When I launched Il Regno a year ago I knew what I wanted to do, but had little idea of what results to expect. When considering how to promote a Duosiciliano (Southern Italian) ethnic consciousness, I wanted to do something different from the mainstream Italo-American organizations and activists, something that was ours and not simply a channel for fashionable sociopolitical movements. Not only did I find other like-minded people and groups that I hadn’t known about, but also they found me.
Our blog was noticed right away. Greek-American organizations were immediately receptive to our emphasis on our Hellenic heritage and rallied to our cause. I have been invited to several of their functions and am always grateful for the opportunity to attend them.
Southern Italian organizations like the Partito del Sud soon followed and reached out to us as well. In fact, one of my personal highlights was being made an honorary PdS representative in the States and presented a Bourbon flag and autographed copy of National Secretary Antonio Ciano’s book I Savoia E IL Massacro Del Sud. I would like to especially thank Antonio Iannacco, Natale Cuccurese, Agostino Abbaticchio, Enzo Riccio and Alberto D'Arienzo for their moral support and friendship.
After receiving many inquiries about Il Regno it became obvious that I had a lot of work ahead of me, but I have help from some good people, and together we’ve made it through our first year. We couldn’t have near the amount of correspondence as some other groups, but I found this to be far more difficult to keep up with than I thought it would. Clearing out the SPAM alone is a full time job. I also discovered that the Nigerian Lottery is really easy to win, you don’t even have to buy a ticket; I win every day.
One of my readers pointed out a logo from the Italian anti-nuclear movement that is eerily similar to our own, only with a smiley face in the center. I don’t know what to make of it. It is unlikely that they got it from us and I know that we didn’t get ours from them. I was inspired by Indo-European symbolism of the sun and it’s relation to the Mezzogiorno, and of course I thought the traditional red and yellow of Southern Italy were fitting colors to use for it. Lucky for us, we didn’t even consider using a smiley face.
We had some very popular posts, and found out that you can’t always predict which ones will get the most attention. The popularity of the "Gynekokratia" post was a pleasant surprise; it was reprinted on several blogs and newspapers. “Who we are” and Niccolò Grafio’s “A Most Illustrious Corpse” were also well received, and caused several interesting discussions.
We have had a few events and plan to have more. I’m proud that we were able to raise some money for the earthquake victims in Abruzzo during our Battle of Bitonto Commemoration last May.
In addition to our events, we also have plans to publish our own bulletin, so keep your eyes opened for these and other exciting developments
Il Regno has continued to grow and evolve while maintaining its original purpose. Fighting for our cause gives me great pleasure and I hope that all of you continue to visit and make our efforts worthwhile. Thank you.
Forza e Onore,
Giovanni di Napoli
