Naples, Saturday in Piazza Vanvitelli to "take back the city": a single demonstration against violence.

Naples – "Dear kids, we'll be in the square on Saturday especially for you." This is the invitation issued by Nelide Milano and Barbara Tafuri, spokesperson for the Network for the Safety of Minors and Adolescents, ahead of the "Let's Take Back Our City" demonstration, scheduled for Saturday, October 17th, in Piazza Vanvitelli, in Vomero. The event, originally scheduled for 4:00 PM, has been moved to 4:30 PM.

In their message to students, the spokespeople emphasize that hanging out with friends, visiting the city squares, and experiencing the city "should not be a conquest, but a right." And that no form of violence can challenge that right: "The squares are places of encounter, friendship, and growth. Above all, they are your places. Come and fill them with your presence, your energy, and your desire for the future."

A single demonstration

The mobilization stems from the serious incidents of violence reported last weekend in the Piazza Vanvitelli area, where a father was attacked by a group of young people while trying to protect his daughters. The Network for the Safety of Minors and Adolescents and the organizers of the spontaneous "Families for Safety" march have thus decided to merge their respective initiatives into a single moment of collective participation.

"Not two demonstrations, but one to make our voices heard more strongly," Milano and Tafuri explain. For the spokespeople, in the face of violence, "there must be no divisions": the safety of children, the freedom to use public spaces, respect for others, and the rejection of violence "concern everyone, without distinction."

"Safety isn't about staying at home."

The organizers' message is clear: safety must not mean sacrifice. "We cannot and do not want to get used to the idea that an evening with friends could turn into an occasion of fear," the spokespeople say. "Our city must continue to be a place of encounter, of relationships, of growth."
For the network, "safety doesn't mean staying home, avoiding certain places, or refusing to go out," but being able to fully experience the city without fear. And the right to safety, they conclude, "is not a concession but a duty on the part of the relevant institutions."

Borrelli: "No cover-up"

Also attending the demonstration will be Green-Left Alliance MP Francesco Emilio Borrelli, who described the picture emerging from the investigation and the information circulating after the attack as "disturbing." "The attack that occurred in recent days in Vomero cannot and must not be ignored," the MP declared, urging citizens to take to the streets "to send a strong and unequivocal message."

Borrelli claimed that the attackers included children of police officers and professionals, and criticized the silence of the families involved: "It is even more serious and intolerable that the parents didn't even apologize immediately for what their children did."

"Certain sons of the upper class of Naples"

The AVS MP made it clear that he doesn't want to "label or tar everyone with the same brush," but he called for firmness regarding responsibility. According to Borrelli, "certain sons of the so-called Naples elite are being cunning and mean, striking precisely where they know or think they can go unpunished, certain that someone will always come to their aid to cover for them or save them from responsibility."

His appeal is clear: "This time it must not be like this. No discounts or cover for those who use violence." Meanwhile, the prefect of Naples has set up a permanent joint force station at the scene of the attack.