Renzo Piano's G124 Program Revives Naples' Cimitero delle Fontanelle and Rione Sanità Entrance
An urban intervention spanning 300 square meters has reopened the long-closed entrance to Naples' Cimitero delle Fontanelle. Initiated by Renzo Piano under the G124 initiative, this project was crafted at the Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II as G124 Sanità, featuring a design team that includes Marino Amodio, Giuseppe De Pascale, Orazio Nicodemo, and Davide Savoia. The design merges the cemetery entrance with the church forecourt, restoring pedestrian access. Ramps and seating facilitate a smooth transition from the street to the underground area, inspired by Italo Calvino's Città invisibili. iGuzzini's lighting accentuates the tufa architecture, while the ossuary, which has housed remains for over four centuries, is linked to the cult of the anime pezzentelle, enhancing its significance.
Key facts
- The Cimitero delle Fontanelle in Naples' Rione Sanità reopens after years of closure with a new entrance project
- The intervention was promoted by Renzo Piano within G124, his programme for regenerating Italian peripheries
- The project was developed as G124 Sanità at the Department of Architecture of the Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II
- The design team includes Marino Amodio, Giuseppe De Pascale, Orazio Nicodemo and Davide Savoia
- The redeveloped area measures about 300 square metres and includes the cemetery entrance, the sagrato of Maria Santissima del Carmine and a small green space
- The church forecourt was demolished and redesigned, returning the area in front of the ossuary to pedestrians
- Lighting was designed by iGuzzini to highlight the tufa architecture and the passage from city to ossuary
- The ossuary, carved into the tufa quarries of the Materdei hill, has held the remains of thousands of people for at least four centuries
- G124 has previously worked in San Paolo in Bari, Zen 2 in Palermo and Niguarda in Milan
Entities
Artists
- Renzo Piano
- Marino Amodio
- Giuseppe De Pascale
- Orazio Nicodemo
- Davide Savoia
- Italo Calvino
- Nicola Flora
- Daniela Buonanno
Institutions
- G124
- Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II
- Dipartimento di Architettura dell'Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II
- iGuzzini
- Parrocchia di Maria Santissima del Carmine
- Inside Art
- Università Federico II
- Dipartimento di Architettura dell'Università Federico II
- Comune di Napoli
- La Paranza
Locations
- Naples
- Italy
- Rione Sanità
- Cimitero delle Fontanelle
- Materdei
- Bari
- San Paolo
- Palermo
- Zen 2
- Milan
- Niguarda
- Maria Santissima del Carmine
Sources
- Inside Art —
- Inside Art —