Travelling to Naples or the Amalfi Coast? Request a security briefing before your itinerary is confirmed.
Hiring a bodyguard in Naples is typically about organised-crime awareness alongside terrorism awareness and petty crime rather than a single dominant threat. This page covers how close protection hire works in Italy, what a close protection officer does across a day of movements, and how quickly cover is arranged. Armed cover is uncommon, so hire pairs a qualified officer with secure transport, scaled to the itinerary rather than a fixed contract.
For the Naples city security overview and threat profile, see our Naples city page. For broader southern Italy CPO context, see our Rome bodyguard hire page.
Hiring for a wider corporate programme rather than a single trip? See executive protection in Naples. To check the credentials and vetting behind the officers, see close protection officers in Naples.
What does this cover in Naples?
GPG Licensing: Prefettura di Napoli
Italian law has no separate licence for close protection officers in Naples; the GPG approval issued by the Prefettura di Napoli under Italy's Consolidated Law on Public Security (TULPS) covers guarding property. Security companies operating in the Campania region must hold a Prefettura di Napoli operating licence. The TULPS sets out no armed close protection licence. All CPO personnel deployed for Naples and Campania engagements hold current GPG licences from the Naples prefecture, and documentation is provided to clients before the engagement.
Camorra Background and Due Diligence Context
The Camorra, Naples' organised crime structure, maintains a significant presence in Campania. Camorra activity primarily targets rival criminal factions and local businesses through extortion (the pizzo) and operates in areas including the construction, waste management, and retail sectors. For most international corporate visitors to Naples, Camorra activity is a due diligence consideration in commercial counterparty assessment rather than a direct physical threat. FCDO Italy travel advice notes the organised crime environment without advising against travel to Naples. CPO operations for Naples are focused on personal security rather than organised crime mitigation, which is more appropriately addressed through pre-engagement commercial due diligence.
Petty Crime and Scooter Theft Environment
Naples has elevated rates of bag snatching, scooter-borne theft, vehicle theft, and pickpocketing relative to northern Italian cities. The historic centre (Spaccanapoli), the area around Napoli Centrale station, and Via Toledo are higher-risk zones for personal property crime. Scooter-borne theft targeting pedestrians is a documented Naples-specific hazard. CPO operations incorporate discreet dress guidance, vehicle movement through the historic centre where practicable, and specific situational awareness protocols for the principal when pedestrian movement in high-risk zones is unavoidable.
Amalfi Coast and Campania Region Coverage
Naples CPO operations extend to the principal HNWI and high-profile destinations across the Campania region: the Amalfi Coast (Positano, Ravello, and the Villa Cimbrone for HNWI events), Capri (a significant HNWI yacht-based and villa-based social destination), Pompeii and the archaeological sites, and Caserta (Reggia di Caserta palace visits). Yacht security coordination for principals arriving at Naples or Positano by private vessel is available, with jetty-to-accommodation CPO cover and port security liaison. Road conditions on the Amalfi Drive (Strada Statale 163) require specific route management given the narrow cliff-road traffic and the driver skill required.
Terrorism Awareness for Italy
FCDO Italy travel advice rates Italy's terrorism threat as high. Naples is a lower-profile symbolic target than Rome or Milan, but standard terrorism awareness for principal movements at major transport hubs (Napoli Centrale, Naples International Airport) and crowded tourist sites applies across Italy. Italy's AISI (domestic intelligence) manages the threat picture effectively. CPO operations maintain terrorism awareness as a baseline element for all Naples itineraries, particularly for international events and high-footfall tourist sites on the principal's programme.
Naples International Airport and Port Transfer
Naples International Airport (NAP), also called Capodichino, is approximately 7 kilometres from central Naples and 5 kilometres from the port (Molo Beverello) for Capri and Amalfi ferry connections. The short transfer distances make Naples a relatively compact operational environment for CPO. CPO-covered transfers from Capodichino include inside-terminal collection, vetted vehicle, and route management through the airport approach to the principal's hotel address. For principals arriving by helicopter directly to the Amalfi Coast, landing coordination and ground team positioning are pre-arranged.
Sources for this page
Licensing, firearms and foreign-operator rules for Naples, checked : TULPS (Regio Decreto 18 giugno 1931, n. 773), article 133, text (Brocardi); TULPS, article 134, text (Brocardi); TULPS, article 138, text (Brocardi); Prefettura, Decreto Ministeriale 1 dicembre 2010, n. 269, as amended; DPR 4 agosto 2008, n. 153, text (tiropratico.com); Camera dei deputati, written submission by Verisure Italia on A.C. 1660 (20 May 2024). The full rules are on our Naples security overview.
Travel advice quoted on this page: FCDO travel advice: Italy. Advice changes; read the current version before travel.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does the Camorra affect personal security for corporate visitors in Naples?
What GPG licensing applies to Naples CPO providers?
What are the highest-risk elements of a Naples itinerary?
Do CPO operations extend to Capri and the Amalfi Coast?
This page is published by CloseProtectionHire.com and written to editorial standards overseen by James Calloway, Senior Security Consultant (regulation, licensing, vetting and risk frameworks) and Marcus Webb, Security Operations Adviser (operational close protection, secure transport and city-specific safety).
Threat, regulatory and emergency information is sourced to named, dated authorities such as the FCDO, the US State Department and national licensing bodies. Last updated . See how we verify.