As part of the J’Adore Napoli 2500 program — created to celebrate the 2,500th anniversary of the city of Naples — nss edicola presents the first volume of The Neapolitan Tales – Suspended Naples, a new editorial project by photographer Ciro Pipoli that tells, through images, the deep and enduring bond between Naples and Buenos Aires.
Naples has long been considered the capital of Italian emigration, yet today it ranks only fifth among cities with the highest concentration of Neapolitans worldwide. According to a study by Demographic, the ranking is led by São Paulo, followed by Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro, Sydney, and finally Naples in fifth place.
As Pipoli explains:
“This book aims to explore not only the historical and economic aspects of Italian immigration to Argentina, but also its most intimate and personal dimensions: the stories of those who left with the hope of a better life, their daily struggles, family tragedies, and achievements. We want to show how, through the strength of community, solidarity, hard work, and culture, Italians built a new homeland in Argentina — helping to shape a country that still today preserves the roots of that migration.”
Napoli Suspended is not only a photographic book but also a textual exploration that brings to life oral and family stories, memories, and shared identities — offering an authentic portrait of the Neapolitan diaspora and its roots, still alive on the other side of the ocean. Through old, faded photographs and new images capturing the faces and gestures of the community, Pipoli constructs a bridge between past and present.
His research gives voice to Neapolitan emigrants, collecting stories of hope, sacrifice, nostalgia, and rebirth. It forms a mosaic of lives suspended between two worlds — where family tragedies coexist with fulfilled dreams, and identity is passed down as an invisible yet indelible legacy.
The final section of the volume is dedicated to Diego Armando Maradona and the Club Napoli of Buenos Aires — not merely a story about football, but a profound human and cultural testimony. It is the story of how love for a team and a city becomes a bond that transcends geographical and cultural boundaries, creating an extended family united by shared values and collective memory.
Through images of passionate fans at La Bombonera, Pipoli explores how Maradona has become a universal symbol of belonging, redemption, and unity between Naples and Argentina.
The book is available for purchase in person at NSS Edicola in Piazza San Pasquale, Naples, online at www.nssedicola.com, and in bookstores, priced at €50.
