Rust, dust and superyachts as America's Cup lands in Naples

BAGNOLI, Italy, March 21 : Rusted factory skeletons loom over a shoreline poisoned by decades of heavy industry on the western fringes of Naples, which will next year host sailing's glamorous America's Cup.

Dredgers are deepening the seabed in readiness for the racing yachts, excavators are tearing up an old pier and crews are preparing the ground for what is meant to be a temporary harbour for the high-tech, carbon-fibre boats.

The sailing extravaganza, awarded to Italy last year, has generated a broader battle over whether it will finally help clean up the Bagnoli littoral, or simply bury its toxic past.

Politicians say the regatta is a desperately needed catalyst for reclaiming one of Italy's most polluted waterfronts, which used to house a smoke-spewing steel mill, cement factory and asbestos plant. 

"I see the America's Cup as a chance to speed up the environmental cleanup that was already planned, particularly offshore, where work wasn't supposed to start until 2031," said Enza Amato, the centre-left head of Naples City Council.

"For me, the most important thing is the chance to improve the water quality sooner and make the sea usable again." 

TEMPORARY FIXES, LASTING CONSEQUENCES

For many residents, activists and small-business owners, the work looks less like redemption than a familiar pattern: a grand promise made in the name of progress, with no guarantee it will lead to long-term gain.

Instead of delivering the long-promised public beach and park for this stretch of Mediterranean coast, critics fear the America's Cup could lock in a future of luxury marinas, concrete and "temporary" infrastructure.

"The issue is not whether we host the America's Cup or not. The issue is doing it properly," former Naples Mayor Antonio