May of Monuments 2025 in Naples, 320 events in all municipalities. Including the Twin Peaks Marathon

From May 2 to June 1, 2025, Naples celebrates the 31st edition of May of Monuments, the event that for over three decades has animated every corner of the city with culture, art, history and popular participation. After having explored the elements of earth, air and water in past years, this year the the main theme is fire, chosen to tell the passion and vital energy of a city that is always changing. The title of the 2025 edition, inspired by Matilde Serao, is “Naples, ardent heart, enlightened mind”.

An entire city as protagonist: over 320 events, 100 entities involved

The review presents itself with a very large program: more than 320 events free of charge including theatrical performances, concerts, guided tours, exhibitions, readings, workshops and itineraries, distributed over all 10 municipalities. A real cultural mosaic that involves over 100 organizations, institutions, schools, associations and universities, giving substance to the principle of cultural polycentrismThe complete program is available on site of the Municipality of Naples.

Events spread across municipalities

• Al Vomero, the “Le Vie del Fuoco” review will offer shows with Maurizio de Giovanni, Antonella Morea e Rosaria De Cicco, with readings and performances on the history of the city.
• A Bagnoli, 30st May and 1 ° June, Tony Esposito will recall the lava flows of the Italsider blast furnace in the show “Rosso Napoletano”.
• In Third Municipality, the “Itineraries of memories, songs and revolutions” will tell the story of the Sanità neighbourhood and the places of Enrico Caruso.
• In Sixth Municipality, “Fuocotammorremadonne” will enliven the squares with popular music, tammurriate and dances in the shadow of Vesuvius.

The heart of the exhibition: the widespread exhibition “Putting it in Focus”

As every year, the exhibition is enriched by the widespread exhibition, which invites you to discover the city's heritage through narrative and sensorial pathsThe 2025 project is titled “Put into focus” and is divided into six thematic sections e two specials, which explore fire as:

• heat of the shops and the ovens
• light of lanterns and stained glass windows
• the energy of industrial plants
• symbol of regeneration or destruction

The places involved range from city ​​castles (Castel dell'Ovo, Castel Nuovo, Molosiglio gardens) at artisan workshops of Borgo Orefici, Up to spaces of memory and rebirth such as Filangieri Museum, Jesus New, Santa Chiara, Crystal clear and Moiariello. All the routes will be enriched by QR code, digital narratives, maps and multimedia content, bookable on Eventbrite.

The Great Tribute to David Lynch and the Twin Peaks Marathon

Among the most anticipated events, the tribute to the director David Lynch, disappeared in 2025:

• 30st May, Piazza del Gesù: open-air screening of the pilot episode of Twin Peaks, 20:30.
• 31st May, Multicinema Modernissimo: Twin Peaks Marathon, from 11:00 am (free entry).

An opportunity to transform the historic center into a collective urban cinema, celebrating the aesthetic fire of one of the most influential authors of our time.

Auteur Cinema: Mohsen Makhmalbaf Retrospective

The May of Monuments 2025 will host a retrospective dedicated to Mohsen Makhmalbaf, a central figure in contemporary Iranian cinema. On the program:

• Free screenings of his films, accompanied by debates and meetings
• Workshop for young filmmakers under 35 (20–28 May), with the participation of the director

School adopts a monument and activities for children

The project is also renewed “The school adopts a monument”, promoted by Napoli Novantanove Foundation, which involves dozens of schools in the protection and valorization of the city's cultural heritage.

In parallel, poetry workshops, interdisciplinary seminars, thematic itineraries between geology and literature, and cultural walks will enliven the program also intended for families.

A new cultural model for Naples

As stated by the mayor Gaetano Manfredi and by the cultural coordinator Sergio Locoratolo, May 2025 witnesses a new cultural centrality for each neighborhood. The increase in investments in the suburbs, which went from 25% to 43% between 2022 and 2024, is a sign of a real strategy of cultural inclusion.

The May of Monuments is confirmed as such the celebration of all Naples, an invitation to light up your gaze, to walk in beauty, to be inspired by the symbolic and transformative power of fire.