In Nola there is CAM. A Napoli soccer team museum -

In Nola there is CAM. A Napoli soccer team museum

In addition to being the birthplace of the philosopher Giordano Bruno, the city of Nola, in the province of Napoli, is known throughout the world for its “Gigli”, a celebration that UNESCO includes in the list of oral and intangible heritage of humanity.
In this city which is located right between the Apennines and Vesuvius there is a museum dedicated to the Napoli soccer team.
Mark Manganiello interviewed the museum keep-saver.
Mark is a blogger from Montreal. His origins are from Campania and he is a passionate about Napoli, its geography, history and art but above all he is a die hard Napoli fan.
He has shared with us his interview to Nicola Stellato, who takes care of the CAM (Cammarota Antonio Museum).

……………………………………………….

Walking Into a Neapolitan Bliss – The Napoli CAM Museum of Memorabilia.

Have you ever imagined walking into a place that makes your mind wander into the past and gives your heart the fullest satisfaction? Many people, football fans and historians can attest to these feelings. Located in the municipal town of Nola, Campania- the Napoli Cammarota Antonio Museum (Museo CAM) is one of those exquisite places. Your mind, body, and spirit are physically engulfed in Napoli memorabilia. This 360 degrees of multi-leveled space uplifts the feeling as if you were in the picturesque shadows of Mount Vesuvio. There is also a special place for one of football’s greatest of all time- Diego Armando Maradona who gave this city everything in times of great hardship. Winning two scudetto championships in 1986-87 and 1989-90, including the Coppa Italia title in 1987 and the UEFA Cup in 1989.

I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Nicola Stellato, the museum keep-saver. He describes this place as a hall of fame treasure where you will find jerseys, memorabilia, and rarities of the most beautiful and followed sport in the world.

M.M. – Can you tell us when and why this magnificent museum was established? –

N.S. – In July 2019 I lost my father, the one who made me become a man, who taught me to work hard, and shared with me the love for Napoli. As an entrepreneur and collector I have never loved “closing ” my collection in the drawers and closets. I was in a very fortunate circumstance of finding a suddenly vacant warehouse near my business and at that point I said to myself that the time had come … The time has come to open a permanent and free museum, the Cammarota Antonio Museum dedicated to my father!

I opened a year and 5 months ago, we have already received many certificates and gratitude for providing great satisfaction to the people. This gives us a lot of strength to continue and grow more and more. Today we have had many reviews and articles from France Football and from newspapers at the local and national level. Some radio stations have talked about our story such as Radio Marte and some former players called to thank us while others came to visit the Museum. Our projects, pandemic permitting, are dedicated to social issues. Our goal is to provide this to educational institutions and football schools, because this museum is the heritage of the community and tells its story, the story of all of us. –

M.M. – What are the most exciting pieces of memorabilia that you can find here? –

N.S. – A full-fledged museum where you can savor the history of the Azzurri through the jerseys, and much more. There are about 800 jerseys in over 250 display cabinets filled with memorabilia from 1953 to this present day. There is also a second floor that is dedicated to events and is already equipped with a kitchen in case visitors want to have a meal at the museum and / or celebrate an event. Of this space, two wings of the museum are entirely dedicated to Maradona, a wing to his 7 years spent in Napoli and two other wings that contain relics ranging from the 1950s to 1984 and finally what we call the beehive area. This is a display area where the jerseys are all rolled up , that start from 1991 to 2019. –

M.M. – What is your most fondest memory and favorite piece of memorabilia? –

N.S. – It is difficult to say, all the jerseys occupy a special place in my heart, because behind each of them there is a story but if I really have to choose one I would say the one used during the Lazio-Napoli match on 14 October 1984. The match ended 1-1- with goals by D ‘Amico and Maradona. The Napoli shirt in that match was yellow, a color used only on two occasions. There are two, one I own and one a 1982 World Champion, Alessandro Altobelli with whom we felt close to because it was close to the shirt of Maradona used between Italy-Argentina in 1982. In short, it was a great feeling to be able to compare our thoughts and talk with him. This is a shirt that on a collector’s level is a very, very coveted piece. –

M.M. – Can you describe to us what emotions you feel when walking into this museum- and how this wonderful place binds together all the passion from the fans? –

N.S. – There are many emotions that arise, I have owned these shirts for years and it is always as if I saw them for the first time. Then new relics always come in and many offer me to buy pieces from their collection, let’s say that being a collector requires a lot of passion and sacrifice but given the results I say that everything is well rewarded. This place is linked to the fans because here from 1953 to the present day you can breathe the history of the Partenopei jersey. There is no fan who comes out of this museum and does not come out excited, satisfied by what they have seen. Those who love football, those who love the blue Napoli shirt cannot fail to love the Cammarota Antonio Museum as well. In fact, the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona deserves to have a place like this. It never seems to be enough for the Neapolitans who love it and I believe that with the birth of this Museum we have contributed well in paying homage to its greatness. –

Mark Manganiello

……………………………………………………………………………………………