Regarding the eviction of the municipally owned premises of ASD Napoliboxe, the Municipality of Naples specifies that "the Administration was obliged to execute eviction order no. 17 issued on February 22, 2016, against ASD Napoliboxe for the release of the municipally owned premises located at Via Sottomonte ai Ventaglieri no. 10 (ground floor and intermediate floor).
"The Regional Administrative Court of Campania, Section VII, with ruling no. 4917/2022," reads a statement from the City of Naples , "rejected the association's appeal, thus leaving the 2016 eviction order intact. Some premises, as confirmed by the local police, had been used for unauthorized activities."
"In recent days, to address the sensitive issue of evictions, Mayor Gaetano Manfredi convened a dedicated meeting to monitor individual cases and discuss with all relevant bodies the means to identify possible conciliatory solutions that, on the one hand, meet the municipal administration's legal obligations," the statement continues , "and, on the other, safeguard the social activities carried out in individual areas to benefit young people and vulnerable groups."
"Pending the activation of the technical table on evictions, the municipal administration declares its availability to meet with the managers of the Boxing gym at Ventaglieri to find possible solutions together ," the note concludes.
This morning, for the last time, Lino Silvestri, owner of the gym and son of Neapolitan boxing legend Geppino Silvestri, was there to supervise the facility that has also hosted at-risk minors on behalf of the Municipality . Lino was there, and so were his boys, some literally rescued from the streets over the past twenty-three years.
The story that led to this eviction is complex and dates back a long time. NapoliBoxe, housed in premises owned by the municipality of Naples , paid a discounted rent of €500 per month from day one , agreed upon at the time with the municipal administration.
Today, due to a revaluation of the property, she would be forced to pay about 11.000 per month, including arrears. And that's how in an instant a debt of about 2 million euros has accrued, contested by Lino and his lawyer, since the revaluation also acts retroactively.
Napoli Boxing, Lino Silvestri: “Maybe there are other interests”
“If we had two million euros, we'd be in the Canary Islands ,” says Lino with a bitter smile. “This was a ruin, and we restored it with so much effort and with our own resources ,” he emphasizes with tears in his eyes as his boys throw their final punches on the hanging sacks.
“Obviously there are other interests in this place,” he explains, “and this hurts because we have put all our passion and commitment here. Not to mention our money.”
This morning, Lino's lawyer , Giovanni Celestini , was present with the police and firefighters . He asked for "a meeting with the mayor, or whoever is responsible, to renegotiate the contracts, obviously taking into account the current crisis, and to save sport in this city."
