Italian TV series Gomorrah (2014-) presents a contemporary dramatisation of the lives of the Neapolitan Mafia based on Roberto Saviano’s novel (2006). This paper seeks to analyse the fictional domestic interiors of the main protagonists, Genny Savastano and Ciro Di Marzio, who inhabit the La Scampia neighbourhood of urban Naples.

The Brutalist architecture of La Scampia stands like a fortress, a walled city cold in demeanour and the antithesis of the picture postcard visual representation of Italy. The unsightly and austere exterior creates a paradox with the ostentatious and palatial interiors within reminiscent of historical interior styles of Italianate Renaissance, Baroque and the contemporary opulence of Versace, Dolce & Gabbana, and Gucci. This juxtaposition of historical and decorative style within the decaying modernist architecture enacts ideas of the masculine exterior world and feminine interior world. And further contradictions extend with opulent domestic interiors as a foil of social class and power concealed within the façade of an underprivileged neighbourhood.

Using the mise-en-scène this visual survey seeks to uncover the darkness within the fictional interiors. I will seek to explore how the curation of objects, furniture, colour palettes, ornamentation & decorative motifs in the spatial dynamic of the home serve as narrative backdrops. And through the interaction of characters, public and private spaces Gomorrah challenge the associated boundaries of power, class, and gender in a world layered with inherent darkness.

Keywords: Ornament / Brutalism / Interior / Opulence / Masculinity/ Femininity