Critics slam ‘soulless’ revamp proposal for Largo Maradona.
Naples has approved a controversial project to redevelop the area known as Largo Maradona, a pilgrimage site for football fans from all over the world and a major tourist attraction in the southern Italian city.
The area in question lies at the corner of Via Emanuele De Deo and Vico Concordia, in the heart of the Quartieri Spagnoli, where an iconic mural of Diego Armando Maradona looms over the piazza.
The mural of Maradona – who played seven golden years with Napoli, leading the club to two Serie A wins in 1987 and 1990 – was painted by 23-year-old local artist Mario Filardi during the celebrations immediately the club’s second ‘scudetto’ triumph.
Filardi, who died in 2010, was assisted in the undertaking by joyous Napoli fans who illuminated the gable wall with their car headlights as the artist worked around the clock for three days.
More than three decades later, Maradona remains a hero in Naples and the mural in the Quartieri Spagnoli has drawn millions of visitors of the years, particularly since the death of the Argentine football legend in 2020.
The site, a privately-owned former car park, has acquired a shrine-like aura over the years, and is surrounded by numerous stands selling Maradona-related memorabilia and merchandise.
Largo Maradona as it is now. Photo credit: SimoneAmi / Shutterstock.com.
Now, a project to redevelop the piazzetta has sparked controversy, amid accusations that modernising the space will destroy the magic and reduce it to a sterile theme park.
The revamp plans includes new lava stone paving, designed to eliminate steps and architectural barriers and to overcome the current uneven surface.
The open-air space will be furnished with benches, planters and portable kiosks. The surrounding walls will be renovated and a new lighting system will be installed.
The move follows a series of police raids late last year aimed at curbing commercial irregularities, with authorities seizing merchandise and fining street vendors.
A standoff ensued, with locals covering the mural with sheets, leading to the disappointment of thousands of tourists.
Subsequently, an agreement was reached between the city, traders and business owners including Antonio Esposito, known as Bostik, who owns the piazzetta.
However, a rendering of the proposed revamp, posted on Facebook by the Comune di Napoli, has attracted widespread criticism.
Among the hundreds of negative comments underneath the post include multiple claims that the project will kill the magic of a pilgrimage site that was created spontaneously by Neapolitans.
“Why this obstinacy in conforming to the cold, grey architecture of northern Europe? Our charm lies precisely in the authenticity of our places”, one person wrote, while another commented: “Here’s how to erase the identity of our city”.
Other commentators likened the proposed revamp to a hospital ward or a morgue, with one local claiming: “Only a Juventus fan could think of such trash”.
Photo Comune di Napoli
