Death threats force closure of Naples cultural space Lanificio25

Franco Rendano, founder of the cultural space Lanificio25 in Naples, has received an anonymous death threat containing a bullet. The threat was delivered to his home on October 15, 2018. Rendano made the threat public on January 19, 2019, after police advised him to delay disclosure to avoid hindering investigations. Since May 2006, Lanificio25 has hosted over a thousand events including music, theater, cinema, conferences, debates, book presentations, and exhibitions. The space is located in the cloister of the Church of Santa Caterina a Formiello, a 16th-century complex converted into a wool mill during the Bourbon period. Lanificio25 was inaugurated in 2006 with a conference by Edgar Morin and Gianluca Bocchi. Rendano believes the project's success in revitalizing the Porta Capuana area, a historic but degraded part of Naples, may have provoked the threat. He hopes institutions will support cultural initiatives in the monumental area.