The Rione Carità: origins, history and evolution

One of the many places that represents its beating heart is the Rione Carità, which stretches out in the very centre of the city, in the San Giuseppe district, and is bordered to the north by via Armando Diaz and piazza Matteotti, to the west by via Toledo, to the south by piazza Municipio and via San Giacomo and, finally, to the east by via Medina.

Naples is rich in history and traditions, which soak into its streets, alleyways and neighbourhoods, telling the story of a city full of contradictions and utterly timeless.

This area, once called "territorio di Santa Marta" (the territory of Santa Marta), was one of the landholdings of the Dominican friars of the monastery of San Pietro martire and took its name from a confraternity, the Disciplina di Santa Marta (Discipline of Saint Martha), which had its seat here, together with a hospital, from 1373.

The building boom and the markets

The real building boom came in the 16th century, after, in 1499, under the reign of Federico d'Aragona (Frederick of Aragon), the defensive walls were extended westwards, with the ramparts running down what is now via Toledo as far as San Giacomo, where they joined up with Castel Nuovo.

In the 19th century, two of the city's most important markets were then built.

The first, built in 1811 to a design by Stefano Gasse, stood at largo della Carità, on land taken from the convent grounds of Monteoliveto (specifically the garden, where the French had planted the city's first botanical garden). Sadly it collapsed in 1906 following the eruption of Vesuvius.

The second, set up in 1844 to a design by Leonardo Laghezza, stood near the ponte di Tappia (Tappia bridge), in vico Bei Fiori e Belle Donne, behind palazzo Montemiletto. It was a lively, well-frequented spot for the sale of poultry and rabbits, but it was demolished during the post-war works.

The Twentieth Century

The Rione Carità, in fact, took on its final form during the Fascist regime and the post-war years, thanks to major redevelopment and demolition works.

In the 1930s, the church of San Tommaso d'Aquino, an integral part of the district's street layout, and the church of San Giuseppe Maggiore were pulled down, while at the same time via Armando Diaz and piazza Matteotti were opened up.

In the area known as dei Guantai Vecchi, close to the Monteoliveto monastery, the palazzo Troise and the Post Office building went up, designed by Gino Franzi and Giuseppe Vaccaro and completed in 1936.

The demolition project continued after the war, with the removal of the church of San Giovanni dei Fiorentini, the Teatro dei Fiorentini, the aforementioned food market in vico Bei Fiori e Belle Donne, and the historic Hotel Isotta & Geneve, badly damaged by wartime bombing, which had stood at the end of via Medina opposite the police headquarters.

It was in the Rione Carità, in fact, that Naples' oldest street name could be found: today's via Ponte di Tappia, which once continued beyond via Guantai Nuovi, towards via Toledo, under the name vico del baglivo Uries. This was the very street where Enrico De Nicola was born, and it took its name in honour of the magistrate Carlo Uries, baglivo (an official) of the Order of the Knights of Jerusalem and regent for Charles V, who died in 1551 and was buried in the nearby basilica of San Giacomo degli Spagnoli; it was here, indeed, that the man had built his own palace in 1533.