In San Carlo all’Arena district: positive and negative values in a degraded cultural landscape

Located in the 'inner periphery' of Neapolitan historic center, at the foot of Capodimonte Park, historically the urban fabric of San Carlo Arena district eastern area has developed around two architectural complexes: Santa Maria dei Miracoli and Santa Maria degli Angeli alle Croci, for a long time aggregation places for local people. In addition, the ‘lava dei Vergini’ phenomenon, which periodically flooded the area outside the ancient city walls and the ‘for a via’ street (Via Foria), created optimal conditions for tuff extraction, used for local construction.
In the past, physical features, such as the irregularity of the hilly area modeled by natural agents, the presence of several underground quarries, the grandeur of remarkable architectural presence, the numerous alleys in a heavily layered historical fabric, and the peculiarities of the social life that took place beyond Foria, have been a source of inspiration for several and also internationally renowned artists.
The original identity of the ancient outer suburb, born from progressive expansions of the neighboring villages outside the city walls, is still marked. The closing elements that caracterize the architecture - in particular building fronts -, reflect its inhabitants attitudes and daily life.
In this historic urban landscape 'shred’, this closure - despite the direct proximity to the adjacent old town and several, but not easily accessible, panoramic views of part of Naples Bay - continues to be one of the main identifying characters of the area. Although, for many centuries, this has allowed the 'spirit of places’ conservation, it has been transformed into a voluntary closure against the legality, which led to today serious state of neglect and social decay.
Sometimes it is possible to find an excessive and illegal man-soil interaction, and unlawful activities influence and define some features of historical buildings in the area.
However, for some years the local population has become aware of the existing problems by operating in a more concrete way, through different kinds of associations and volunteer that try to face the territory needs and emergencies.
The goal is the elaboration of an update overview of the existing dynamics in this part of urban tissue and the identification of elements to take into account for possible enhancement perspectives in respect of an identity between invariant and processing factors.