A morning full of emotion and meaning marked a new milestone for Zona Luce, the project led by the FIGC Youth and School Sector in partnership with Scholas Occurrentes and supported by the UEFA Foundation for Children. Young detainees at the Juvenile Penitentiary of Nisida received their Grassroots Level E – Social Football certificates, completing a program built around grassroots football, value-based education, and social reintegration opportunities. After finishing the program within the institute, the participants will begin sports internships with local associations. The ceremony was attended by Gianluca Guida, Vito Tisci, Håkan Sjöstrand, Maria Paz Jurado, Umberto de Gregorio, and Emanuela Ferrante. The diploma presentation was the culmination of months of classroom and on-field sessions focused on inclusion, courage, respect, and helping each participant discover their full potential. 

The “Sistine Chapel” of the Nisida Youth: Art, Identity, and Hope

The second part of the morning was dedicated to the inauguration of a large-scale artwork created within the institute, the result of a workshop led by Scholas Occurrentes in collaboration with the Accademia di Belle Arti di Napoli and the prison administration. The idea was inspired by Pope Francis, who in 2023 referred to a mural created by Scholas students as the “Sistine Chapel of Youth.” At Nisida, that vision took a new form: an entire room, walls and vaulted ceiling, painted through the joint work of the young detainees and fifty students from the Academy. The artwork incorporates symbols deeply connected to the local territory and to the lives of the young participants: 

  • Partenope, the protector of the city;

  • A couple facing a stormy sea, symbolising the strength that comes from mutual support;

  • A journey representing childhood, with its fears, vulnerabilities, and dreams;

  • A floor that opens to reveal clocks, representing that a new day is always possible.

On a particularly damp wall of the room, a mosaic was also created, made up of small ceramic faces crafted by students from schools in Naples, Benevento, and Rome. The project also left a deep impact on the Academy students, many of whom chose to continue as volunteers at Nisida, a testament to the power of art as a space for connection and a catalyst for change.

EAV Transport Tickets Inspired by the “Sistine Chapel of Youth”: An Artistic Bridge Across the City

As part of the project, a new design for EAV – Ente Autonomo Volturno transport tickets was unveiled, inspired by the “Sistine Chapel of Youth” from the Zona Luce project. This initiative brings the imagination created by the young participants at Nisida into the heart of Naples’ daily mobility, with 40,000 tickets printed. The project builds on the existing collaboration between Scholas Occurrentes and EAV – Ente Autonomo Volturno through the “Vagone Scuola” initiative, inaugurated at Porta Nolana station. This educational space, set up inside a train carriage, is designed as a meeting point for students, commuters, and the community. Art, play, creativity, and participation are used to guide young people and citizens through a narrative journey across the stages of life, promoting awareness and care for the local territory. The success of the “Vagone Scuola” naturally inspired the idea of transforming regional transport tickets into small narrative tools, capable of spreading the educational and artistic message of Zona Luce throughout the city.

A Rome Metro carriage dedicated to Zona Luce: bringing the project’s story to the capital

Another initiative within the project involves outfitting a carriage on Rome’s Metro Line B entirely dedicated to the story and participants of Zona Luce. The interior of the train has been customized with the logos of FIGC, UEFA Foundation for Children, and Scholas, featuring graphics, images, and content that showcase the project’s impact.

This effort builds on work already carried out in Rome during the Jubilee, which included branding bus shelters and metro stations, made possible through the collaboration between Scholas and Frecciarossa. The aim is to bring a message of inclusion and transformation to the capital, one that originates from Nisida but speaks to everyone, highlighting the role of football, art, and education as tools for social change.