“I am leaving the Reggia di Carditello satisfied with the relaunch achieved in seven years, but I am struck by the lack of institutional grace that is evident in the note issued yesterday evening by the ministry, in which the members of the new board of directors are announced and the board chaired by me is thanked, having reached its natural expiration, without even mentioning me. Almost as if I had taken advantage of something in these years or failed in my duties”.
Luigi Nicolais was sad, although proud to have been able to contribute to relaunching a site abandoned for decades in an environmentally degraded area – the Terra dei Fuochi – when he said goodbye to the Royal Palace of Carditello, located in San Tammaro, administered for almost seven years as president of the Fondazione Real Sito di Carditello (composed of the Ministry and the Campania Region); “three more years for the definitive relaunch of the site”, but today there is sadness for the lack of institutional recognition.
“This minister – adds Nicolais – he did not experience all the turmoil that went into acquiring the Reggia (January 2014, ed.) and starting to relaunch it. In September 2016, when we took office as a Foundation – says Nicolais – there was a lot of waste and a lot of uncultivated vegetation here, and the first thing we did was clean up the area of almost 25 thousand square meters and install a fence with poles and rope to open the site to the public. Managing the Reggia in such an area – Nicolais underlines – was complicated, just think that during the pandemic we found 700 tons of asbestos near the entrance to the Reggia, which I took responsibility for having removed and disposed of; for this reason I also received a notice of investigation, but the investigation was then shelved”.
Since 2016, the Royal Palace of Carditello – according to Nicolais’ report – has gradually emerged from the shadows, restoration work has begun on the real estate, namely the central building and the eight towers, agreements have been made with associations and institutions, such as the Carabinieri of the Forestry Command and the Unesco club, the recovery of the front area of the site has begun with the renovation of the small temple and the enhancement of the largest riding track in Europe located in a Royal Palace, Persian breed horses have arrived as in the times of the Bourbons, all with the idea of maintaining that typically agricultural vocation that the Neapolitan rulers had originally assigned to Carditello.
Here are the projects that are being developed in the external area of the Reggia: there is the equestrian area managed under the agreement with the Fise (Italian Federation of Equestrian Sports), the picnic area, the butterfly house, inclusive sensory paths, the Adventure Park, the synergic garden, the possibility of sleeping in the trees (tree camping and tree house), an area for campers.
The site has managed to relaunch itself thanks above all to the 500 thousand euros per year made available by the Ministry (300 thousand euros) and the Campania Region (200 thousand), “but then we have – explains Nicolais – started to walk on our own two feet by participating in and winning many tenders and managing to intercept public funds, especially European ones. We recently received 3,5 million euros to illuminate and fence all the areas that delimit the Reggia”.
For the new Board of Directors the path will be clear and less tortuous. “We are leaving a treasure trove of around 6 million euros for the completion of the front buildings of the Royal Site and for maintenance work, such as painting the facades or installing elevators,” concludes Nicolais.
Article published on 28 April 2023 - 18:15
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