Naples – A storm is brewing at the Teatro San Carlo , the temple of Neapolitan opera, where the appointment of Fulvio Adamo Macciardi as superintendent, decided by the Minister of Culture Alessandro Giuli, has sparked a real institutional clash.
Naples Mayor Gaetano Manfredi, president of the San Carlo Theater Foundation, is not having it and has announced a three-pronged counteroffensive: legal action in civil court, an appeal to the Lazio Regional Administrative Court, and the decision not to convene the Board of Directors until the administrative aspects of the matter are clarified.
Manfredi's three "war fronts"
At the heart of the dispute is an appointment that Manfredi considers illegitimate, the result of a "ghost" meeting of the Board of Directors, cancelled by him due to a commitment in Rome but held anyway by three out of five councilors. The affair has taken on the character of a political thriller.
It all began on August 4, when the Steering Committee, composed of Maria Luisa Faraone Mennella, Giovanni Francesco Nicoletti, and Riccardo Realfonzo (representatives of the Ministry of Culture and the Campania Region), met despite Manfredi's cancellation of the session, due to his commitment to Palazzo Chigi for the Bagnoli control room.
The three councilors, in an unprecedented alliance between the center-right and the governor's representative Vincenzo De Luca, unanimously proposed Macciardi, a 66-year-old from Milan with an impressive resume: two terms at the Teatro Comunale di Bologna and president of ANFOLS, the association of Italian opera and symphony foundations.
Minister Giuli, breaking the deadlock, signed the appointment decree on August 5th, igniting the controversy. Manfredi, however, refuses to give in. In the coming hours, the mayor will challenge the three councilors' resolution before the civil judge of the Court of Naples, challenging the legitimacy of their decision.
Once notification of the ministerial decree has been received, which has not yet reached the offices of the San Carlo Theatre , Manfredi, together with the representative of the Metropolitan City Maria Grazia Falciatore, the Municipality of Naples and the Metropolitan City itself, will appeal to the Lazio Regional Administrative Court (TAR) to have the appointment annulled.
Finally, the mayor has decided not to convene the Steering Committee, as requested by the three councilors, until the State Attorney's Office clarifies the situation of the Board of Auditors, declared expired by the Ministry of Culture. The battle, however, is not merely administrative: it is a political clash pitting the Municipality, the Region, and the central government against each other.
Governor Vincenzo De Luca , at odds with Manfredi, supported Macciardi's nomination, calling the continuing uncertainty at the San Carlo "unsustainable": "The theatre has been in disarray for four months, what else were we waiting for?"
The Democratic Party and Five Star Movement reacted in contrast, calling for a "blitz" and accusing the Ministry of "disregarding the rules." The auditors of the San Carlo, for their part, wrote to Giuli, arguing that Macciardi's appointment "has no legal value." Meanwhile, the unions, while wishing Macciardi well, are calling for dialogue to prevent the controversy from damaging the theater's image.
The San Carlo, one of the cultural symbols of Naples and Europe, thus finds itself hostage to a power struggle that threatens to tarnish its prestige. On the one hand, the need for stable leadership following the departure of Stéphane Lissner ; on the other, accusations of procedural overreach are fueling a climate of tension.
Macciardi, a veteran of the opera world, is waiting to see if he can truly take the reins of the theater or if his fate will be decided in court. Meanwhile, Naples is witnessing a duel that goes beyond the management of a cultural institution, reflecting a broader conflict between local and national powers. The decision now falls to the judges.
It's strange how a single appointment can generate so much chaos and tension among institutions. The situation at the Teatro San Carlo seems complicated, and I hope a solution can be reached soon that can restore calm.
The situation at the Teatro San Carlo appears very complicated, with various positions at stake. Manfredi is right to seek clarification, but Macciardi's appointment could bring new opportunities. It would be best to resolve this conflict without further delay.