Naples wants to involve citizens in heritage maintenance

This is motivated by an interest in such activities from the residents

One year ago, the City of Naples signed a memorandum of understanding with the Superintendence of Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscapes which relates to the procedures in terms of interventions, such as the cleaning the surfaces of public and private heritage properties by volunteers, including citizens and civic organizations. The memorandum and the resulting campaign are called ‘RipuliAMO Napoli’ – a play on words from the verbs ripulire (clean up) and amo (love).

Now, the Municipality of the Italian city has decided to remind citizens that those wishing to undertake such activities can apply online by filling a form and submitting it to the authorities for approval before setting out to restore the shine and brilliance of the monuments.

The Fountain of Neptune in Naples was the subject of such a cleanup operation

The authorities remind residents that in order to receive approval for the cleanup activities they are obliged to include a certified restoration technician in the team who would presumably lead or direct the initiative, even for surfaces that would be easy to clean.

"We have chosen to facilitate the acquisition of the cleaning and care of monuments by citizens, as a gesture of love and expression of a very high civic sense. Because monuments are memory and memory is the future, to be cared for, preserved and celebrated, above all, by and for the new generations, heirs of the history of our city," explained Luigi Felaco, Councilor for Urban Decor.

An example of a successful completion under this legislation was the cleanup of the famed Fountain of Neptune. Placed on the Municipio Square back in 1600, this more-than-four-centuries old symbol of the city is a frequent target of vandalism under the form of graffiti.

In February, the ‘I sedili di Napoli’ non-profit organized an initiative to clean up the surfaces using the laser blaster method. City Hall also reminds that such projects can be part of wider public initiatives planned by the Superintendence office.