Two Sicilies

 

The name Two Sicilies was used in the Middle Ages to mean the kingdoms of Sicily and of Naples (see Sicily and Naples, kingdom of). Alfonso V of Aragón, who in 1442 reunited the two kingdoms under his rule, styled himself king of the Two Sicilies. Under his successors the kingdoms were again separate, but the title was revived during Spanish domination (1504–1713) of both kingdoms and after the accession (1759) of a cadet branch of the Spanish line of Bourbon to Naples and Sicily. Ferdinand IV of Naples (Ferdinand III of Sicily) officially merged the two kingdoms in 1816 and called himself Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies. Both the Sicilians, who thus lost their autonomy, and the pope, who saw his theoretical suzerainty over the two kingdoms ignored, protested the change. A popular uprising (1820) instigated by the Carbonari forced Ferdinand to concede a constitution, but Austrian intervention (1821) after the Congress of Laibach restored his absolute power. The reactionary regimes of his successors Francis I, Ferdinand II, and Francis II finally ended when Sicily and Naples fell to the forces of Garibaldi in 1860. In 1861, Gaeta, Francis's last fortress, surrendered to Victor Emmanuel II of Sardinia, and the Two Sicilies became part of the kingdom of Italy.

Bibliography

See studies by H. M. M. Acton (1956 and 1962); B. Croce, History of the Kingdom of Naples (tr. 1970).

Regno delle Due Sicilie Kingdom of the Two Sicilies ←   ← 1816 – 1861 Image:Flag of Italy (1861-1946) crowned.svg‎ → Flag (1738-1848 & 1849-1860) Coat of arms Anthem Inno al Re Map of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies Capital Naples Language(s) official language Italian Sicilian, Neapolitan Government Monarchy King  - 1816-1825 Ferdinand I  - 1859-1861 Francis II History  - Established 12 December, 1816  - Italian Unification 12 February, 1861 Area  - 1860  km² ( sq mi) Population  - 1860 est.        Density  /km²  ( /sq mi)

The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies (Italian: Regno delle Due Sicilie) was the new name that the Bourbon King Ferdinand IV of Naples, I of the Two Sicilies bestowed upon his domain (including Southern Italy and the island of Sicily) after the end of the Napoleonic Era and the full restoration of his power in 1816. The capital city of the kingdom was Naples.

Origin of the Two Sicilies

Before the French invasions of the Napoleonic Era, the Bourbon dynasty ruled over the same lands, but they were formally divided into the "Kingdom of Naples" and the "Kingdom of Sicily".

Charles VII inherited the Spanish Crown as Charles III of Spain on 10 August 1759. By article II of the Treaty of Naples of 3 October of that year, he was required to establish the Infante Don Ferdinando, his third son (fourth-born because of the exclusion of the eldest (Prince Philip, Duke of Calabria), who was severely retarded) as King of the Two Sicilies.

The new Sovereign received the Two Sicilies Crown, as Ferdinando IV of Naples and III of Sicily, by the Pragmatic Decree of 6 October 1759. This ordained that the succession should pass by male primogeniture among the descendants of King Ferdinand, and failing them of his younger brothers, unless the Crown of Spain was united with the Sovereignty of the Two Sicilies, in which case the latter had to be ceded to a son, grandson or great-grandson of the prince who so combined both successions.

In the event of the male heirs of King Carlos III becoming extinct, the Two Sicilies Crown would pass to the nearest female heiress of the last King. After the change in the name of the kingdom, Infante Ferdinand became known as King Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies.

History of the name

The name Two Sicilies derived from the splitting of the Kingdom of Sicily in 1282. Though ruled as a unit for a century and a half, the island and mainland parted ways when the Sicilian Vespers rose up and threw off Neapolitan rule, accepting in its stead Aragon.

The Angevin Kings of Naples retained the mainland and continued the name Kingdom of Sicily in order to assert their claim; for some time the southern peninsula was known as the Kingdom of Sicily this side of Cape Faro, for the lighthouse on the mainland side of the Strait of Messina, although the Kingdom of Sicily per se did not use the name.

The two kingdoms were not independent under the same home ruler until 1735 under Charles (to become later Charles III of Spain), and were not legally reunited until after the 1815 Congress of Vienna.

Between 1816 and 1848 the island of Sicily experienced no less than three popular revolts against Bourbon rule, including the revolution of independence of 1848, when the island was fully independent of Bourbon control for 16 months.

Apart from having occurred at an interesting point in European history (see Revolutions of 1848), there is a clear link between this revolution and the more well known historical event that was to occur 11 years hence (the Risorgimento).

Kings of the Two Sicilies, 1816-1861

• 1816-1825: Ferdinand I
• 1825-1830: Francis I
• 1830-1859: Ferdinand II
• 1859-1861: Francis II

In 1860-1861 the kingdom was conquered by the Kingdom of Sardinia, and the title dropped. It is still claimed by the head of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies.

Other people of the House of Two Sicilies include:

• Maria Amalia of the Two Sicilies, Queen of the French (1782-1866)
• Maria Christina of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Queen of Spain (1806-1878)
• Teresa of the Two Sicilies, Empress of Brazil (1822-1889)

Titles of King of the Two Sicilies

Francis I, King of the Two Sicilies, of Jerusalem, etc, Duke of Parma, Piacenza, Castro, etc, Hereditary Grand Prince of Tuscany, etc

House of Bourbon Two Sicilies in exile

Some Sovereigns continued to maintain diplomatic relations with the exiled Court, including the Emperor of Austria, the Kings of Bavaria, Württemberg and Hanover, the Queen of Spain, the Emperor of Russia, and the Papacy.

Heads of the Royal House of the Two Sicilies, 1861-present

• 1861-1894: Francis II
• 1894-1934: Prince Alfonso, Count of Caserta
• 1934-1960: Prince Ferdinando Pius, Duke of Noto, later, Duke of Calabria
• 1960-present: Disputed Claim: currently between Prince Ferdinand Maria, Duke of Castro and Infante Carlos, Duke of Calabria

Upon Ferdinando Pio's death in 1960, there was a dispute about who inherited the headship of the house. Ferdinando's next brother Carlo had, in anticipation of his marriage to the eldest sister and heiress presumptive of King Alfonso XIII of Spain, signed the so-called Act of Cannes on 14 December 1900:

...Here present is His Royal Highness Prince Don Carlo our dearest loved Son and he has declared that he shall be entering into marriage with Her Royal Highness the Infanta Doña Maria Mercedes, Princess of the Asturias, and assuming by that marriage the nationality and quality of Spanish Prince, intends to renounce, and by this present act solemnly renounces for Himself and for his Heirs and Successors to any right and rights to the eventual succession to the Crown of the Two Sicilies and to all the Properties of the Royal House found in Italy and elsewhere and this according to our laws, constitutions and customs of the Family and in execution of the Pragmatic Decree of King Charles III, Our August ancestor, of the 6th October 1759, to whose prescriptions he declares freely and explicitly to subscribe to and obey.^[1]

The laws of the deposed Sicilian dynasty and Spain's Pragmatic Decree, however, required a renunciation only in very limited circumstances: the actual union of the Crown of the Two Sicilies in the person of the King of Spain or his heir apparent, which had not happened in 1900 nor did it occur subsequently. Furthermore, this act was signed subsequent to the agreement by marriage contract between the Count of Caserta (the father of prince Carlo, then head of the Royal House in exile), and the Queen Regent of Spain, which specifically excluded the need for a dynastic renunciation to the non-existent throne. Prince Carlo was created an Infante of Spain, a title held by several other princes of the Two Sicilies in the past, but with his wife's death and the birth of a Prince of Asturias (and three other sons) to the King and Queen of Spain, the possibility of him becoming king consort and his son becoming both King of Spain and pretender to the Two Sicilies, receded. All the descendants of King Francis I of the Two Sicilies by his wife, Infanta Isabel, already enjoyed a right to the Spanish throne by virtue of the royal constitutions of 1837, 1845 and 1876.

Calabria line

Prince Carlo's son, Infante Don Alfonso, became the senior male of the house on the death of his uncle, Ferdinando Pio, Duke of Calabria, in 1960 and was proclaimed Head of the Royal House of the Two Sicilies, with the recognition of the Heads of the royal houses of Spain, Parma and Portugal, and the senior line (Bourbon) pretender to the throne of France. Prince Carlo and his descendants continued to be included as Princes of the Two Sicilies in the Almanach de Gotha from 1901-1944, and in the Libro d'Oro of the Italian Nobility from the first edition in 1907 until 1964, at which time the editor came out in support of the cadet line claimant. Infante Don Alfonso took the title of Duke of Calabria, considering that the title of Duke of Castro (a Farnese inheritance) had been lost with the sale of the last portions of the duchy to the Italian government in 1941 (a sale from which Prince Carlo received his portion of the proceeds, along with his brothers and sisters, although if the alleged renunciation of 1900 had been valid he would not have been entitled to do so). Prince Carlo married as his second wife, in 1907, Princess Louise of Orléans, and by her had a son (Carlos, killed in the Spanish Civil War) and three daughters (of whom Princess Maria Mercedes married Juan, Count of Barcelona and was the mother of King Juan Carlos I of Spain, and Princess Esperanza married Prince Pedro Gastão of Orléans-Braganza). The descent in the senior line is as follows:

• 1960-1964: Alfonso, Duke of Calabria, Infante of Spain (married in 1936 to Princess Alice of Bourbon-Parma, born 1917, daughter of Elias, Duke of Parma)
• 1964-present: Carlos, Duke of Calabria, Infante of Spain since 1994 (married in 1965 to Princess Anne of Orléans, daughter of the late Count and Countess of Paris)

The latter's immediate heir is Pedro, Duke of Noto, married to D. Sofia de Landaluce y Melgarejo (a descendant through her mother of the Dukes of San Fernando de Quiroga).

Most of the rest of the Bourbon-Two Sicilies family rejected Alfonso's claims, however, and recognized Ranieri, the next surviving brother of Ferdinando Pio, as head of the house. Ranieri took the style of "Duke of Castro" as his title of pretence. The representatives of the junior branch are as follows:

• 1960-1966: Prince Ranieri, Duke of Castro (Died 1973), married to Countess Carolina Zamoyska (whose mother was a Bourbon-Sicily princess).
• 1966-present: Prince Ferdinand Maria, Duke of Castro, who has one son and two daughters, including Princess Beatrice, the former wife of Prince Charles Napoléon.

They also claim the office of the Grand Master of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George.

Current lines of succession

Orders of Succession Former Monarchies
Albania Austria-Hungary Baden Bavaria Brazil Bulgaria China Ethiopia Finland France (Bonapartist) France (Legitimist) France (Orléanist) Georgia Germany Greece Hanover Hesse Iran (Persia) Iraq Italy Mecklenburg (Carlow) Mecklenburg (Prussia) Mexico Montenegro Ottoman Empire Portugal Prussia Romania Russia Saxony * Tuscany Two Sicilies Württemberg Yugoslavia * Kingdom, Grand Duchy and Duchies
See also Monarchies Presidencies

To Prince Ferdinand, Duke of Castro:

1. Prince Carlo of the Two Sicilies, Duke of Calabria (born 1963), married to Camilla Crociani
2. Prince Antoine of the Two Sicilies (born 1929), married to Duchess Elizabeth of Wurttemberg
3. Prince François of the Two Sicilies (born 1960), married to Countess Alexandra of Schönborn-Wiesentheid
4. Prince Antoine of the Two Sicilies (born 2003)
5. Prince Gennaro of the Two Sicilies (born 1966)
6. Prince Casimir of the Two Sicilies (born 1938)
7. Prince Louis of the Two Sicilies (born 1970) married to Christine Apovian
8. Prince Alexander of the Two Sicilies (born 1974), a Catholic Priest

To Infante Carlos, Duke of Calabria

1. Prince Pedro, Duke of Noto married to D. Sofia de Landaluce y Melgarejo
2. Prince Ferdinand of the Two Sicilies, Duke of Castro (born 1927), married to Chantal de Chevron-Villette
3. Prince Carlo of the Two Sicilies, Duke of Calabria (born 1963), married to Camilla Crociani
4. Prince Antoine of the Two Sicilies (born 1929), married to Duchess Elizabeth of Wurttemberg
5. Prince François of the Two Sicilies (born 1960), married to Countess Alexandra of Schönborn-Wiesentheid
6. Prince Antoine of the Two Sicilies (born 2003)
7. Prince Gennaro of the Two Sicilies (born 1966)
8. Prince Casimir of the Two Sicilies (born 1938)
9. Prince Louis of the Two Sicilies (born 1970) married to Christine Apovian
10. Prince Alexander of the Two Sicilies (born 1974), a Catholic Priest

Flags of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies

1738-1848; 1849-1860 flag

1848-49 flag

1860-61 flag

Orders of knighthood of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies

• Order of St. Januarius
• Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George
• Order of Saint George and Reunion
• Order of Saint Ferdinand and Merit
• Royal Order of Francis I

See also

• Historical states of Italy.
• Mezzogiorno

External links

Some cultural websites about the history of Naples and Sicily:

• Associazione culturale neoborbonica - Southern Italian "neo-Bourbonist" site, making a case for a positive view of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. Mostly in Italian, some pages in English. (Italian) / (English)
• Brigantino - Il portale del Sud - A massive Italian-language site dedicated to History, Culture and Arts of southern Italy. (Italian)
• Casa Editoriale Il Giglio - An Italian publisher that focuses its production upon history, culture and the arts in the Two Sicilies. (Italian)
• Bookshop Neapolis - The website of a bookshop, located in the heart of the historical center of Naples, specialized in History and Culture of Naples and Southern Italy (mainly in Italian). (Italian) / (English)
• Edoardo Spagnuolo website - A websites with many historical documents about the rebellions against invasion in 1860, with particular interest in the region of Irpinia. (Italian)
• La Voce di Megaride - A website dedicated to Napoli and Southern Italy, by Marina Salvadore. (Italian)
• Associazione culturale "Amici di Angelo Manna" - A website dedicated to the work of volcanic Angelo Manna, historian, poet, deputy. (Italian)
• Fora! The e-journal of Nicola Zitara - Large amount of articles about Southern Italy's Culture and History by prof. Nicola Zitara. (Italian)
• Regalis Italian dynastic history, with sections on the House of the Two Sicilies. (English)

The headship of the house is in dispute between two branches of the family::

• The Royal House of Bourbon Two Sicilies, Head HRH Don Ferdinando Maria, Duke of Castro (Italian) / (English) / (French) / (Spanish)

• The Royal House of Bourbon Two Sicilies, Head HRH Infante Don Carlos, Duke of Calabria (Italian) / (English)

References

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