Walk the streets of Naplesfrom the sea to the hilly districts, it's like crossing a long stage. The notes of street artists resonate where the walking is thickest. Contemporary sounds intertwine with the traditional sounds of the “parkers” who, mandolin or guitar slung over their shoulders, perform the classical repertoire.
People stop, listen, applaud, even when they are in a hurry. And he even sings a few verses. Add salt to taste and sing. Because here the music is a profound mark. It envelops you, between joy and melancholy. Mix styles, experiment, talk about urban evolution. It fuels its success, thanks to a wealth of genres which makes it more and more a City of Music: is the name of the municipal project which aims to support local talent with a regular program of events, to “develop a creative industry and attract tourism all year round”.
Yes, because the scene is always bubbling, ready to say something original. And listening is perfect out of season. From the Neapolitan power from James Senese and Pino Daniele, via Roberto De Simone, the Bennato brothers and Almamegretta, to Nu Genea and the hyperpop and folk scene. And he doesn't forget his roots.
On the square Plebisciteat the entrance of Gran Caffè Gambrinusthe text of Gabriele D'Annunzio who wrote the verses of 'A vuchella, famous song composed by Francesco Paolo Tosti, much appreciated by Pavarotti.
Opposite, we discover his life and career Enrico Caruso in the museum named after the great tenor, 150 years after his birth, installed in Royal Palace. If you want to meet the first real star in the history of music, with millions of records sold, you have to stop here, “where there is a constant influx of Italian and foreign visitors”, explains the director Mario Epifani. This is the opportunity to admire the fountain and the statue of Fortune in the main courtyard of the sumptuous palace, freshly restored.
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The Géolia fresco in the Quartieri Spagnoli
A few steps away, towards via Toledo and then in Spanish neighborhoods, live in the present. Writers color the streets. A new mural, the portrait of the rapper Gaoler signed by Salvatore Iodiceattracts the curious and enthusiasts to Vico Tre Regine.
The young Neapolitan musician reaches records in Italy in terms of album sales, audio streams and sold-out concerts. From the stage of the last Sanremo Festival, he highlighted the fertile hip hop-urban scene of Campania, which has in fact been at the forefront of the national scene for years. His rhymes? In dialect.
“A fantastic linguistic resource. With its truncated words, which become softer with the addition of vowels, Neapolitan is a language that adapts: it becomes contemporary communication,” he explains. Simona Frasca, professor of ethnomusicology at the University of Naples Federico II.
An example above all is the language, sometimes contaminated by English, of Pino Daniele, inventor of an incomparable sound between blues, rock, jazz and Neapolitan tradition. More than thirty years of the musician's international career can be discovered in the permanent exhibition Pino Daniele aliveat the headquarters of SUM – United States of the World.
We are close to Town Hall Squarewhere many take selfies in front of the new monumental Venus of rags by Michelangelo Pistoletto, which the artist donated to the city. It will find a permanent location at the end of June at Saint Peter's Basilica of Aramnear Forcella, in the center.
This is the neighborhood where public theater Trianon Viviani, born in 1911. Captures listeners between tradition and new trends in Neapolitan music, with the proposal of different languages and names such as Peppe Barra, James Senese, Flo, Dario Sansone, Fiorenza Calogero, Giovanni Block.
Novecento Auditorium
Heading towards the Decumani, there is a place in the city that builds a bridge between the past and the future. He reveals himself behind a gate, near via Mezzocannone, among the comings and goings of university students: it is theNovecento Auditorium, company created by a group of entrepreneurs who rented and managed the historic premises of the Phonotype recording, among the oldest recording studios in Europe.
Caruso, Carosone, Viviani, Buscaglione have been here. Phonotype, which is relaunching the recording branch, and the Auditorium Novecento, which deals with recordings and opened to the public with a series of live concerts, coexist in the space. An essential stop to listen to live music, from indie to pop, from 9:30 p.m.: via Enrico de Marinis 4 (info: 340.66.42.517).
DOM Santi Bevitori, live music in San Domenico Maggiore
Also note the literary café SUN Holy Drinkers, venue for live music every Friday evening in the shadow of the magnificent monumental complex of San Domenico Maggiore.
Not far from there, between Piazza del Gesù and Via San Sebastiano and up to the Conservatory, it's a vertigo of sound. They also tell of the contaminations of “a city which has always been in contact with other cultures, thanks to the port, to dominations, to hospitality”, he explains. Alessandro Morlandoguitarist of the band The maskvery popular, which navigates between folk and world music.
ZTL, a space for young people
In the city eternally in balance between beauty and fatigue, “the music comes out better,” says Edoardo Bennato. He thinks so too Marco Zurzolosaxophonist and composer, jazz icon: “I am lucky to be able to “experience” the sounds of Naples, its colors, the sea. The scents of the city inspire me, like those of freshly hung laundry and coffee in the breakfast room. Morning. I wouldn’t have been a musician if I hadn’t been born here,” he says.
With ZTL – Zurzolo Teatro livenear Via Foria, has created a cultural gathering space and a music school which is transformed on weekends into a concert hall, with prestigious guests.
With his partner Manuela Renno, singer and musical educator for children, he took care of the restoration of the ancient Mauro Chapel, “where religious activity was suspended, and we returned to the community a place intended to remain closed”, continues Zurzolo, who signs the artistic direction of the events and the educational route. A challenge launched more than ten years ago, an act of love towards young people and the city.
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Concerts at the living room
Everything talks about music, even the first names. Like that of Viola Bufanowho in the spaces of his association Brodo, in an apartment on the first floor of Palace of the Spanishbaroque jewel of via Vergini 19, hosts prestigious house concerts and lounge concerts.
“Brodo is inspired by the jam sessions that my father Gino, a mathematical physicist with a passion for music, organized at home,” he says. “Actually, my sister Celesta and I are named after musical instruments.”
An enchanting space with decorative, vintage and modern furniture, books and works of art, with walls also decorated with paintings by Celesta Bufano. The association also organizes events “in historic and unusual places, often unknown even to Neapolitans, such as Nitch Museum and the Pietrarsa Museumwith the Sunset Music project Live sunsetto combine art and beauty.”
The Napulitanata association
Under the porticos of the Galleria Principe di Napoli is theNapulitanata Association, with a great story to tell.
Here too, urban regeneration goes hand in hand with the love of Neapolitan musical heritage. “With our energies, we transformed an old warehouse into a space where music is made, winning a tender from the Municipality of Naples,” he says. Domenico Mataniaaccordionist and cultural manager, co-founder of the project with Pasquale Cirillo, pianist.
Since 2017, thousands of visitors have rewarded their proposal which goes beyond stereotypes, built on careful philological research of the classical repertoire. The association also designed and created the international traveling festival The sea and you: the project, co-funded by the EU, brought together Mediterranean music from Italy, Portugal and Spain.
FLO, the storyteller of Naples
Music in Naples is a continuous journey, without borders: you can understand it even by listening Flo, per century Floriana Cangianoone of the most refined voices of the Neapolitan and national music scene, endowed with crystalline tones, capable of suddenly scratching. She defines herself as “a storyteller” and takes her songs around the world, which are in great demand.
Her To every woman a husband It's a splendid piece, which deserves to be listened to and re-listened to. “Music has always been a way to fly, to travel, to invent. But it’s also a commitment,” he says. Sings in Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, French. But “to tell the most visceral stories” he writes in Neapolitan.
The Bolivar Theater
Musical initiatives contribute to the growth of the city: in the Materdei district, Bolivar Theater, open since 2007 via Bartolomeo Caracciolo, it is a beacon of culture and beauty which enriches a region less accustomed to tourist flows.
For around two years, the Nu'Tracks artistic direction has been designing a varied program of music, theater and dance, promoting local talents, but also opening up to artists from the national and international scene.
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It happens then that you listen to Ars Nova, one of the most appreciated groups from Campania on the nu folk scene, alongside the famous Nuova Compagnia di Canto Popolare or the historic Chilean group Inti-Illimani, from the songwriter -performs Giovanni Truppi and jazz. and swing composer Simona Molinari, to British Fink, cult musician and DJ.
