How much time do you need to know Italy? Three months, one year, or all your life? And what if we talk just about one city, such as Napoli... Would it be enough three days cognitive journey...ONE WEEK...to understand everything, what we are going to see there? For some people even two hours here would be more than enough, after all the city ,,is only a big bunch of rubbish", like all Italy - ,,only pizza, mandolin and mafia". For others, including me, Napoli - is the real Italy, where YES, you can find and mandolin, and pizza, and mafia, but not only.
I disagree with "turistical" expression, that I mentioned above, however I have to admit, that mafia has a strong position in Italy. When you understand this, it becomes easier to explain phenomenons, that you see not only in Napoli, but in all Italy.
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| Not far away from Napoli city centre |
THE VERY BEGINNING. This time, when I went to Napoli, i was sure that I am going to live in Scampia for three weeks and that i am going to work with children. Everything else I got to know already there.
Scampia - is Napoli region. Special region. Its flourishing is achieved about 1980, after earthquake in Campania. How is going the things after that? It was decided to move people, who lost their houses, to Scampia. In order to secure shelter for everybody, there had started quickly constructions. This is the reason, why some houses were planned to stay there just for 20 years. But now some of them are still populated.
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| The street of Napoli |
So, the first step was done - we already have a place, there we can move people. Next step (and mistake) was - accommodation Just imagine such situation: 1980 year. You are middle age person, who already have his/her family. You are living in city center, G.Garibaldi street (prestigious name:)). You know the city from your childhood. Your mother, father, brother, sister and cousins live not far away. Every afternoon you go with your friends to drink coffee. Your children goes to play to inner courtyard, you don't worry for nothing, because you can see the yard very well. To your work you are travelling not more than 15-20 minutes. Food shop is located in the first floor of your house. If you feel bad or there are other reasons that you can't go to the shop, it is enough to lower the basket with list and seller will fill it. Dominates total trust, that you will pay another time. And finally imagine that you are typical Italian - this means that you can't live without talks, discussions...
And now you, that are accustomed to such life, are transferred to Scampia. And what you find here? You don't know your neighbors, your family members, friends - not sure in which building. Your address B45-147. (Just some years ago in Scampia appeared normal names of streets, before region was divided in quarters, the letter meant quarter, but it wasn't so easy like it might look, because quarter B could be near to quarter K or S - no order). In all Scampia you wouldn't found any shop (now the situation is different). To get to the city center, to go to the work you can take metro, which goes 40 min! Imagine that suddenly you ran out of bread...(When i got to know all this, it wasn't so surprising to hear young people saying that on weekend they are planning to go to Napoli, not to the city center Even thought it passed 30 years from Scampia boom, people still fells like Scampia is different city and doesn't belong to Napoli). It is worth to remember that your children in Scampia don't have were to play... Or, rather, have, but do you let them... In enormous park, which extends over half of city and is surrounded by concrete fence, which height is more than 3 meters for sure. In such situation, it is normal that you might feel insecurity, because in the case of misfortune, assault it is not only that you wouldn't have possibility to call help but also quickly to get out of the park, because now park has only one exit! Near to the park you can find square. Typical Italian square - round/oval formation "thing", which main purpose is to represent city, to be a place for people to see each other, to spent free time. But what happened to the square of Scampia? It was designed as rectangle with huge columns, seems like the place open to everyone, but now just few people are coming here... Among other things, all Scampia from all sides is surrounded some sort of
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| Square of Scampia |
"walls" - metro, prison, and Romany houses. This even more separates Scampia from Napoli and it becomes perfect place for mafia to hide.
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| Scampia |
