27-03-09

Poggioreale jail was built in 1905 because “Vicaria” (Castel Capuano) , “Carmine” and “Vigliena Fortress” prisons were all packed full.

It was built up in the unhealthy and marshland Eastern area of the city, while the beautiful western part of Naples was meant for the people to live in.

According to Alessandro Baratta, the Eastern side of the City, were the “Real Villa of Poggioreale was situated,  was a paradise for hunters just because it was full of migratory birds who had found a nice home in the marshy  land.

A sort of land reclamation had been already started between 1830 and 1844  in order to allow the construction of the Central Railway Station, but only after the year 1884 there was a complete land reclamation of the unhealthy place, and this happened because of the terrible black death which had struck the whole town.

In this ancient map of the city of Naples made by duca of Noja in 1775, we can see, above on the right, the eastern area of the city where Poggioreale Jail will be built.

The Poggioreale Jail construction, started at the beginning of 20^th century and was part of a developing plan of the Eastern side of the City that besides the prison included a big open market, a fish-market, a scrap-iron-market (the so named. “scasso”), a slaughter-house,  the cemetery and, near the sea, the ship-building, the refineries,  the engine-shed, and finally the harbour-customs.

Poggioreale Jail  with, just at back, some of the skycrapers of the Managerial & Business City and the volcano Vesuvio and Mount Somma in the background.

Between 1907 and 1909 the Italian Government gave 6  and half million  liras to build the Prison.

Cacciapuoti firm started the job first. The work ought to be completed in four years, instead it ended in 1914 and only in 1919  a small group of inmates were transferred there from “Carmine jail” though only temporarily. During the first World war (1915-1918), In fact, some jail sections were occupied by military troops. That’s why the building had to be changed for the new purpose. After the War it was necessary to repair the prison, because of the heavy damages and the changes caused by the presence of the troops.

“Scotto Di Tella” firm was chosen to do the huge job. The first Director of the Poggioreale Prison, Cavalier Leopoldo Cremona,  following the authorization  given by the Home Ministry, General Management of Prisons and Reformatories, with a letter dated February 25, 1921, gave to the “Scotto Di Tella” firm the green light to complete the whole sewers, the cells and the offices. Furthermore the Firm had to set up the water system in the whole Prison. The Church was completed not until 1924.

A view of Poggioreale Prison from the new Poggioreale road.

In 1921, due to the getaway of two inmates from the Prison it was felt the need to have a sort of  external vigilance service.

Furthermore the entire correctional officers’ body serving the Carmine Prison was transferred into Poggioreale because the Military Authority said they could not answer in other way for the security of the new prison

By R.D. 31^st December 1922 n° 1718 the General Directory of Prison passed from Home Ministry to the Department of  Justice and Cult Affairs.

Poggioreale Prison, a sadly place known in all over the world, was built to receive only seven hundred inmates.

Poggioreale cells were first built as a single unit , then they were transformed  in huge dormitories in order to receive more people

During the first half of 1940 and soon after the second world war the population in Poggioreale jail counted seven thousand unit. Such overcrowding was caused by the imprisonment of political people and black-market traders. (This period was very well described by Eduardo De Filippo in his “Napoli Milionaria” masterpiece),

Nowadays about seven hundred Correctional Officers work in the Prison.

Usually the number of prisoners is almost two thousand units, however due to the high rate of crimes committed in the City the number can reach even the two thousand and three hundred people incarcerated.

Inmates’ Relatives who pay visit to their cared ones are almost one thousand nine hundred daily.

People entering the building every day: Doctors, Lawers, Teachers and so on, are more than four hundred units.

The Eastern area of the city. In the middle we can see the Managerial & Business City. Just next to it  is located - invisible from this angle -  the Prison of Poggioreale

Poggioreale Prison occupies an area of sixty-seven thousand square meters. ( the Managerial & Business City situated just at back of the prison)  is extended over an area of two hundred twenty thousand square meters).

The Prison is made up of eight building (the so named “Padiglioni”), all facing on a long corridor.

The Buildings were named after some major Italian City such as Naples, Milan, Livorno, Genova, Tourin, Venice, Avellino, Florence, Salerno, Rome and Italy.

A beatiful view of the Eastern side of the City with the Vesuvio Volcano In the background taken fron San Martino hill.

Later it was added the Padiglione “S. Paul” which is the Prison Hospital. It serves sick people coming from all the Italian Prisons.

In 1983 the area were inmates used to have working labs was transformed in a bunker-room because of the famous TV Conductor Enzo Tortora’s mafia trial’. After that it was split into four bunker room.

In 1998 it was built a nine hundred meters long tunnel linking the prison up to the new Court of Justice situated in the “Directional Center”.

Translation in English made from the original Italian version by Fr. Bruno Oliviero (Chaplain of Poggioreale Jail)

Credits: I am very grateful to Dott.ssa. AnnaLaura De Fusco,  and I want to thank her for giving me a written authorization to publish her short but well-documented history of Poggioreale jail.