Twelve years after the devastating fire that destroyed one of the symbols of Southern Italy's culture and innovation, Naples is writing a new chapter: the new Science Centre is born, the heart of the revitalization of the City of Science.
It's a concrete response to the wound of 2013, when an arson attack destroyed a center of excellence in just a few hours. Since then, amidst judicial investigations (the only defendant, the former security guard, was acquitted on appeal in 2024) and bureaucratic obstacles, the scientific and civil communities have tenaciously awaited this moment.
La Campania region and the Idis Foundation today unveiled the design for the new facility, which will span over 66 cubic meters with a usable floor area of nearly 10 square meters. The total investment is €77 million, of which the first €22 million—from reactivated 2007-2013 FSC funds—has already been allocated. With the preliminary investigation phase complete, the tender process is now awaited, with the goal of opening construction in early 2026.
“We are giving back to the community a place that has been wounded but never forgotten.”, declared with emotion Riccardo Villari, president of the Idis Foundation. We've faced difficult years, starting with €20 million in debt and employees without salaries. Today, with heads held high, we can say we're winning the relaunch challenge.
Next to him, the president of the Campania Region Vincenzo De Luca defined the project “a source of pride for Naples, for Campania, for the entire country.” Because Città della Scienza is more than just a museum: it is an infrastructure that looks to the future, to younger generations, to science as a driver of development and citizenship.
Article published by Vincenzo Scarpa on July 28, 2025, at 16:35 PM

Vincenzo Scarpa, Journalist for Cronache della Campania and
Political Science student at the University of Naples Federico II.
Passionate about all types of sports, he loves to write and talk mainly about football.
Comments (1)
It's wonderful to see how, after all this time, a new project for the City of Science is starting again. Let's hope there are no more bureaucratic problems this time and that it can finally open in 2026 as planned.