B&B in Mergellina turned into brothel: owner files complaint

Naples – An apartment on Via Mergellina, regularly rented as a B&B, is reportedly being used as a den for the prostitution of foreign women.

The owner of the property reported the incident, having long reported to the authorities what she described as an "unsustainable" situation, without, she claims, any effective measures having been taken.

"All of Mergellina knows what's going on in that apartment," the woman says. "I've reported it several times, ever since the Covid era, but nothing's changed. In 2023, the Carabinieri even carried out a raid, surprising the women with clients and materials used for the business, but then everything went back to normal."

According to the owner, the property was rented to an association that sublets the rooms, while the owner claimed not to know the identity of the people staying there.

The woman also reports a constant coming and going of men, causing increasing discomfort and fear for the other residents of the building.

"There's also a person who arranges appointments on behalf of the tenant," she adds, "and who has broken into a commercial space in the building, turning it into a residence and illegally connecting to electricity and gas. I'm devastated; I don't know who to turn to. This used to be a respectable building, now it's become a den of prostitution."

In the afternoon, Green Left MP Francesco Emilio Borrelli visited the site for an inspection, responding to the owner's appeal and the residents' complaints. "This is a shocking situation," the MP commented. "We must immediately shed light on what is happening in this B&B, identifying all those involved and any potential collusion. We must determine whether criminal activity related to the exploitation of prostitution is lurking behind it."

Borrelli also points the finger at a broader phenomenon: “We can't continue to pretend nothing is happening.

Clear and effective regulations are needed to combat the so-called "B&Bs of prostitution," which risk proliferating, fueled by overtourism and lax enforcement. Residential residents are exasperated: clients are loitering in the stairwells, ringing the doorbells at all hours, and security concerns are growing.

We're now awaiting investigations by the competent authorities. Meanwhile, the owner reiterates her appeal: "I've done everything I could. I just ask that someone actually intervene."