America's Jenny Holzer is to be the latest in a long line of illustrious contemporary artists to show their work in Naples' premier public space over the festive season.
On Tuesday the local authority announced that a specially-made Holzer sculpture will stand in the Piazza del Plebiscito square - a vast arena in front of the city's sweeping Bourbon Palace - this Christmas.
Although the authorities gave away no secrets about the subject of the work, the Neapolitans should get ready to have their ideas challenged.
The 56-year-old conceptual artist specializes in works carrying confrontational messages.
In the past these have invited people to contemplate statements like "it is in your self-interest to be very tender", "money creates waste" and "it's man's fate to outsmart himself".
The idea is that displaying these truisms helps reclaim public spaces from the ubiquitous messages advertisers hit us with to sell their products.
Holzer has won a host of major awards, including the Leone d Oro for best pavilion at the 1990 Venice Biennale.
She follows internationally acclaimed artists like Sol Lewitt ('Square within a Square', 2005), Richard Serra ('Naples', 2003), Rebecca Horn ('Mother-of-Pearl Spirits, 2003) and Anish Kapoor (Taratantaa, 2000).
Another memorable installation featured bronze skulls studded across the ground, creating the impression of ancient warriors pushing up from their graves.
The end-of-year contemporary art series was kicked off by local artist Mimmo Paladino with his 'Mountain of Salt' in 1995.
Campania Regional President Antonio Bassolino, a former mayor of Naples, has spearheaded efforts to buff up the grand old Piazza del Plebiscito, which had fallen into disrepair.
He has aimed to restore it to the city as a sort of open-air cultural salon - as well as a place for people of all ages to simply hang out and have fun.
"Contemporary art in Piazza del Plebiscito invites us to dwell on the concept of community and have a clean, clear and intimate space to talk and listen to each other," Bassolino says.
