The Naples that lit up., Exhibition Valenzi Foundation, Naples

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The Naples that lit up.:

Culture and entertainment (1975-1983)

From 20 December to 31 January 2026

Valenzi Foundation

V. Vittorio Emanuele III, Naples

Open now from 10:00 to 18:00

Verified profile

In the Seventies, Naples, which up to that moment had been isolated from the itineraries of national and international culture and entertainment, went through an unrepeatable cultural season, in which theater, cinema, music, art, and critical thinking emerged from traditional places to enter into the daily life of the city. With the establishment of the Valenzi Administration, culture was conceived and practiced as a right for everyone and as a driving force for collective participation. The squares, castles, public gardens, and large monumental spaces became places of meeting, discovery, and sharing. This exhibition stems from the commitment of the Valenzi Foundation to reconstruct and preserve the memory of those years, through archival materials, photographs, and documents from the Foundation itself and other Neapolitan archives. A heritage that tells not only of events and protagonists, but of a new way of understanding the relationship between culture and citizenship. The heart of that season was the insight to make art accessible to everyone, especially to the younger generations and to citizens who had previously felt excluded from the official cultural places. Theater, cinema, and music were brought to neighborhoods, open spaces, and symbolic places of the city, with affordable prices or free access. Thus, a new audience was born, curious, participatory, demanding. Naples responded enthusiastically. A virtuous circle was created between artists and spectators, between institutions and citizens. Many protagonists of the national scene fell in love with the Neapolitan audience and returned for years to share their work with the city. Culture thus became a living experience, capable of educating, moving, transforming. This exhibition is not a simple display of images, but a journey into an atmosphere, a collective energy, a political vision of culture. The photographs interact with contemporary graphics and multimedia content to convey not only what happened, but how culture was experienced in those years: as a common good. Today, after some time has passed, those images still speak. They speak of a city that knew how to reinvent itself through culture, and of an idea that remains relevant: without participation, there is no true cultural life. Without shared culture, there is no future.

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	opens - closes	last entry
monday	10:00 - 18:00	17:00
tuesday	10:00 - 18:00	17:00
wednesday	10:00 - 18:00	17:00
thursday	10:00 - 18:00	17:00
friday	10:00 - 18:00	17:00
saturday	10:00 - 17:00	16:00
sunday	Closed now

The Naples that lit up.:

Culture and entertainment (1975-1983)

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