32 ‘o capitone

The number 32 in the Neapolitan Smorfia is represented by the capitone, or female eel. Capitone is a typical Neapolitan dish, usually served on Christmas Eve, and is cooked in various ways. According to tradition, capitone must be present at Christmas because it closely resembles the snake, a symbol of evil; therefore, eating capitone signifies defeating the devil and evil. This custom also had a practical purpose in the past, as capitone is a very cheap fish and accessible even to the poorest.

Neapolitan tombola is not just a game, but a popular language made of symbols and collective memories. In these works, Maurizio Vinanti reinterprets the numbers, turning them into visionary scenes that bridge everyday life with dreams, tradition with the present.
Each canvas becomes a narrative suspended between reality and imagination: ironic figures, theatrical gestures, and glimpses of the city merge into a pictorial vision that celebrates Neapolitan vitality.
These last works available offer the chance to step into Vinanti’s surreal world, where numbers turn into images and images into shared memory.