Naples – This morning, a dozen desperate mothers reoccupied the dilapidated apartments of the former Agip Motel in the Secondigliano neighborhood, which were evicted just two weeks ago by the City of Naples.
After days of grueling protests—including occupations of municipal buildings and makeshift camps with mattresses spread out in front of the City Hall—the women, left without a roof over their heads, forced entry into the building, barricading themselves in units that had not yet been demolished.
The arrival of the Carabinieri triggered a moment of high tension: some occupants sat on the windowsills of the third-floor buildings, shouting slogans and threatening to jump into the void to attract the attention of the authorities. "We want a real home!" shouted one of the protesters, her voice cracking with exhaustion and anger, as she clutched a young child to her chest.
"The mayor promised us solutions, but here there are only lies and delays. Tell Gaetano Manfredi: either you give us decent housing, or we're not leaving here!" The words echo like a rallying cry, amplified by the megaphones of supporters of the "Campaign for the Right to Housing," which for months has been supporting families struggling with the Neapolitan housing crisis.
The surreal and dramatic scene unfolded around 11 a.m. under a gray Neapolitan autumn sky. The women—mostly single mothers with children and stories of poverty and marginalization—had already tried every avenue: petitions, roundtable discussions, even accepting a one-time €10 grant from the City Council.
But that money, the campaign's promoters promise, "never reached the pockets of those who needed it most." Others, however, protest out of sheer terror of the unknown: "We don't know where to go," confides one of the squatters, who prefers to remain anonymous. "Private landlords won't rent to us because we're 'at risk,' and the family homes offered by the municipality are just a sop, with no guarantees for the future."
An eviction that lit the fuseTo understand the extent of this reoccupation, we need to go back just 14 days, to October 8, when law enforcement evacuated 27 families from the former Agip Motel, a municipal facility on Via Nuova Agnano, towards Scampia, which for over a decade had served as a precarious shelter for hundreds of homeless people.
The operation, prompted by the start of demolition work to redevelop the area into a social hub, left entire families penniless, many of them immigrants or in extreme economic hardship.
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"No one will rent us houses because we're in dire straits," a mother said during the eviction, climbing onto the roof of the building to resist the bulldozers. The municipality, led by Mayor Manfredi, responded by offering immediate assistance: vouchers for temporary rentals and, for those who refused, placement in social housing. But the families refused.
"No money, but a real home," was the chant of subsequent protests, culminating in a march through the streets of Naples last weekend, with 26 families marching to City Hall demanding structural solutions.
"The subsidy solves nothing," explains an activist with the Campaign for the Right to Housing. "It's a Band-Aid on an open wound. Naples has thousands of empty public housing units, but politicians prefer demagoguery to planning."
The housing emergency: a chronic emergency
This incident is not an isolated case, but the latest chapter in a housing crisis that has plagued Naples for years. According to municipal data, over 5 families are on the waiting list for public housing, while speculation and bureaucratic delays are inflating rental prices in the suburbs.
The former Agip Motel, a 70s relic transformed into an "illegal public housing" out of desperation, symbolizes the failure of housing policies that prioritize repression and evictions over inclusion.
"It's a disgrace," thunders a spokesperson for the movement, "while women risk their lives on their balconies, the administration remains silent. Where are the PNRR funds for social housing?" Currently, the situation at the former Motel is at a standstill: the Carabinieri are keeping watch but are not intervening, awaiting a dialogue with the City Council.
Mayor Manfredi, contacted by our editorial staff, has not yet responded, but sources close to the council say "an urgent meeting is scheduled for this afternoon." Meanwhile, the women remain there, clinging to a thread of hope and anger, with their children playing among the rubble. A cruel reminder: in Naples, the right to housing is still a luxury for the few.
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