Bagnoli, workers revolt against dredging: "Poisons in the sea for the rich sailing industry."

The "wound" of Bagnoli reopens. In this Neapolitan neighborhood, still bearing the scars of industrial pollution, anger is growing over the accelerated redevelopment plans for the America's Cup. Yesterday morning, between 500 and 600 people blocked Viale Campi Flegrei to protest what they bluntly call "colonization." The working-class community of the area is mobilizing, convinced that the urban transformation is yet another betrayal of the working class.

The ghost construction site without public projects

The demonstration, organized by the joint group "Bagnoli in formazione," which brings together committees like Mare Libero and several local associations, points the finger at institutional opacity. Work on the America's Cup—scheduled for delivery in April—has begun "without discussion or transparency," the promoters complain. But the most explosive issue concerns the dredging of the seabed to build base camps on the landfill.

"There's still no clear, public plan," thunders activist Aldo Amoretti. "The terms of the agreement between the government and the organizers aren't public. We practically don't know either the feasibility study or the construction plan. And yet, work is just beginning." For a community whose historical memory bears the scars of industrial poisoning, this approach seems like "bullying."

The terror of poisons being released again

Activists warn of a dangerous operation: stirring the seabed risks releasing carcinogenic pollutants still present in the sediments.

For decades, the community has been demanding a promise that has never been kept: true reclamation, restoration of the coastline, and the return of the sea to free swimming for all. Now this priority, central to the neighborhood's redevelopment, risks being buried under the grounds of a sailing competition.

"A regatta for the rich that cancels the reclamation"

The accusations against the political class are harsh. The movements maintain that the America's Cup—defined as "a competition for the rich only, with no sporting intent"—served as an excuse to cancel, with the cross-party consensus, the key element of the municipal master plan: the removal and remediation of the landfill.

The paradox is clear: while bulldozers and other machinery are already moving through the area, essential documents, public agreements, and guarantees regarding operating procedures are lacking. For Bagnoli's longtime residents, this isn't redevelopment. It's yet another planned displacement of those who truly live in the neighborhood.