On a crisp morning in Naples, a group of activists transformed the square in front of Palazzo San Giacomo into a temporary settlement of four to five canvas tents. The installation was not a leisure activity; it was a deliberately staged demonstration by the Collettivo autorganizzato universitario (CAU), a self-organized university collective, aimed at drawing attention to the soaring cost of student housing. A large banner addressed to Mayor Manfredi accompanied the tents, and a paper “eviction notice” was handed to city officials as a symbolic gesture. The protest highlighted that even student residences financed with public money can command rents of 600-700 euros per month, a figure the participants consider untenable.
Why a tent protest? The symbolic eviction letter
The choice of a tent encampment was meant to echo the precariousness many students feel in their daily lives. By physically occupying the space outside the municipal headquarters, demonstrators forced passers-by and officials to confront the issue head-on. The mock eviction letter, attached to the banner, accused the city administration of allowing private investors to transform publicly funded dormitories into luxury-style accommodations, effectively “evicting” students from affordable options. The collective stressed that the current method of disbursing public funds—particularly through the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR)—favors private operators who can quickly repurpose existing buildings, often with clauses that permit conversion into tourist rentals after a twelve-year period.
Housing costs and the public-funding paradox
According to the CAU, a standard student room should not exceed a few hundred euros, yet the market reality in Naples shows prices climbing to 600-700 euros a month. The activists argue that the allocation model rewards entities that already own real-estate, allowing them to meet the tight deadlines set by the PNRR for opening new facilities. This mechanism, they claim, diverts a substantial portion of public money away from truly affordable student housing and instead subsidizes private profit. Moreover, the collective warned that many of these newly funded dormitories contain clauses that enable a future shift to short-term tourist rentals, further shrinking the stock of long-term residences for residents and students alike.
Broader political backdrop and the upcoming general strike
The tent protest is part of a wider mobilization that spans several Italian cities. It serves as a prelude to the general strike scheduled for 30 ottobre, called by the Unione sindacale di base. Organizers view the strike as an opportunity to amplify grievances concerning not only housing but also the broader cost-of-living crisis and precarious employment that force many young people into irregular work or long commutes. Representatives from left-wing groups and the social center Ex Opg – Je So’ Pazzo, as well as members of the housing network No Box, joined the demonstration, underscoring a united front against what they describe as a “real-estate elite” that prioritizes tourism revenue over the right to housing.
In their statement, the protesters criticized Mayor Manfredi’s administration for failing to implement measures that curb speculative conversions of apartments into tourist accommodations. They contend that such inaction accelerates the loss of residential space for locals, pushing vulnerable families and students toward eviction or unaffordable rents. By delivering the symbolic eviction notice, the demonstrators aimed to make the city’s housing policy a public debate, urging authorities to redirect public funding toward genuinely affordable student residences and to enforce stricter controls on rent levels and conversion clauses.
