We are inside the renovated Galleria Principe di Napoli, right between the National Archaeological Museum and the Academy of Fine Arts. Tables line a corner of the gallery’s beautiful interior, and the art-deco ceiling arches above us– to sit at Lazzarelle Bistrot is a real pleasure, for the eyes and the stomach.

But this cafe is more than a pretty little gem in the newly renovated galleria. It is a project long in the making for the Lazzarelle cooperative, which has been promoting the social and economic inclusion of women inmates and working to reduce recidivism for about a decade. In Naples, a lazzarella defines herself as a restless, lively girl, while others may use the definition “little rascal.” The word comes from the biblical name Lazarus and has been one used in the Neapolitan language to describe the city’s lower class – it has now been reclaimed.

“It all started in 2010, when we had the idea to create work inside the prison,” Immacolata “Imma” Carpiniello, 45 and president of the social cooperative, tells us. She is referring to the Pozzuoli prison, Italy’s largest women’s detention center. Imma studied political science and immediately after graduating began tackling social issues. She started getting a true picture of the prison industrial complex while working with an observatory group that dealt with the rights of prisoners. “In prison, inmates have two essential needs: to interrupt the monotony of time that never passes, and to have money to be able to buy something personal. In prison, they don’t even give you quality sanitary pads,” Imma says. She eventually realized she wanted to empower inmates by helping create a business inside the prison that they could be a part of. And that’s how the Lazarelle roastery cooperative was born.

The Lazzarelle cooperative landed on producing coffee, figuring it would be a project with a stable future, considering how much Neapolitans love their espresso. They purchased a coffee roaster that could roast 150 kg of coffee per hour, and they prepared trainings and drew up a participatory project. “We were trained by an old Neapolitan master roaster,” Imma tells us.

For the last 10 years, green coffee beans have been arriving at the women’s prison of Pozzuoli, in a town of the same name near Naples. The inmates who are part of the cooperative prepare a blend of the best quality bean available, and then roast away. The coffee is mainly distributed to small, fair-trade shops, as well as solidarity groups and clubs who have embraced the spirit of the project. “We are also able to send the coffee beyond the borders of Naples,” Imma says. She cites the Pizzeria Masaniello in Bologna, another cooperative-run locale whose focus is on reintegrating people into the labor market. Another is Giorgia coffee in Milan, which she says has “embraced the cause of Lazzarelle.”

“In prison, inmates have two essential needs: to interrupt the monotony of time that never passes, and to have money to be able to buy something personal.”

In 2020, a long-awaited opportunity came knocking. The Municipality of Naples, which assigns the shops inside the Principe di Napoli Galleria (one of the most beautiful Neapolitan galleries, made of iron and glass and sitting amidst the city’s historic museums), approved the lazzarella’s application to run a cafe with their branded coffee inside the structure. Thus, Lazzarelle Bistrot opened in July 2020 – but the moment was a difficult one, for it was only a brief interval between the first two waves of the Covid-19 pandemic. They forged on until October, then were forced to close again. But in April 2021, Lazzarelle Bistrot threw its doors wide open once more.

The strong point of the cafe obviously remains the coffee, which is poured into handcrafted cups. But also on the menu are delicious house-made cakes and sweets that make for an excellent breakfast or aperitif. Mixed salads (rice, greens, almonds, tuna) are prepared on the spot, even though there is no official kitchen. There is vegetable tabbouleh and original sandwiches (made from whole wheat flour) – extraordinary is the octopus, or tuna, arugulla and tzatziki. The bistrot sells organic, natural wines and other goods made by cooperatives working in a similar vein.

“Having a criminal record means having a mark that accompanies you for life,” one of the former inmates working at Lazzarelle tells us (we have omitted her name for privacy). She is on probation and serving out the final three years of her almost 10-year sentence at the cafe – and at home with her children. “For us, it is a great opportunity. You always suspect that people don’t trust you. Instead, being part of a project like this, people talk to you like you are one of them, and this makes me feel good,” she tells us.

Thanks to the bistrot’s work permit, she can complete her sentence outside of prison and under observation. “For me this really meant getting back into society, having a real job. And after me, there will be others who will have the opportunity to be reintegrated by working here in the bistro.”

This article was originally published on August 06, 2021.

Published on February 07, 2023

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