulty.
he management model of the Catacombs was designed to be repeated in other historical and artistic sites. Thanks to some key factors the neighborhood revival has started and successfully completed an urban regeneration process:
- The team. Is not a case that the cooperative name is La Paranza. A Neapolitan word which was born to indicate small fishing boats and that has been used
metaphorically to describe little groups friends with a common mission or scope.
- Giving the district an international feel: Enhancing the artistic and cultural heritage of the neighbourhood is one of our main activities. The beauty of its sites is an attraction for tourists, not only Italians, but also from other countries, and contributes to the integration of the district in the city's productivity system.
- Private funds guarantee decision-making freedom, which is essential for maintaining that autonomy and efficiency.
- Procedures of foster care: the availability of the places is fundamental in order to act in an independently and flexible way. Without having the same freedom of
choice the process will hardly bring similar results.
- A Coach/Visionary Leadership: Antonio Loffredo has been a fundamental personality in the first steps of the cooperative. He is used to putting people first: being able to recognize the value and talents has been fundamental for the success of the cooperative. Being visionary, as he demonstrates, is another essential
mindset. As a good coach today he is leaving the floor to youth.
- Sustainability. Each project aims to become sustainable after the start-up phase.
- Community involvement. Since the objective is to increase the life quality of the residential community, needs and requests are always kept in consideration.
Moreover the cooperative supports other activities in the Rione both economically and "personally".
Today Sanità is turning itself around thanks to the efforts of a mix of private and no profit actors who feel a deep connection with the area and are determined to show that its energy – a quality the district never lacked – can be harnessed in positive ways.
We're doing two things here: restoring dignity to beautiful but abandoned places, and restoring dignity to a once-abandoned neighbourood and people who live here.
Rione Sanità heritage community is a part of a growing number of "heritage communities" participating in a dynamic pan-European network, offering extensive knowledge, expertise and tools, within a framework for constructive dialogue and cooperation. We together represent the innovative models of governance and management that are based on collaboration, cooperation and the active involvement of communities, and which encourage the implementation of strategies for promoting innovative forms of social cohesion and spatial regeneration in urban contexts.
Not by chance Europa Nostra, the largest European network of heritage organisations, and La Paranza Cooperative, winner of an European Heritage Award / Europa Nostra Award, will organise the first edition of the European Heritage Youth Residencies on 13-18 March 2023 in Rione Sanità, Naples, Italy. Around 15 young heritage stakeholders will be selected to come together to discuss the role of the heritage community in the urban regeneration process. The aim of the programme is also to seek new formats of cross-sectoral cooperation, to initiate projects of co-creation or collaborative plans, as well as to share knowledge and expertise across Europe to support heritage communities working together in line with the principles of the Faro Convention.
The process demonstrates that the rehabilitation of degraded areas not only improves the quality of life of the residents, but also empowers them to become active citizens.
