Brief Excerpt from Transformations of Eros by Vladimir Solovyev

Terracotta lekythos in the form of Eros, 2nd half of the 4th century BC,
Metropolitan Museum of Art (photo by New York Scugnizzo)

"When Eros enters into an earthly being, he at once transforms it. The lover feels within himself a new power of infinity; he has received a new and mighty gift. But then inevitably arise the rivalry and antagonism of the two parts or tendencies of the soul — the higher and the lower. Which of them is to appropriate and turn to its own advantage the mighty power of Eros, so as to become infinitely fertile or generative in its own domain and its own direction? The lower soul desires an infinite creation on the physical plane only — a negative, evil infinity, accessible solely to victorious matter; a constant repetition of the same fugitive phenomena, an eternal hunger and thirst without satiation, a living emptiness never to be filled, an infinity and eternity of Tantalus, Sisyphus and the Danaides. The sensual soul drags down the winged Eros and puts a bandage over his eyes, in order that he should maintain life on the plane of material phenomena, preserving and fostering the law of evil infinity, and working as a servile tool for the irrational immensity of material appetites.

"But what will the infinite power of Eros give to the higher intelligent soul? Will it direct it to the contemplation of the truly existent, ideal, cosmos? But such contemplation is already proper to the mind by its very nature, and is practiced without the aid of Eros. And Eros himself is, by his nature, not a theoretical or contemplative power, but one which is infinitely creative. The nature and the results of the activity of Eros, when he is subject to the lower sensual soul, are sufficiently well known, not only to men, but also to animals and plants. But what then does he impart to the soul which has risen to something higher than the service of mortal life? Where can this soul produce its offspring — not of Apollo, not of Hermes, but of Eros? Not in the world of Ideas and of pure, divine minds, for that world is the abode of what is unchangeable; of what neither needs nor has the power of reproduction in its own eternal domain. But generation in the non-existent does not befit the winged and clear-sighted demi-god when he is free and not in bondage to the lower physical soul, which deprives him both of wings and vision. Therefore, for his true creative power there remains only that boundary line of the two worlds which is known by the name of The Beautiful."

* Vladimir Solovyev, Transformations of Eros: An Odyssey from Platonic to Christian Eros (New Culture Press, 1992), pp. 58–59.

Reading Rilke in Italy

Rainer Maria Rilke by Leonid Pasternak

Previous: A Brief Sojourn in Parma

"He who opts for resistance will not receive world." ~ Rainer Maria Rilke, Nocturnal Walk, Capri, April 1908

Reading Rainer Maria Rilke’s poetry while traveling in Italy has led me to reflect on the poet and his connection to Southern Italy.

Rilke arrived in Capri in December 1906, after a brief stay in Naples, seeking the solitude necessary for his work. He settled into the Casina delle Rose, a small house in the gardens of Villa Discopoli near Via Tragara. He stayed there until the following spring, then returned to the island in 1908. The poems, prose, observations, and letters from his time in Capri and Naples reveal a poet intensely attentive to the world around him.

Rilke possessed the rare ability to look upon physical things and sense something beyond their outward form. For him, beauty was seldom merely beautiful; it carried within it the presence of transience, mystery, and death.

Il Bel Paese invites much the same contemplation. Here beauty and mortality continually inhabit the same landscape. Reading him, more than a century later, I see that landscape much the same way.

Next: Reflections Upon Returning from Italy

~ By Giovanni di Napoli, October 7th, Feast of Our Lady of Victory and the Most Holy Rosary

New Book: Sicily in the Flavian Literary Imagination

A new title that may be of interest to our readers. Available at Amazon.com

• Sicily in the Flavian Literary Imagination by Antony Augoustakis and R. Joy Littlewood

Publisher: Oxford University Press
Pub. Date: November 26, 2026
Hardcover: $145.00
Language: English
Pages: 320

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Spring, the Amazon, and the Warrior Poet

(L) Ida Rubinstein as Le Trajet (The Crossing)
and (R) Femme avec des fleurs (Spring)

While browsing an old exhibition catalogue, Amazons in the Drawing Room: The Art of Romaine Brooks, I found myself drawn to Romaine Brooks’s Spring (1912). Its pale, solitary figure, wrapped in a great black mantle embroidered with flowers, immediately took hold of me. Strange and dreamlike, it is sensual, melancholy, and vaguely otherworldly.

Ida Rubinstein, ca. 1911, by
Howard Gardiner Cushing

There was something familiar about the experience. Not long ago, while looking through a book on Tamara de Lempicka in search of her portrait of Suzy Solidor, I unexpectedly stumbled upon Gabriele D’Annunzio, knowing nothing of his connection to the artist. Now, while browsing Brooks, it was happening again.

Ida Rubinstein, the woman who would become Brooks’s great muse, lover, and subject in Spring, had already shared a famous artistic and personal relationship with D’Annunzio, performing the title role in his scandalous Le Martyre de Saint Sébastien in Paris, which Catholics were forbidden to attend under threat of excommunication.

In 2024, at the Morgan Library’s Crafting the Ballets Russes: The Robert Owen Lehman Collection, I had already encountered Rubinstein as Saint Sebastian in Léon Bakst’s illustration for D’Annunzio’s play, displayed alongside a portrait of her by Howard Gardiner Cushing.

Ida Rubinstein as St. Sebastian by Léon Bakst

Brooks herself moved in the same Decadent artistic world as D’Annunzio. When she exhibited La France Croisée in 1915, D’Annunzio supplied four accompanying sonnets. The two also had an affair, followed by a friendship that endured until his death.

Perhaps it is merely another coincidence, but none of these connections had occurred to me when I first opened the catalogue. Still, after Tamara de Lempicka, the encounter at the Morgan, and now Romaine Brooks, Il Vate seems remarkably unwilling to fade away.

~ By Giovanni di Napoli, October 1st, Feast of St. Remigius

A New Home for Old Books

I once wrote about wondering what would become of my books when I was gone. For some of them, at least, I no longer have to wonder.

I recently found a new home for about two hundred volumes from my collection, mostly history books I no longer reference and others I simply haven’t picked up in years. I’m glad to know they will be read and appreciated rather than remain untouched on my shelves.

Someone suggested that I sell them online. Sensible enough, I suppose, but I have neither the soul nor the instincts of a merchant. The thought of hawking and bargaining over books acquired through a lifetime of interests holds no appeal for me. Better that they pass freely into the hands of someone who values their contents than be reduced to so many little transactions.

This is hardly the end of my library. I’m keeping the books I still read, cite, and value. What will eventually become of those remains an open question.

Still, there is something reassuring about seeing part of the collection move on. Their future, at least, is no longer mine to worry about.

~ By Giovanni di Napoli, September 30th, Feast Day of San Girolamo

New Book — Myths and Legends of Sicily: Thirty Ancient Tales and Island Traditions from Mount Etna to Palermo

A new title that may be of interest to our readers. Available at Amazon.com

• Myths and Legends of Sicily: Thirty Ancient Tales and Island Traditions from Mount Etna to Palermo by L.T. James and G. Hughes

Publisher: Independently published
Pub. Date: September 20, 2026
Paperback: $15.99
Kindle: $8.02
Language: English
Pages: 101

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Happy Autumn!

Photo by New York Scugnizzo

The Fall Equinox marks the transition of summer into winter. To celebrate the occasion and the season of Autumn, we would like to share a poem by Vittorio Clemente from Dialect Poetry of Southern Italy: Texts and Criticism (A Trilingual Anthology) edited by Luigi Bonaffini, Legas, 1997, p.37.

A tiempe de sorve

Nu gricele alla vite...Me retrove

ancora na cullane

de sorve mmane; e quile piuoppe ancore

remire abballe l'acque chela fronna

gialle che treme e lùcceche, ammussite

mpizze a nu rame nire; e revà ammonte

la voce, pe lu colle: "Quande è tiempe

de sorve, amore amore, già l'estate

ha pigliate la vie d'attraviezze..."

E pure mandemane, chela fronne

se raggruglie a nu fiate

de la muntagne. E dellà da nu vele

de nebbie, nfunne funne alla campagne,

chi ancora chiame? Chi redà na voce?

When Sorbs are in Season

A chill comes over me... a necklace

of sorbs, even now, in my hands;

even now the poplar

sees in the river

the shimmer of a yellow leaf

dangling from the tip

of a blackened bough... and a voice

surges through the hills: "When sorbs

my love, are in season, summer is already in flight..."

Later this morning the leaf

will shrivel, at a whish

of mountain wind. From across a veil

of fog, from far away across the fields,

who'll call out, even now? Whose voice will ring?

(Translated by Anthony Molino)

A Chance Encounter with Il Vate

“Come to the Vittoriale, the muses of art, music and literature will be assembled.” ~ Gabriele D’Annunzio, in a letter to Tamara de Lempicka

How strange. On the very day I posted my meditation on Gabriele D’Annunzio, I happened upon a book about Tamara de Lempicka at my local used bookstore. Skimming through its pages and admiring the plates, I noticed an anecdote concerning Lempicka and Il Vate. That alone was enough for me to make up my mind and buy it. The price was certainly right.

Their encounter, as it happens, was a rather sordid affair, and one I will not repeat here.

I had originally picked up the book hoping to find something about Lempicka’s portrait of Suzy Solidor, one of my favorite works by the artist. The painting was there, beautifully reproduced, but alas, without any accompanying information.

Still, I left with the book. Sometimes a curious coincidence is reason enough.

~ By Giovanni di Napoli, September 10th, the Feasts of St. Nicolas Tolentino and St. Pulcheria

Brief Excerpt from The Worker: Dominion and Form by Ernst Jünger

For Labor Day, some reflections from Ernst Jünger’s The Worker: Dominion and Form * on the worker, the economic world, and the question of power.

“Idealism or materialism—this is a contradiction for impure spirits, whose power of imagination can cope with neither the idea nor the material. The harshness of the world can only be met by hardness, not by trickery.

“Let us be clear: it is not a matter of economic neutrality, nor that the spirit be turned away from all economic battles; on the contrary, it is rather a matter of fighting these battles as fiercely as possible. However, this does not happen if the economy determines the rules of combat, but only if a higher law of battle rules over the economy.

“This is why it is so important for the worker to reject every explanation that seeks to interpret his appearance as an economic phenomenon, even as a product of economic processes, thus, basically, as a kind of industrial product, and for him to see through the bourgeois origin of these explanations. No action can cut through these fateful bonds more effectively than a declaration of independence of the worker from the economic world. This does not mean abandoning this world, but rather that it is subjected to a claim to a more comprehensive kind of dominion. This means that the pivotal point of insurrection is not economic freedom and economic power, but power alone.”

* Excerpted from The Worker: Dominion and Form by Ernst Jünger (Northwestern University Press, 2019), p. 16

Four Books on St. Januarius, in Time for the Feast of San Gennaro

New titles that may be of interest to our readers. Available at Amazon.com

• The Treasure of San Gennaro: Gold, Silver, and Sacred Relics inside the Duomo di Napoli by Bernard de Clare

Publisher: Bernard de Clare Publishing
Pub. Date: July 21, 2026
Paperback: $12.99
Language: English
Pages: 108

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• St. Januarius: The Blood of Naples that Refuses to Die by Rev. Dominic Ashford

Publisher: Independently published
Pub. Date: August 17, 2026
Paperback: $11.99
Kindle: $4.99
Language: English
Pages: 126

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• St. Januarius: The Miracle of the Blood — The Life, Martyrdom, and Lasting Mystery of the Patron Saint of Naples by Rev. Gideon Black

Publisher: Independently published
Pub. Date: May 28, 2026
Paperback: $11.50
Kindle: $4.99
Language: English
Pages: 150

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• Saint Januarius of Naples: The Inspiring Story, Daily Novena Prayers, and Catholic Devotional for Courage in Chaos, Protection, and Unshakable Faith by Rev. Elias Thorn

Publisher: Independently published
Pub. Date: August 5, 2026
Paperback: $15.99
Kindle: $5.99
Language: English
Pages: 266

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She: A Haunting Vision of Lost Worlds

“Often I sit alone at night, staring with the eyes of the mind into the darkness of unborn time, and wondering in what shape and form the great drama will be finally developed, and where the scene of its next act will be laid.” ~ H. Rider Haggard, She

I have become increasingly frustrated, and frankly disgusted, with the state of modern fantasy and science fiction films. So much of it feels soulless and derivative, overwhelmed by spectacle, ideology, and subversive messaging at the expense of mystery, imagination, and wonder. As a result, I have taken to watching and re-watching old favorites and classics, returning to an era when filmmakers still understood that the fantastic should transport us somewhere strange, beautiful, and beyond the ordinary.

She (1935) is a wonderfully atmospheric tale, based on H. Rider Haggard’s celebrated 1887 novel She: A History of Adventure, one of the great works of Victorian imaginative literature. Filled with peril, adventure, and the supernatural, the film blends romance, archaeology, and the arcane.

Helen Gahagan as Queen Hash-A-Mo-Tep
in She (1935), wearing the regal costume
and headdress that would influence the
appearance of Disney's Queen Grimhilde in
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)

In this adaptation, the immortal Ayesha, known as “She-who-must-be-obeyed,” becomes Queen Hash-A-Mo-Tep, portrayed unforgettably by Helen Gahagan with an imperious beauty and otherworldly presence. Her striking appearance would later serve as a model for Disney's Evil Queen in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937). The film’s lavish visual design and dreamlike imagery bring this Gothic epic vividly to life.

The novel’s vision of an ancient civilization hidden from the modern world helped establish many of the conventions of the lost-world genre and has inspired generations of writers and artists. The 1935 adaptation captures the author’s fascination with forbidden places, the mysterious past, and the allure of immortality.

One of the film’s most significant departures from the novel is its shift from the remote interior of Africa to the frozen reaches of Muscovy. Beyond the forbidding Shugal Barrier lies the forgotten Kingdom of Kôr, a mythical land seemingly cut off from the known world and the course of history.

The change opened a new frontier while giving the picture a haunting atmosphere of glaciers, savage troglodytes, and an ancient kingdom concealed beneath snowbound mountains. It also helped distinguish the 1935 version from earlier adaptations, transforming Haggard’s tropical lost world into a strange, subterranean realm. Although far removed from the novel’s geography, the Siberian setting preserves the essential idea at the heart of the original story: an arduous expedition into a place seemingly untouched by time.

My two editions of H. Rider Haggard's She

Rewatching She only deepened my appreciation for the film. The magnificent sets, elaborate costumes, evocative cinematography, and Max Steiner’s sweeping musical score create a sense of grandeur and enchantment that I find sorely missing from so much modern filmmaking. Nearly a century later, She remains a captivating relic of Hollywood fantasy at its most imaginative and romantic.

I also enjoyed the smaller details: the way people spoke, carried themselves, dressed, and interacted with one another. There is a formality and courtesy even in ordinary exchanges that belongs to another world as surely as the film’s lost kingdom does. Watching She was therefore more than an escape into fantasy. It was also, in its own way, an escape into the past, and for a little while I was happy to lose myself in both.

~ By Giovanni di Napoli, September 1st, Feast of Sant’Egidio 

New Book: History of the Young Francesco II of Naples

A new title that may be of interest to our readers. Available at Amazon.com

• History of the Young Francesco II of Naples by Romualdo M. De Velazquez

Publisher: Independently published
Pub. Date: August 5, 2026
Paperback: $21.00
Kindle: $1.99
Language: English
Pages: 276

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Simple Pleasures — Another Successful Book Hunt

Nothing beats a good stoop sale and the hunt for old books and other hidden treasures.

New Kindle Edition — History of Sicily in Ancient Times: Prehistoric peoples, Sicanians, Sicels, Elymians, Carthaginians, Greeks, Romans

A new title that may be of interest to our readers. Available at Amazon.com

• History of Sicily in Ancient Times: Prehistoric peoples, Sicanians, Sicels, Elymians, Carthaginians, Greeks, Romans by Mario Trombino and Francesca Brucoli

Publisher: Diogene Multimedia
Pub. Date: July 13, 2026
Kindle: $17.99
Language: English
File size: 1.4 MB

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A Tempting Birthday Gift

Finding a birthday gift for a friend whose massive book collection, particularly when it comes to the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, puts mine to shame is no easy task. Yet while perusing his shelves recently, I noticed something genuinely surprising: he did not already own a copy of Giacinto de’ Sivo’s Storia delle Due Sicilie dal 1847 al 1861.

I managed to find a beautiful 1964 Arturo Berisio edition published in Naples: two volumes bound in the publisher’s cloth with gilt lettering and ornamentation, transparent dust jackets, sixteen plates, and the original color-illustrated slipcase, all in fine condition. De’ Sivo’s monumental history is unapologetically pro-Bourbon and remains one of the most important contemporary accounts of the fall of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.

I have to admit, after seeing the set in person, I was seriously tempted to keep it for myself. Such are the sacrifices we make for friendship. And, for obvious reasons, I waited until after giving it to him before publishing this. I wasn’t about to ruin the surprise.

~ By Giovanni di Napoli, August 18th, Feast of Sant’Elena of the Cross

Among the Shelves: Treasures in a Friend’s Library

Il Blasone in Sicilia (The Blazon in Sicily),
presented in its protective clamshell box

Recently, I had the pleasure of exploring a friend’s private library. I know several people whose collections far surpass my own, and I always enjoy seeing the paths their interests have taken them and the remarkable volumes they have managed to acquire over the years. Every collection reflects the interests and passions of its owner, making the experience of browsing another person’s library a pleasure in itself.

Among the highlights was I Borbone delle Due Sicilie (The Bourbons of the Two Sicilies), the magnificent Scripta Maneant edition limited to just 399 copies. Accompanied by five commemorative medallions bearing the portraits of the Bourbon Kings of the Two Sicilies, it is as much a work of art as it is a historical publication.

Equally impressive was Il Blasone in Sicilia (The Blazon in Sicily) by Vincenzo Palizzolo Gravina, Baron of Ramione. Originally published in Palermo between 1871 and 1875, this monumental work remains one of the foundational references for the study of Sicilian nobility and heraldry. Its detailed histories of noble families, descriptions of coats of arms, and beautiful chromolithographic plates make it an enduring treasure for anyone interested in the history and genealogy of Southern Italy.

On a more personal note, I was delighted to find a copy of Ciri-Biri-Bin by Mel Silverman, a book I loved as a child. Published in 1957, it captures the warmth and vitality of Italian-American neighborhood life through Silverman’s bold, woodcut-inspired illustrations. Centered on a young boy named Mario and culminating in the excitement of a neighborhood feast reminiscent of San Gennaro, it remains a charming celebration of family, community, and the joyful spirit of Italian America.

~ By Giovanni di Napoli, August 13th, Feast of Sant’Ippolito Martire

(L) Gilt-stamped coat of arms of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies on the leather-bound cover of Il Blasone in Sicilia (The Blazon in Sicily). (R) Autographed photo of the Royal House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. The personal dedication from HRH Prince Carlo has been digitally removed to protect the owner's privacy

(L) Ornate clamshell box for I Borbone delle Due Sicilie (The Bourbons of the Two Sicilies). A Kennedy Half Dollar is shown for scale. (R) I Borbone delle Due Sicilie (The Bourbons of the Two Sicilies) housed within its protective box

Five commemorative medallions bearing the portraits
of the Bourbon Kings of the Two Sicilies

Double-Page Spread featuring an antique map of the Kingdom of Naples

Double-Page Spread featuring a detail of the
ceiling in the Teatro di San Carlo, Naples

(L) Cover of Carlos III: Majestad y Ornato. (R) Recto
featuring a portrait of HM King Carlos III

(L) Slipcover for Ruggero II d'Altavilla. (R) Gilt-stamped cover

(L) Recto featuring the mosaic of Roger II of Sicily being crowned by Our Lord Jesus Christ in the Church of Santa Maria dell'Ammiraglio, Palermo. (R) Cover of Cerimonial dei Borbone di Napoli (1734-1801)

Double-page spread from Cerimonial dei Borbone di Napoli (1734-1801) featuring the portraits of King Carlo of Naples and Sicily and his consort, Maria Amalia of Saxony 

(L-R) Covers of Francesco II di Borbone: Immagini,
documenti, testimonianze and I Briganti di Sua Maestà

Cover of Cinque Borbone

(L-R) Covers of Cuore a Sud and Diario di Francesco II di Borbone (1862-1894)

(L-R) Rectos from Diario di Francesco II di Borbone (1862-1894)
featuring portraits of HM King Francesco II di Borbone
and HM Queen Maria Sofia of Bavaria

(L-R) Covers of Carlo III and Un Cardinale Condottiero 

(L-R) Covers of Ferdinando IV: Re di Napoli and Un
regno in America per Francesco II di Borbone?

(L-R) Covers of A Tavola Con I Borboni and Ciri-Biri-Bin

The Great Bourbon Book Shortage

Mystery solved. Now I know why it’s nearly impossible to find replacement copies of my beat-up old editions of Harold Acton’s The Bourbons of Naples and The Last Bourbons of Naples. My friend has apparently decided to hoard every copy in existence. At this point, I’m convinced he’s single-handedly responsible for the shortage.

New Book — Religion and Ideas in Southern Italy: Church, State and its People during the Early Modern Age

A forthcoming title that may be of interest to our readers. Available at Amazon.com

• Religion and Ideas in Southern Italy: Church, State and its People during the Early Modern Age by Isabel Harvey and Milena Sabato

Publisher: Routledge
Pub. Date: October 20, 2026
Hardcover: $200.00
Language: English
Pages: 348

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New Book — Giacomo Da Lentini's Sonnets Retranslated into Sicilian

A new title that may be of interest to our readers. Available at Amazon.com

• Giacomo Da Lentini's Sonnets Retranslated into Sicilian by Giuliana Rocchi

Publisher: Legas
Pub. Date: June 15, 2025
Paperback: $16.00
Kindle: $9:09
Language: English
Pages: 140

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Rediscovering the Christian Statesmanship of King Ferdinand II Through the Funeral Oration of Monsignor Francesco Saverio Petagna

Gianandrea de Antonellis’ introduction to the 2019 edition of Elogio Funebre alla Pia Memoria di Ferdinando II (1859), subsequently republished on Alta Terra di Lavoro, offers far more than a preface to a nineteenth-century funeral oration. He argues that Monsignor Francesco Saverio Petagna’s address deserves renewed attention, not only as a historical document but also as an expression of the political and religious ideals that shaped the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.

The introduction opens by situating the funeral oration within the turbulent political climate of Italian unification. De Antonellis explains that one of the principal reasons Petagna was later forced into exile was the solemnity with which he honored King Ferdinand II after the monarch’s death in 1859. This alone illustrates how politically charged even the memory of the Bourbon king had become during the years of Italian unification.

De Antonellis also traces the longstanding mutual esteem between Ferdinand II and Monsignor Petagna. He recounts the anecdote of the King, traveling incognito, attending one of the young priest’s sermons in Naples out of curiosity. Impressed by Petagna’s gifts, Ferdinand later appointed him Bishop of Castellammare and eventually bestowed upon him the Royal Order of Francis I. These episodes underscore the close personal relationship that existed between the monarch and the prelate long before the funeral oration was delivered.

At the heart of the article is Petagna’s portrait of Ferdinand II. Rather than repeating the familiar image found in post-Risorgimento historiography, the Bishop presents a ruler whose Catholic faith permeated both his private life and public duties. Petagna recalls Ferdinand’s devotion to the Rosary, his visits to the Blessed Sacrament, his public recitation of the Angelus, and his reverence toward the Blessed Virgin. Particularly striking is the Bishop’s recollection of the King’s visits to Castellammare, where the faithful witnessed his sincere acts of devotion before the Blessed Sacrament and the relics of San Catello.

The article also highlights Petagna’s rejection of the notion that religion and government belong to separate spheres. One of the most memorable passages declares:

“It is foolish wisdom that would have the interests of the State attended to before those of the Gospel; and it is madness to think that the exact observance of the latter’s precepts is incompatible with the principles of the former. It is to dishonor Religion, says St. Augustine, to believe that she ought not to be consulted in the government of empires.”

Likewise, Petagna argues that political stability ultimately rests upon moral virtue rather than administrative efficiency, observing that Rome itself fell not because it was “crushed by foreign arms, but because it had been consumed by domestic vices.” For Petagna, the decline of civilizations begins with moral decay long before military defeat.

De Antonellis rightly emphasizes that this vision represents a coherent philosophy rooted in both Greco-Roman political thought and Christian tradition. Petagna sees faith as the indispensable foundation of just rule.

The article also draws attention to Ferdinand II’s extensive public works, charitable initiatives, and reforms. Petagna praises the King’s patronage of science, education, commerce, industry, agriculture, and infrastructure, while also emphasizing his restoration of churches, support for religious orders, care for the poor, the establishment of charitable and vocational institutions, and his prompt assistance to those afflicted by hardship. Alongside these charitable works, Petagna notes that Ferdinand introduced “the first railways, steamships, gas lighting, and later the electric telegraph in Italy.” He also points to the mechanical works at Pietrarsa, the Naples dry dock, iron bridges, expanded ports, schools, and numerous public works as tangible expressions of the King’s commitment to the welfare of his kingdom.

De Antonellis concludes by explaining why this funeral oration remains relevant today. Beyond its rhetorical style, the work offers a perspective too often absent from modern accounts of the Bourbon monarchy. He argues that the oration preserves a vision long neglected by a historiography framed by the victors, reminding readers that important voices have often been overshadowed by later political narratives. He invokes a memorable reflection drawn from the Carlist tradition: No serán héroes anónimos ante Dios (“Before God, a hero is never anonymous”).

De Antonellis honors not only Ferdinand II but also Monsignor Petagna himself. He reminds readers that the Bishop chose exile rather than submission to those who had conquered his native kingdom, making his funeral oration not merely a tribute to a fallen monarch but also the testimony of a man who remained steadfast in his convictions.

More than a ceremonial tribute, Petagna’s funeral oration stands as a valuable primary source for understanding how one of Ferdinand II’s contemporaries conceived the relationship between faith, kingship, and public life. As De Antonellis demonstrates, it also conveys a neglected vision of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies rooted in Christian duty, moral government, charity, and institutional continuity.

~ By Giovanni di Napoli, August 1st, Feast of St. Peter's Chains, with the Commemorations of St. Paul and the Holy Maccabees