Naples, May 3, 2025 – In Naples, work is found by word of mouth, and often invented from scratch. In a city that never stops making do, “do-it-yourself” services are born that respond to daily needs with ingenuity and immediacy.
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From “reserved” parking at Parco Virgiliano to 5 euro night taxis, to home cigarette deliveries, Neapolitans demonstrate a creativity that transforms every problem into an opportunity.
“On Reservation” Parking and Night Taxis: Neapolitan Ingenuity
At Parco Virgiliano, on holidays, finding a parking spot is a challenge. But there are those who have found a solution: with a message on WhatsApp or a social group, someone will “hold” the spot for you at a cost of 3 euros. “We often see them on weekends. They arrive early, park in strategic spots and wait. They are organized,” says the owner of a kiosk in the park with a smile.
The same scene is repeated in front of the Maradona stadium before the matches: young people stationed at the right corners give up paid parking, taking advantage of their knowledge of the traffic and the dynamics of the area. There is no shortage of improvised “night taxis”: young people with the family car who, on weekends, take groups of teenagers home at the end of the evening. The price? 5 euros per person, with the route agreed via WhatsApp. A practical service, born from the need to get around in a city where nighttime public transport often leaves much to be desired.
A Parallel Economy Made of Ideas and Word of Mouth
The inventiveness doesn’t stop there. In Pozzuoli, a tobacconist has created a home delivery service for those who run out of cigarettes after dinner: just a call, and the package arrives right at your door. Then there are the “home mechanics,” who change tires with tools brought from home, and those who deliver snacks late at night. Even students find support: in Naples there are those who create technical drawings and posters for middle schools, ready to be delivered, with announcements that circulate in neighborhood groups.
This parallel economy works without official bulletin boards, but through an efficient network made of voice messages, friends of friends, social networks and numbers saved in the address book. It is a system that lives on intuitions and favors, where immediacy is the key. "In Naples, when work is not found, it is created", writes AGI, and it could not be more true.
A Model of Survival or a Sign of Crisis?
These “strange jobs” are the symbol of a city that does not give up, but also of a context where necessity sharpens the mind. On the one hand, they testify to the resilience and creativity of Neapolitans, capable of transforming every difficulty into an opportunity. On the other, they highlight the shortcomings of an economic and work system that pushes many to invent a job to survive.
Services such as “reserved” parking or improvised taxis respond to real needs, but often operate in a gray area, without regulation or protection. Naples, with its ability to make do, continues to be a laboratory of ideas and solutions, a place where the art of “making a virtue of necessity” is a deep-rooted tradition.
But perhaps the time has come for institutions to support this creativity, offering concrete and regulated opportunities, to transform Neapolitan ingenuity into a structured resource. Until then, the city will continue to make do in its own way, with an idea, a favor, an intuition.
#IngeniousNaples #StrangeWorks #WordofMouth
Article published on May 3, 2025 - 11:51 pm
Video Chronicles
The article highlights how Neapolitans are always ready to find creative solutions to everyday problems. However, it is also important to reflect on how this situation may indicate a lack of formal job opportunities and support from institutions.