Bagnoli is a western seaside quarter of

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

, Italy, well beyond the confines of the original city. It is beyond Cape Posillipo and, thus, looking on the coast of the Bay of Pozzuoli.

Industrialization and World War II

Bagnoli was one of the sites of Naples' industrialization in the early 20th century, with the construction of a steel mill. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Bagnoli was damaged as a result of the bombings of Naples. After World War II, Bagnoli was overbuilt by virtually uncontrolled construction and then suffered urban decay. The first decade of the 21st century saw the removal of the steel mill and some improvement in the physical and visual landscape of the area, including the construction of a public educational facility and convention center called Città della Scienza ("Science City") as well as the conversion of the long ex-steel-mill industrial pier to a public

promenade An esplanade or promenade is a long, open, level area, usually next to a river or large body of water, where people may walk. The historical definition of ''esplanade'' was a large, open, level area outside fortification, fortress or city walls ...

Bagnoli Displaced Persons Camp

Between 1946 and 1951 Bagnoli was the site of a Displaced Persons camp run by the International Refugee Organization. The complex occupied by the camp was originally built to provide a home for young people in need by the Bank of Naples Foundation on the occasion of the four hundredth anniversary of its foundation. The facility, "Collegio Costanzo Ciano", was a novelty in the field of social architecture in that it responded to the need to "ensure intellectual and political education, physical training and gymnastics"."Le opere pubbliche"
— a web site about the history of Fuorigrotta, the adjoining suburb to Bagnoli. It contained schools, dormitories, infirmaries, workshops, sports building, a church and the theater, all set in a pleasant landscape setting. The project, designed by Francesco Silvestri, was divided into a series of terraces facing south which required substantial earthworks. The area chosen extended about 320 thousand square meters and was located between the district of Bagnoli, the slopes of the adjoining hills and the boundaries of site of the Triennial Exhibition of Overseas Italian Territories () at Fuorigrotta. The complex was designed to house approximately 2500 students of both sexes. The work lasted a little over a year and was completed in April 1940 to coincide with the completion of the exhibition. On May 9, 1940 Victor Emmanuel III officially opened the College and the Triennial Exhibition. The facility was occupied by the Italian War Ministry until 1942 when it was turned over to

Gioventù Italiana del Littorio The ''Gioventù Italiana del Littorio'' (GIL) (English: Italian Youth of the Lictor) was the consolidated youth movement of the National Fascist Party of Italy that was established in 1937, to replace the ''Opera Nazionale Balilla'' (ONB). It was ...

, the youth movement of the Italian Fascist Party, later, to the Germans for an Officer Candidate School until 1943.Veltri, F. (undated) ''AFSOUTH, 1951-2004: Over fifty years working for peace and stability''
In 1944 it became an Italian orphanage. In mid-February 1944, the 765th US Squadron occupied the site. After World War II, it was used as a Displaced Persons camp, housing between 8,000 and 10,000 refugees, mainly from Eastern Europe, who were being processed for immigration to various countries including Argentina, Australia, Canada, and the USA. At one time there were complaints about disease and children dying. An atrocity by the Western Allies was knowingly committed at the refugee camp after World War II as part of " Operation Keelhaul" which was the last forced repatriation from Bagnoli as well as other refugee camps at Aversa, Pisa, and Riccione, of about one thousand displaced people who were categorized correctly, or incorrectly, as ex-Soviet citizens. Their ultimate fate was execution or imprisonment in the

Gulag The Gulag was a system of Labor camp, forced labor camps in the Soviet Union. The word ''Gulag'' originally referred only to the division of the Chronology of Soviet secret police agencies, Soviet secret police that was in charge of runnin ...

of Soviet Russia.Tolstoy, N. (1977). '' The Secret Betrayal''. Charles Scribner's Sons. p. 360. . Relocation of Allied Forces Southern Europe (AFSOUTH) to the area previously occupied by the camp at Bagnoli started in January 1953, and the new complex was formally activated on 4 April 1954, the day of the 5th anniversary of the

North Atlantic Treaty The North Atlantic Treaty, also known as the Washington Treaty, forms the legal basis of, and is implemented by, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The treaty was signed in Washington, D.C., on 4 April 1949. Background The treat ...

Notes and references

External links

"Bird's eye" view of the Bagnoli DP Camp complex today

Image 1Image 2
of Bagnoli DP Camp

at istrianet.org - People, Memories

at istrianet.org
Example of a Displaced Person
who was processed at Bagnoli migrant camp and who migrated to Australia.
Example of an Italian Displaced Person
who was processed at Bagnoli refugee camp and who migrated to Australia.

{{Authority control Quartieri of Naples Displaced persons camps in the aftermath of World War II