Le trasformazioni del contesto urbano tra XIX e XX secolo. Programmi, progetti e realizzazioni dal decennio francese agli albori del regime

In the early 19th century, Largo del Castello in Naples constituted a central place for the city’s life. Still lacking a clear shape and architectural identity, many projects had been proposed for the area already in the decade of the Napoleonic rule (1806-1815) aiming to an embellishment of the shapeless square defined by buildings characterized by a great height and design diversity. However, only few and uncoordinated interventions were carried out, leaving unchanged the will of undertaking a major reorganization of the space. Therefore, with the restoration of the Bourbonic crown, new programs and projects were set up for the Largo. Nevertheless only after the Italian Unification the long-awaited aspirations of transforming the popular area into a regular square representative of the new government - that would have been then renamed Piazza del Municipio - were actually started. Anyways, their definitive accomplishment - which will bring to the current layout - will be reached only later in the early 20th century through the release of Castelnuovo. The paper covers the whole history of the area’s transformations led throughout the 19th century, focusing both on the realized and on the unrealized projects, retracing the tough process involving the affirmation of conservation issues of one of the most stratified parts of Naples.