Naples' Royal Hospice for the Poor reopens its terrace with four civic theater performances.

The Real Albergo dei Poveri (Royal Hospice for the Poor) reopens its doors to the city, awaiting the completion of its restoration. From October 6th to 16th, the patio, auditorium, and terrace of this historic Neapolitan building will host four free events dedicated to hospitality, migration, diasporas, and memory.

The event represents the first part of the RAP Napoli Millenaria program and inaugurates the second edition of "Futuro Quotidiano," permanent civic and cultural workshops conceived by artistic director Laura Valente, organized by the City of Naples and funded by the Metropolitan City. The program will continue in the following months with initiatives aimed at communities and younger generations.

The program opens on Tuesday, October 6th at 8:00 pm on the terrace with "Fame," a site-specific performance by Armando Punzo inspired by Knut Hamsun's novel of the same name. Paul Cocian will perform, with Andrea Salvadori on piano, guitars, and electronics. The performance addresses the theme of hunger as a need to affirm one's identity and become the architect of one's own existence.

For Punzo, founder of the Compagnia della Fortezza in Volterra prison in 1988, this marks his return to Naples after thirteen years. The director, born in Cercola in 1959, has forged a theatrical career spanning over three decades, working with prisoners and non-professionals, winning six Ubu Awards.

On Wednesday, October 7th, at 8:00 pm, the terrace will host "E per loro," a poetic-musical suite by Gianni Valentino, Lello Tramma, and Michele Signore. The project stems from Valentino's research in the Historical Archives of the Bank of Naples and from documentary evidence on the slave trade between Naples and Istanbul in the 17th century.

Fourteen short poems, in Italian and Neapolitan, will give voice to men, women, and children forced into captivity and the loss of their identity. Poetry, electronic music, and traditional Mediterranean and Middle Eastern instruments will intertwine to revisit a little-known chapter in the city's history and its relationship with the Mediterranean.

At 9:15 pm, "Eredità" will be the turn of Lucariello, featuring Federico Di Napoli and the voices of the young people from the Neapolitan rap and song workshop held by the CCO – Crisi Come Opportunità association at the Nisida juvenile detention center. This event marks the launch of a collaboration between "Futuro Quotidiano" and the Nisida juvenile detention center, with the aim of creating an educational and cultural bridge between the institution and the Real Albergo dei Poveri.

Closing out this first installment, on October 16th at 19 pm, Giorgina Pi and Bluemotion will perform "Tiresia: born near ghosts. Born a storm" in the patio and auditorium, marking the Naples debut of the performance-installation from the "Tiresias B Side" project. The work, to be listened to with headphones, unfolds as a 35-minute sound diary dedicated to the discovery of Tiresias in the verses of Kae Tempest.

Alongside the performance, Giorgina Pi will also bring "Fotoromanza" to the city, a workshop for women between 65 and 90. The program, which will continue until December, will invite participants to collectively reconstruct and reinvent their own stories through the language of photo stories, ultimately culminating in a documentary.

The October program thus marks the launch of the second edition of "Futuro Quotidiano," which will combine historical memory, community, performance, and reflection on the future of cities until December. Starting October 29th, "Scuola popolare, nessuno escluso" (Popular School, No One Excluded) will also feature free after-school programs for children, as well as workshops dedicated to the body and emotions.

The project builds on the first edition, held at the Real Albergo dei Poveri from May 15 to September 30, 2025, which involved over 1.500 young people in workshops and generated 2.500 proposals for the Naples of 2050. Between December 2025 and May 2026, "Still Here – Prologue. The Albergo dei Poveri and the Memory of Things" also attracted 150 visitors.

All events scheduled from October 6th to 16th are free, subject to availability.