Piscina Felice Scandone is a

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, such as saltwater or freshwater environments, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Swimmers achieve locomotion by coordinating limb and body movements to achieve hydrody ...

pool Pool may refer to: Bodies of water * Swimming pool, usually an artificial structure containing a large body of water intended for swimming * Reflecting pool, a shallow pool designed to reflect a structure and its surroundings * Tide pool, a roc ...

complex located in

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 Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. The complex was named after Italian

sports journalist Sport is a physical activity or game, often competitive and organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The number of participants in a par ...

and enthusiast Felice Scandone, who reported on sports in the Naples area. Construction of the venue began in 1960 and in 1963 the venue opened. It is owned and maintained by the municipality of Naples.

History, design, and construction

In the late 1920s, Felice Scandone started making an impact on the Naples sports scene by publishing articles about sports in the city, an activity which he continued for decades. When the municipality decided to build a pool, called a "piscina" in the

Italian language Italian (, , or , ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European language family. It evolved from the colloquial Latin of the Roman Empire. Italian is the least divergent language from Latin, together with Sardinian language, Sardinian. It is ...

, they chose to name it after Felice Scandone in part due to his fostering of sports culture in the city.Corvino, Francesco (6 September 2021)
"Piscina Scandone, Napoli: un pezzo di storia del nuoto napoletano"
(in Italian). ''Napoli Fans''. Retrieved 30 November 2021. The pool was designed with hosting of the

Mediterranean Games The Mediterranean Games is a multi-sport event organised by the International Committee of Mediterranean Games (CIJM). It is held every four years among athletes from countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea in Africa, Asia and Europe. The fi ...

taken into account, construction of the pool began in 1960 and was finished in 1963, just in time to host aquatics events for the

1963 Mediterranean Games The 1963 Mediterranean Games, officially known as the IV Mediterranean Games, and commonly known as Naples 1963, were the 4th Mediterranean Games and the first Mediterranean Games held in Italy. The Games were held in Naples, Italy over 8 days, f ...

."Piscina Felice Scandone: Attrazioni"
(in Italian). ''Metro Italia''. Retrieved 30 November 2021. After the Mediterranean Games, the venue went unused for a number of years before re-opening in 1983. Following decades of use by the general public and in sporting competitions, the complex was renovated in 2019 with spectators and competitors in mind per the guidance of

FISU The International University Sports Federation (FISU; ) is responsible for the organization and governance of worldwide sports competitions for student-athletes between the ages of 17 and 25. It was founded in 1949 as the world governing body of ...

and finished in time for hosting the

2019 Summer Universiade The 2019 Summer Universiade (), officially known as the XXX Summer Universiade () and also known as Naples 2019, or Napoli 2019, was held in Naples, Italy, between 3 and 14 July 2019. It was initially scheduled for Brasília, Brazil in July 201 ...

.Consoli, Riccardo (25 October 2019)
"Naples: Upgrading the Scandone swimming pool"
''Sport & Impianti''. Retrieved 30 November 2021. Renovations included a new lighting system to make viewing easier and the addition of a covered outdoor Olympic-size warm-up pool with partially retractable roof for athletes to use while competitions take place in the pool in the main building.Cisale, Giusy (4 May 2019)
"2019 World University Games: A New Permanent Pool Under Construction"
''

SwimSwam ''SwimSwam'' is a swimming news organization covering competitive swimming along with diving, water polo and synchronized swimming. SwimSwam launched as a website in March 2012. History The news organization was founded by Braden Keith, Garrett ...

''. Retrieved 30 November 2021."Progetti: Piscina Felice Scandone"
(in Italian). ''Lanzini''. Retrieved 30 November 2021. Later in the year, additional infrastructure in the form of a removable bulkhead was donated to the complex by the

International Swimming League The International Swimming League (ISL) was an annual professional swimming league, established in 2019. It features a team-based competition format with fast-paced race sessions. In 2019, the regular season started in October and the Final Match ...

so the pool could be converted for use by the league, and more generally, in 25-metre ( short course) competitions.Keith, Braden (19 September 2019)
"ISL Will Donate Bulkhead To City Of Naples To Divide Pool Into 25 Meter Course"
''

''. Retrieved 30 November 2021.

Technical features

Main building

The main three-story-tall building houses an

Olympic-size swimming pool An Olympic-size swimming pool is a swimming pool which conforms to the regulations for length, breadth, and depth made by World Aquatics (formerly FINA) for swimming at the Summer Olympics and the swimming events at the World Aquatics Champions ...

50 metres in length and 21 metres in width, which is open to use by the general public and utilized in various sporting competitions including in

water polo Water polo is a competitive sport, competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the water polo ball, ball into the oppo ...

and

. This main pool is a fixed-wall pool measuring 50 metres in length, meaning the length of the pool cannot be adjusted to accommodate two 25-metre-long racing courses placed end-to-end simultaneously. The building is approximately 14,000 square meters and parking and green areas are available for workers, users, and visitors. Two stands for spectators are arranged parallel to the length of the main pool, are composed of white

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...

, and can seat up to 4,500 individuals. A removable bulkhead can be inserted to provide a 25-metre long, short course, racing format. Lighting fixtures in the facility were installed in 2019, which included anti-glare technology to minimize glare for those watching competition in the pool and on a

high-definition television High-definition television (HDTV) describes a television or video system which provides a substantially higher image resolution than the previous generation of technologies. The term has been used since at least 1933; in more recent times, it ref ...

screen by the pool.

Warm-up area

A permanent outdoor Olympic-size swimming pool is housed in a tensile structure with retractable sheeting, which architecturally is a

tunnel A tunnel is an underground or undersea passageway. It is dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, or laid under water, and is usually completely enclosed except for the two portals common at each end, though there may be access and ve ...

in shape. The

steel Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron. Due to steel's high Young's modulus, elastic modulus, Yield (engineering), yield strength, Fracture, fracture strength a ...

frame tensile structure has structural support in the form of laminated wood, and allows for the expansion and contraction of the roof structure in different temperatures while minimizing the risk of cracking and roof fracture due to excessive heat or cold. The retractable sheeting provides protection for facility users from the natural elements and can be retracted to allow for natural lighting. Pool dimensions are 50 metres long by 21 metres wide and 2 metres deep. A passageway connects the warm-up pool to the main building, joining one of the short, 21 metre, ends of the main pool to a long, 50 metre, side of the warm-up pool. During competitions, the warm-up area is used by athletes for warm-up and training. Outside of competition, the area is used for training and general usage by the public.

Operations

Temporary closures

In October 2014, the complex temporarily closed due to technical issues.Mastellone, Dario (22 October 2014)
"Napoli: l'Asl chiude la piscina Scandone"
(in Italian). ''Testata Giornalistica''. Retrieved 30 November 2021.

Sports teams based at the pool

Since it opened in 1963, Piscina Felice Scandone has served as the home for water polos clubs

CN Posillipo Circolo Nautico Posillipo is an Italian water polo club from Naples established in 1925. It is one of the most laureated Italian clubs, having won three LEN Euroleague, Euroleague,Canottieri Napoli, and starting in the 2010s it became the base of operations for clubs AS Acquachiara, Rari Nantes Napoli, and Zurich Barbato Cesport.

Notable events

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

,D'Addona, Dan (21 May 2019)
"International Swimming League Releases Schedule; Venues Include Las Vegas, Naples"
''

Swimming World } ''Swimming World'' is a US-based quarterly swimming magazine that was first published in a magazine format as ''Junior Swimmer'' in January 1960. It concurrently runs online websites ''Swimming World Magazine'' and ''Swimming World News'' (kn ...

''. Retrieved 30 November 2021.Anderson, Jared (12 October 2019)
"Relay DQ Costs 20, But Energy Standard Loses 28 Points To Cali On Day 1"
''

''. Retrieved 30 November 2021.

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

Byrnes, Liz (11 May 2021)
"Naples, Italy To Host First Phase Of ISL Season 3 In Five-Week Bubble From 26 August 2021"
''

''. Retrieved 30 November 2021.Keith, Braden (30 September 2021)
"2021 International Swimming League – Match 11, Day 2: Live Recap"
''

''. Retrieved 30 November 2021. *

LEN Euroleague The European Aquatics Champions League is the top-tier European professional water polo club competition with teams from up to 18 countries. It is organized by the Ligue Européenne de Natation. The competition started in 1963 as European Cup. A ...

: 2004–05 *

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cove ...

Universiade The FISU World University Games, formerly the Universiade, is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The former name is a Blend word, portmanteau of the wor ...

World records

The following includes world records that have been set at Piscina Felice Scandone.

References

{{Sports facilities in Naples Sports venues completed in 1963 1963 establishments in Italy Sport in Naples Sports venues in Naples Swimming venues in Italy Swimming pools