Naples – In Vomero, not even the streetlights are safe anymore. In the heart of the hilly shopping district, what residents have already dubbed the "lantern gang" has taken action.
A silent raid is dismantling, piece by piece, the street lighting in the pedestrian area. The latest incident occurred on Via Enrico Alvino, where another streetlight was surgically removed from its housing, leaving the support column exposed and, more importantly, the street in darkness.
Once again, Gennaro Capodanno, president of the Valori Collinari Committee, is sounding the alarm, painting a grim picture of the situation. "We're facing a worrying phenomenon," he thunders Capodanno. "After the theft on Via Merliani, now it's the turn of the parallel stretch of Via Alvino.
We're talking about historic streetlights, installed when the pedestrian zone was created in 1999 and recently modernized with LED technology. The result of these raids is that entire stretches of street are plunged into dangerous darkness after sunset.
The “Salotto Buono” reduced to a bazaar
But the theft of the lanterns is just the tip of the iceberg of a deeper malaise gripping the Via Scarlatti area. What was once the jewel in the neighborhood's crown now risks becoming a symbol of neglect.
"The pedestrian area has become a no-man's land," the complaint continues. "The access points on Via Merliani and Via Alvino have been reduced to unauthorized parking for motorcycles, while the pavement is an obstacle course of bumps and potholes that threaten the safety of passersby every day."
The area's transformation into a veritable open-air market, especially on weekends, is in the spotlight. Between the omnipresent sock vendors, beggars, gazebos of all shapes and sizes, and signature-gathering booths, living space is shrinking. "To this souk-like scene," Capodanno emphasizes, "is compounded by the return of street vendors with their wares spread out on the ground and the uncontrolled din of street performers who, with amplifiers blasting, hold residents' ears hostage for hours."
Denied greenery and dilapidated furniture
The final blow concerns routine maintenance, now a pipe dream in the hilly neighborhood. The "wounds" in the street furniture are visible everywhere: empty panels where historic plane trees once stood, cut down and never replaced, and benches reduced to skeletons, with planks missing for months and no one to repair them.
New Year's Eve ends with a peremptory appeal to the institutions, calling for immediate intervention from the municipal administration and, specifically, from the councilor for infrastructure, Cosenza: "Rapid action is needed to restore dignity and safety to Vomero, before darkness, and not just that of the streetlights, envelops everything."
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Comments (1)
The situation in Vomero is truly worrying, with streetlights being stolen and the streets becoming dark. I don't understand how there aren't any controls in place to stop these acts of vandalism. People need to feel safe.