Gentlemen, Professionals and Profiteers: The Case of Naples

The world of real estate is ambiguous, especially to the eyes of a sociologist. From the moment when we take on the task of understanding its role in contemporary society, we realize that there is a lack of available knowledge on the subject and that the little information that can be found is decisively polarized in two extreme views. On one hand there are all the studies, research and treatise that explain how the sector works and how is articulated, and what are the necessary skills to enter it. On the other, there is a fairly extensive body of “investigative journalism”, which takes interest in the field only at the onset of one of the scandals that periodically affect it. Between these extremes there is almost nothing useful to explain its role and importance in contemporary society and in the transformation of urban space, in a way not clearly instrumental.