Urban change. The western area of Naples (Italy), from agricultural villages to municipalities: plans, infrastructure and architecture from the “Risanamento” to the Second Post War

Starting in 1927, Naples integrated the old villages of Chiaiano, Pianura, Soccavo, Marianella and Miano, which were included in the organic development of the city when the regulatory plan of 1939, coordinated by Luigi Piccinato, was made. This project projected these new suburban areas to be supported by a dense network of infrastructures that would contribute to the organic development of the city towards the west. Through the analysis of unpublished documentary sources, anthropogenic characters and the peculiarities of the buildings concerned will be outlined in this paper, as well as the dynamics that led to the degeneration of the initial ideas of design through a succession of zoning. We will also discuss the fact that a significant part of that zoning was never approved, to some of which unapproved variations were subsequently applied, all of which resulting in districts characterized by alienation and social exclusion caused by a lack of social services, infrastructures and green areas. Following the post-war reconstruction programs, major agreements were planned for housing, whose structures are now characterised as having great architectural qualities. These include great works by Marcello Canino, BBPR, Ignazio Gardella, Mario Ridolfi, Luigi Cosenza and Marcello Capobianco. Although this municipality, is one of the greatest examples of a modern Italian neighbourhood, it has yet to be fully studied and appreciated by historians. There has been no real comprehensive planning of these urban territories, however, no real integration of the housing in these new neighbourhoods with the city core. These particular cases are not only innovative in the design of the infrastructural system and with regard to building types, but also represent an important contribution to the study of Italian contemporary architecture. In fact, initial intentions were compromised in the clash between project and practice and so the infrastructure network was never realised as originally planned. The issue of this unique and special type of housing is such a complex and extraordinary “architectural experience” that it provides us with exceptional results.