During the mid-1960s, the municipality of Naples identified a disused area to be used for the construction of a new district with the intention of decongesting the city traffic.

Numerous projects were presented, none of which were approved, until 1982, when the entire design plan was entrusted to Kenzō Tange, a world-famous Japanese architect who had already realised several works in Italy. The Centro Direzionale was the first cluster of skyscrapers to be built in Italy and southern Europe.