Alfonso Artiaco Gallery Flees Naples Historic Center Due to Overtourism

Galleria Alfonso Artiaco is relocating from Piazzetta Nilo in Naples' historic center back to Palazzo Partanna in Piazza dei Martiri, Chiaia, citing excessive tourism. The gallery occupied the Piazzetta Nilo space for 13 years, but dealer Alfonso Artiaco states the historic center is no longer what it was when he chose it. The return to Palazzo Partanna—where the gallery operated from 2003 to 2012—will be marked by an Ann Veronica Janssens exhibition in March 2025. The building previously housed Eduardo Cicelyn's CasaMadre gallery and, from 1969, legendary dealer Lucio Amelio. Artiaco, approaching 40 years in business in 2026, opened his first gallery in Pozzuoli in 1986. The move reflects overtourism's impact on Italian art cities, with rising rents and commercial displacement. Fellow dealer Tiziana Di Caro, whose gallery remains in the same Piazzetta Nilo building, notes that only B&Bs and fry shops can afford current rents and will reassess when her contract ends in two years.