
Further along Via Amente, the street widens a bit, not because it was designed that way, but because in the 1960s an entire building fell down from lack of upkeep. At that time, Molfetta Vecchia was determined to be an unsafe place to live and the majority of the inhabitants were moved out and settled elsewhere in public housing. That just increased the situation of neglect and many more buildings fell down, or imploded (see photo above) over the years.
An interest in gentrification began to grow in the 1990s. My husband and I lived in a renovated home on Via Sant'Orsola (see yesterday's map - go to the end of Via Piazza and turn right) for 11 years. We were the first family to renovate and move into that part of the old town. Now there are many renovated homes and even shops and coffee bars throughout Molfetta Vecchia. It's not touristy, but at least it's not as abandoned as it used to be.
Today's photo shows a row of homes in the open area halfway down Via Amente. Looking from left to right you see an empty building, an inhabited building, an imploded building and an inhabited one (you can tell it's inhabited by the satellite dish on the roof!).