The story of the works of art in Piazza del Plebiscito started in December 1995 with the “Montagna del sale” by Mimmo Paladino, when, for the first time, a major city square became the stage for contemporary art. Thanks to the interest of the Neapolitans, the curiosity of the tourists and media attention, it has emerged from the confines of the museum to become a popular fact that prompts discussion, ignites debate and reawakens interest in passers-by. Since then, several artists have tackled this urban space: Kounellis, Merz, Paolini, Kapoor, Kosuth and Rebecca Horn to name but a few.

This year it is the turn of the United States’ sculptor Richard Serra who inaugurated “Naples”, his latest and most monumental work, on 20 December. High steel walls seem to bend in opposite directions, creating a sense of staggered space and time, disorientating those crossing the square. On 23 February a one-man exhibition of new Serra sculptures opens, again in Naples, at the Museum of Archaeology.