Office in Salita Pontenuovo

In 1684 Gaetano Lo Mastro gave shelter to seven abandoned young girls wandering through the streets, lodging them in houses, in Carbonara sul Pontenuovo, under the protection of Santa Maria della Purificazione.

A few charitable people followed his example. Among them there was Princess Sanseverino of Monteleone. Those houses were transformed into a building with annexed church dedicated to Saint Gioacchino.

This charity initiative, supported by bequests, led to an increase in the number of young girls from seven to eighty, thus obtaining, in 1686, the approval of the archbishop.

Following a law dispute, the Royal Chamber of Santa Chiara recognized the institution as a Convent school for young ladies, founded with the permission of the Government and according to the decree-law of June 13th 1789. For this institution, Ferdinando IV of Bourbon arranged a deed of indemnity and exemption from the amortization laws.

With time, the Convent changed into a gathering centre of Franciscan tertiary goods and, subsequently, it was merged with the Collegi Riuniti per le Figlie del Popolo, thanks to special legislation for the city of Naples, issued on August 2nd 1897.


The building in Salita Pontenuovo 31 was given in emphyteusis to the City of Naples. The deed had been drawn up on January 25th 1916, establishing that the building was to be used to lodge the National Service and, after the Second World War, the offices of the City Historical Archive as well.

According to decree-law n.995 of July 17th 1942, the Collegi Riuniti per le Figlie del Popolo were associated with the Collegi Riuniti Principe di Napoli and, following the dissolution of this institution, according to the DPR n.616/1977 and the Regional Law n. 65/1980, the property was given to the City of Naples.