A survey entrusted by the Port System Authority of the Central Tyrrhenian Sea to the Italian Research Institute of Innovation and Development Services (Istituto di Ricerca su Innovazione e Servizi per lo Sviluppo, CNRR) and completed in 2022 provided a snapshot of the number of buildings in use and disused in the port state property of Naples, Salerno and Castellammare di Stabia. Of the 59 buildings identified, just over a third, 37 per cent, are in use, while the rest (63 per cent) are partially in use or disused. The total area of these buildings is 165,410 square metres.
This ratio between used and unused areas is not so different from the other major commercial ports of the peninsula. Italian ports are old ports, crushed by urbanisation. Over the past decades, especially since the 1990s, Italy’s port state property has accumulated layers and layers of concessions, reuses, redevelopments, renovations and relocations. The glass half full? Although squeezed by cities, Italian ports now have the opportunity to be rationalised so as to create space for redevelopment and modernisation. They can grow commercially and add more areas open to the public, bringing citizens closer to the sea.
To do all this, however, it is essential to intervene on Port Master Plans, to modify them, allowing the relocation of areas and the optimisation of space.
The CNRR research selected, for their historical-architectural relevance and their location in port-city hinge areas
– 40 buildings and spaces for the port of Naples;
– 9 for the port of Salerno
– 10 for the port of Castellammare di Stabia.
Of these, 27 buildings of historical-architectural interest, 22 industrial archaeologies and 10 port-city hinge areas have been identified.
For the port of Naples the areas of highest historical value are
– the industrial archaeologies of the former Magazzini Generali
– the former Immacolatella Vecchia maritime station;
– the San Vincenzo wharf;
– the Maritime Station;
– the border areas of Piazza Immacolatella and Piazzale Carlo Pisacane.
The urban regeneration of all buildings in Naples and Salerno is underway. They will undergo complete renovation and in some cases refurbishment. The Superintendency will not fail to make its contribution in this overall work. Since Naples and Salerno are two historical ports, very old, like most Italian ports, a task of principle for the port administrations becomes rationalisation, relocation of activities, redevelopment of yards and renovation of buildings.
Cruise traffic 2024 and already scheduled 2025 – port of Naples
2024 | 1.7 million passengers for 460 berths – historic record
2025 | 2.2 million passengers for 567 landings – historic record
Maritime Station Molo Beverello Port of Naples
In June this year, the new maritime station at Molo Beverello was handed over. For the first time ever, cabotage passengers in the port of Naples have access to a single building housing reception, ticketing and catering.
- With the end of the summer season, work will begin on the construction of the comb piers. Historically, hydrofoils at the Beverello moored ‘in andana’, that is, at the pua or stern. With the comb piers, they will instead be able to ‘flank’ the quay, mooring in a mode that is much more stable for the ship and safer for passengers disembarking or embarking.
Immacolatella Vecchia
By the end of the year, the president of the Fondazione Museo nazionale dell’Emigrazione di Genova, Paolo Masini, will finalise a project to build a museum centre dedicated to the history of the port and Italian emigration to the Americas between the end of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century in the monumental building of Immacolatella Vecchia in the port of Naples.
Underground car park
Work will soon begin on the construction of an underground car park in the port of Naples, between the Molo Angioino and Immacolatella Vecchia. It will free the entire area from cars and heavy vehicles, opening up the waterfront and facilitating the redevelopment of the Magazzini Generali building.
