Naples, another attack at Porta Capuana: car destroyed, two injured

Naples – More violence in the city's historic heart. This time it occurred in the Porta Capuana area, where a trivial street dispute escalated into a punitive raid late Sunday evening.

Two motorists, including a woman, were brutally attacked by a man of foreign origin, while their car was trashed with chairs and knives.

This incident once again shines a spotlight on one of Naples' most troubled areas, a city that has been the focus of protests by residents and business owners for years over the degradation and insecurity that plague daily life between Piazza Capuana and Corso Garibaldi.

The raid: violence over a disagreement on traffic

According to initial reports, the attack occurred near Via Carbonara, following an argument over traffic. Within minutes, the argument escalated into a violent brawl.

Witnesses say the attacker violently attacked the two occupants of the car, destroying the vehicle in the process: shattered windows, torn off mirrors, broken taillights, and slashed tires with a knife.

The victims, bleeding and in shock, were treated by emergency medical services and taken to the hospital. Their condition is reportedly serious but not life-threatening. Carabinieri officers from the Compagnia Stella responded to the scene and began an investigation to reconstruct the incident and identify the attacker.

Borrelli: "We witnessed yet another episode of violence live."

A few meters from the attack was Francesco Emilio Borrelli, a member of the Green Left Alliance, who has been fighting for years to redevelop Porta Capuana.

"It was an episode of unprecedented violence," Borrelli recounts. "Two people were savagely beaten, and the car was smashed with a chair and a knife. It confirms that Porta Capuana has become a no-man's land, where violence and lawlessness reign supreme. Residents live in terror, and many exasperated business owners are considering closing their shops."

"An open-air smokehouse, curfew in the evening"

The MP and residents' complaint is clear: the square, redeveloped just a few months ago, has already sunk into decay.

"Porta Capuana," Borrelli continues, "is an open-air den, a drug dealing hub, and a permanent illegal market. During the day, stolen goods or goods collected from used clothing bins are sold, and at night, a curfew is in effect. Fights and robberies are the order of the day. The authorities must intervene before we pass the point of no return."
The MP's words are confirmed by the stories of many residents, who describe the area as "an urban trap", where tourists, homeless people, drug addicts and gangs of drug dealers live together.

A degradation that extends up to Corso Garibaldi

The situation at Porta Capuana is also reflected along the Corso Garibaldi and Vasto axis, where incidents of petty crime and violence are recorded daily.
"The square," Borrelli adds, "is a symbol of failure: trash everywhere, distraught people lying on benches, rats scurrying among the illegal stalls. All this just steps from the tourist hotspots of the historic center."

Appeal to institutions: "Save Porta Capuana"

The Avs MP finally launched a new appeal to the Government and local authorities:
The State Property Agency's work on the former Magistrates' Court, announced years ago, seems stuck in a major question mark. It's time to stop making promises and postponing. We need a serious, shared plan to restore legality and urban decorum, with increased law enforcement, inspections, and social interventions. Porta Capuana and Corso Garibaldi are the gateway to Naples: they cannot remain symbols of abandonment.

The incident comes just days after another incident in the same area, where a young woman was attacked and rescued by a French tourist.
Two closely spaced incidents paint an increasingly alarming picture: Porta Capuana, the epicenter of urban decay, fear, and loneliness, in the heart of a city that lives every night amidst beauty and open wounds.