Ponticelli (Naples)

For the French soldier, see Lazare Ponticelli.

Quarters of Naples - Ponticelli is number 30

Location of the province of Naples

Ponticelli is an eastern suburb of Naples, southern Italy with a population of some 55,000 inhabitants, not counting the large number of unregistered and illegal residents, which some estimates put as high as 60,000.

Geography

It is inland; Barra lies to the south.

History

The area was incorporated into the city of Naples under Fascist rule and was heavily bombed in WWII. The area has suffered much the same fate of urban decay as the rest of the eastern periphery of Naples, a fate that includes drugs, entrenched organized crime, unemployment, massive overbuilding since the end of WWII and a large influx of illegal immigrant workers.