The Italian city of Naples (south) has experienced a historic day this Thursday with the start of the demolition of the so-called "Candles" of the peripheral neighborhood of Scampia, buildings that have become a symbol of the Neapolitan mafia, the Camorra .
Portrayed in the famous Gomorra series -based on the homonymous novel by the writer Roberto Saviano-, the Scampia Candles owe their name to the shape of their construction and it was an architectural project designed by Franz Di Salvo in 1962 that intended to make the neighborhood a symbol of development, but they have become a symbol of drug trafficking, organized crime, degradation and poverty.
The complex initially consisted of seven buildings, three of them demolished between 1993 and 2005, and four others remain, of which three will be demolished and the fourth will be renovated to house offices inside.
At 11.17 local time, two bulldozers have begun hitting the first of the buildings that will be thrown, while hundreds of neighbors from the adjoining buildings applauded and many others attended the historic collapse in silence on the street.
Excavators will demolish 50,000 cubic meters of an area of 1,800 square meters over the next 40 days, and they will do it slowly but without pause, without explosions, removing piece by piece and spraying with water constantly to avoid generating a cloud of powder.
Lorenzo Liparulo, representative of the Committee of Candles of Scampia, has declared to the media that it has been "an important, joyful day, which has shown that Scampia is not only 'Gomorra', but life, dignity and desire to improve".
The complex initially intended to host shops and businesses and provide housing for 45,000 people, but after the earthquake on November 23, 1980, the number of neighbors increased to 100,000 and the area was abusively occupied. The district was abandoned and families then began to live in precarious conditions, without services, a panorama that took advantage of the camorra to strengthen and suffocate its people.
The cost of the demolition project is about 18 million euros, but 120 million euros will be needed to rehabilitate the area, to re-build buildings that revitalize the neighborhood and even a university.
According to the criteria of The Trust Project
Know more- Quarrel
- Italy
CourtsIgor el Ruso, sentenced to 21 years in prison for shooting two neighbors in Teruel
Innovation Zuchetti celebrates its first international convention in Spain
Exclusive Interview Louis J. Freeh: "Soleimani is well murdered and I will not shed a tear"