Naples - Naples Local Police conducted another raid in the heart of the historic center's nightlife. Over the night between Sunday and Monday, the White Helmets returned to patrol the alleys of the "baretti" (small bars)—the area between Via Toledo and Piazza del Gesù, including Vico Quercia, Via Domenico Capitelli, and Via Cisterna dell'Olio—to enforce the anti-nightlife ordinance signed by Mayor Gaetano Manfredi and effective November 6.
Once again, it's not just nightclubs that have been targeted, but also residents, who have been fined for illegal parking and had their cars towed away. This is the second operation in four days: the first, last Friday, had already sparked controversy and protests.
The ordinance that divides
The municipal order requires bars to close early at 12:30 a.m. Sunday through Thursday and at 1:30 a.m. on weekends, as well as a ban on takeaway drinks after 10 p.m. These measures are designed to curb nighttime chaos and complaints from residents, who are exasperated by loud music, noise, and crowds that last into the night.
But the ordinance doesn't affect the entire city: it applies only to a handful of streets where a tug-of-war has been raging for months between residents and bar owners. Residents had sued the municipality for breach of public order, resulting in the opening of an administrative dispute. In response, the bar owners have announced their intention to challenge the order before the Regional Administrative Court (TAR).
Fines to residents and accusations: "A retaliation"
The latest raid has further inflamed tensions. "They're coming to tow the cars of residents who rebelled against the disruptive nightlife," denounces attorney Gennaro Esposito, president of the Citizenship Committee. "The local police had already fined the residents on Friday. Today, new fines were issued. But the 2020 resolution establishing the Urban Pedestrian Area was never completed: the white lines were removed, but never reinstated. So we have no place to park."
The affected areas – Vico Quercia, Via Cisterna dell'Olio, Vico II Quercia and the surrounding alleys – formally fall within an Urban Pedestrian Area (APU) established in 2020, but the signage is incomplete and, according to residents, the lack of reserved spaces forces them to leave their cars on the street.
The neighborhood is experiencing a growing sense of a war between the city and its residents: on one side, the administration is trying to impose stricter rules to curb the excesses of the nightlife; on the other, residents feel penalized by checks and fines just as they demand greater protection from the nighttime chaos.
As tow trucks continue to circulate the alleys, the atmosphere remains tense. The legal battle over the ordinance has just begun, but the conflict between livability and enjoyment seems far from resolved.
Comments (1)
It's incredible how the city fines residents who aren't at fault. The streets aren't clear, and residents don't know where to park. Nightlife is a problem, but residents need to be listened to, too.