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Mechanical diggers ripped into the facade of
one of the concrete tower blocks, shaped like a gigantic
sailboat, in the Scampia neighbourhood that was a nerve centre
of Italy's illegal drug trade and inspired the 2014 hit TV
series "Gomorrah".
The housing project, known as the "Sails of Scampia", was built
in the 1960s and 1970s and became synonymous with poverty and
violence in Italy's underdeveloped south as clan warfare raged
through its narrow corridors and bleak stairways.
"Hopefully we will now be given a future, we always want things
to improve for our children," said Vincenzo Montagna, who has
lived in the area for 40 years. "We want to work here in Scampia,
80% of us are honest," he said.
Looking to highlight the plight of the isolated suburb, Pope
Francis visited the area in 2015, urging the Naples mafia, the
Camorra, to "convert to love and justice and return to honesty."
Three of the original towers were torn down almost 20 years ago,
leaving four structures intact. City authorities have now
decided to raze three more blocks, leaving just one, for
posterity, which will be turned into public offices.
The demolished areas will undergo urban regeneration, with
parks, schools and low-rise housing planned.
But not everyone was happy to see the brutalist buildings ripped
down.
"I am really sad," said Vittoria Esposito, who teaches in a
local school. "The kids see the Sails as people. It is like they
are losing an old friend. They are aware of the problems ... but
they see this as a funeral."
(Reporting by Reuters TV; Writing by Crispian Balmer; Editing by
Helen Popper)
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