I Giorni della Memoria Borbonica

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New Book — The Art of Immigration, Donatus Buongiorno: Italian and American, Artist and Entrepreneur

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

• The Art of Immigration, Donatus Buongiorno: Italian and American, Artist and Entrepreneur by Janice Carapellucci

Publisher: Mary Brown
Publication Date: November 20, 2024
Paperback: $37.03
Language: English
Pages: 306

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In the Ruins of Christendom, We Shall Live

Detail from the Ghent
Altarpiece, Jan van Eyck

Guest Op-Ed

Submitted by John Ogilvie

The Kings of Christendom are nearly all gone. In the world of Christendom, Christian kings bent their knee to God’s law, and held that law as a sacred trust to be revered and enshrined in every subject’s heart. That was a great world, where earthly kings reigned who acknowledged Jesus Christ as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. The once-great world belongs to the distant past. Now, we live after Christendom; all her kings are gone, and her thrones lie in the dust, torn down by the gods of the revolutions of modern man—the modern man who tramples everywhere on the laws of nature and the laws of God. Such is our world, our brave new world, for the modern man. Be not fooled though: It is a world that runs thick with blood: the blood of revolutions, the blood of the unborn innocent; the blood of those who would not bend their knee to the gods of revolution. I will not dwell in a bloody brave new world.

But amidst the chaos and wreckage of the revolutions of modern man, you and I have glimpsed the ruins and the remnants of Christendom. We have seen the glory of Christ the King in his great churches, in the silent majesty of his basilicas, in his ancient rites of grace. In Christendom’s Gothic churches, we have often found true palaces of the Virgin, built by the faithful peasants of a bygone age to their beloved Lady. We have heard the sound of our King’s ancient rites. Indeed, we have heard the chants and songs of Christendom. We know a beauty ever ancient, ever new. We know that the ruins of Christendom are better than the gleaming towers of the brave new world—of the hollow men. One day in the ruins of Christendom is better than a thousand elsewhere.

Christ is my King; Him alone will I serve; in his kingdom’s ruins will I live. Time hath worn us with rainy marching in the fields of this world’s battles. But we are warriors for the working day. Under the standard of the Cross, we shall labor. In the ruins of Christendom, we shall live. Christus vincit. Christus regnat. Christus imperat.

New Book — Mysticism, Magic, and Monasteries: Recovering the Sacred Mystery at the Heart of Reality

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

• Mysticism, Magic, and Monasteries: Recovering the Sacred Mystery at the Heart of Reality by Sebastian Morello

Publisher: OS Justi Press
Publication Date: November 22, 2024
Hardcover: $29.95
Softcover: $18.95
Language: English
Pages: 206

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Photo of the Week: Detail of the Scale Model of Pompeii, Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli

Photo by New York Scugnizzo

Meridiunalata: L’Ammore Nuosto by Cav. Charles Sant’Elia

Reprinted from Cav. Charles Sant'Elia's Meridiunalata / Southernade, an evocative bilingual collection of poetry written in Neapolitan and translated to English between 1989 and 2010.*

L’Ammore Nuosto

L’ammore nuosto è na cammenata ncopp’’a via,
Nu vasillo mmocca a ll’ombra,
Na carezza a na spalla ‘o’ sole.
L’ammore nuosto è nu gelato offerto
E maje magnato,
Na guardata suspecosa, nu poco ‘e gelusia.
L’ammore nuosto è n’abbracciamiento abbascio ‘o puorto,
‘A paura ‘e nu dimane senza ‘e te, senza ‘e me.
L’ammore nuosto è na canzona ancora senza parole,
Ca pure stammo cantanno,
Ca forze leggimmo int’a ll’uocchie d’’e figlie nuoste.

Our Love

Our love is a walk on the avenue,
A little kiss on the mouth in the shade,
A caress on the shoulder in the sun.
Our love is an icecream offered
And never eaten,
A suspicious glance, a bit of jealousy.
Our love is an embrace down by the harbour,
The fear of a tomorrow without you, without me.
Our love is a song still without words,
That yet we are singing,
That perhaps we read in the eyes of our children.

* Self-published in 2010, Meridiunalata / Southernade is a treasury of poems gleaned from Cav. Sant'Elia's previous collections (Nchiuso dint''o presente, 'A cuntrora, and 'O pino e l'éllera), which were circulated among friends in New York City and Naples. Special thanks to Cav. Sant'Elia for allowing us to reprint his poetry and translations.

Download the Latest Edition of 'Il Portastendardo di Civitella del Tronto'

Click here to download the current issue (N. 42 Dicembre 2024)

Celebrating the Feast of the Immaculate Conception and the 5th Annual Feast of San Nicola di Bari in Brooklyn, New York

San Nicola di Bari, ora pro nobis

Following the Traditional Latin Masses at Our Lady of Peace, Holy Innocents, and St. Josaphat’s Sunday morning, members and friends of the Fratelli della Santa Fede (aka Sanfedisti) gathered at Amunì Ristorante (7217 3rd Avenue) in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, to celebrate the Feast of the Immaculate Conception and the 5th Annual Feast of San Nicola di Bari. Partygoers enjoyed a fun evening of fellowship, games (tombola, raffles, etc.), and a sumptuous repast by Chef Vincent Dardanello.

As always, it was a great joy to celebrate our faith and culture together. Evviva Maria e San Nicola di Bari!

Dave and John

(L) Andrew and Enza. (R) Carmine and Angie

(L) Jim and Cindy. (R) Anthony and Maria

Caponata

Arancini

Carduna

Carciofi fritti

Manicotti

Cavatelli

Ragù

Bignè

A Look at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Annual Angel Tree and Neapolitan Baroque Crèche

Taking a much-needed respite from the hustle and bustle of NYC, I finally got to visit the Annual Angel Tree and Neapolitan Baroque Crèche installation at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. One of my favorite Adventide and Christmastide traditions, it is (in my humble opinion) the best Christmas tree and Nativity scene in New York City, including the magnificent Norway spruce in Rockefeller Center. The Met's 20-foot blue spruce and its splendid array of 18th-century presepio figurines from Naples will be on view until 6 January 2025. It is a must-see when visiting the Big Apple. Buon Natale!

Photo of the Week: Scale Model of Pompeii, Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli

Photo by New York Scugnizzo

Celebrating the Feast of San Nicola at the Met

Saint Nicholas with the Three Boys in the
Pickling Tub, oak, South Netherlandish, ca. 1500

Friday after Mass, we celebrated the feast of San Nicola di Bari with a delightful trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in Manhattan. With no real agenda planned, we sauntered through the Medieval Treasury, the American Wing, and the 19th-century British Art galleries. Too much to show here, we offer a tiny glimpse of the many treasures we viewed during our visit. San Nicola, ora pro nobis.

Upcoming exhibits of note at the Met Fifth Avenue:

• Caspar David Friedrich: The Soul of Nature (February 8—May 11, 2025)

• Sargent and Paris (April 27—August 3, 2025)

The entombment, limestone, French, Bourbonnais,
ca. 1515, from the Château de Biron, Périgord

(L) Saint George and the Dragon, ca. 1475, wood, gilded, and painted, attributed to Hans Klocker (Austrian, active, 1474-1502). (R) Saint Elzéar, alabaster, carved about 1370-73, French, from the Franciscan church at Apt. The work is one of eight sculptural reliefs depicting the saintly life of the knight from the reliquary tomb (erected in 1373) destroyed during the French Revolution.

King, Queen, and Prince, marble with traces of paint and gilding, carved
and painted about 1350, French. The figures are believed to portray King
Philip VI Valois (d. 1350); his second wife, Blanche of Navarre (d. 1398);
and one of their sons, John the Good or Philip of France.

(L) Saint Anne Holding the Virgin and Child, Walnut with paint and gilding, carved and painted about 1500-1525, from the Benedictine convent of Nonnberg, Salzburg, Austria. (R) Saint Catherine of Alexandria, gold, enamel en ronde bosse, sapphires, corundum, and pearls, made in Paris about 1400-1410

Saddle with Courtly Scenes, bone, linden wood, rawhide, and birch bark,
made in central Europe (probably Tyrol) about 1430-60

(L-R) Rosary Terminal Bead with Lovers and Death's Head, elephant
ivory with emerald pendant, gilded metal mount, North French
or South Netherlandish, made about 1500-1525

Drinking Horn, cow or European bison horn, silver and gilded silver
mounts, and champlevé enamel, German, Nuremberg, made 1436

(L) Drinking Horn (see above). (R) The Spanish Girl in Reverie,
oil on canvas, 1831, Washington Allston (1779-1843)

Ariadne, oil on canvas, ca. 1831-35, Asher Brown Durand (1796-1886)

(L) Madame X (Virginie Avegno Gautreau), oil on canvas, 1883-84,
John Singer Sargent (1856-1925). (R) Carmencita (Carmen Dauset
Moreno), oil on canvas, 1890, William Merritt Chase (1849-1916)

View from Mount Holyoke, Northampton, Massachusetts, after a Thunderstorm—The Oxbow, oil on canvas, 1836, Thomas Cole (1801-1848)

(L-R) Fragilina, marble, 1923, Attilio Piccirilli (1866-1945)

(L) Evening, marble, this carving 1891, Frederick Wellington
Ruckstull (1853-1942). (R) Genius of Mirth, marble,
carved 1843, Thomas Crawford (1813[?]-1857)

(L) Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington (1769-1852), marble, 1823, Sir Francis Chantrey (British, 1781-1841). (R) King George IV, when Prince of Wales (1762-1830), oil on canvas, after 1798, Sir William Beechey (British, 1753-1839)

(L-R) Alexander the Great, black basalt (unglazed stoneware), ca. 1779-80, Wedgwood and Bently (British, 1769-80); and Laurence Sterne (1713-1823), marble, modeled 1766, Joseph Nolleken (British, 1737-1823)

Announcing "A Very Italian American Christmas Eve Party" by Red Sauce Records

Congratulations to our dear friends at Red Sauce Records in Manhattan on the highly anticipated release of their new festive album, A Very Italian American Christmas Eve Party. Replete with all our favorite Christmas standards (including a new original, No Cannolis for Christmas, by our pal Ernie Rossi), it's the perfect way to celebrate the Feast of the Seven Fishes.

Buy Now

Where to listen to the Christmas Album

New Book — The Italian Americans of Los Angeles: A History

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

• The Italian Americans of Los Angeles: A History by Marianna Gatto

Publisher: Trinacria Editions
Publication Date: September 6, 2024
Hardcover: $37.59
Language: English
Pages: 270

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Festa delle Bandiere Storiche delle Due Sicilie

In Turi (BA)

Photo of the Week: Marble Lion, Colonnade of the Basilica Reale Pontificia San Francesco da Paola, Piazza del Plebiscito, Naples

Photo by New York Scugnizzo

Remembering the Papal Zouaves Who Fought at the Battle of Loigny-Poupry (1870)

Pictured are important Papal Zouaves (Volunteers of the West) who fought at the Battle of Loigny-Poupry on December 2, 1870 during the Franco-Prussian war. Colonel Athanase de Charette is surrounded by 4 of his companions who died from the battle, either killed in action or from their wounds.

Top Left: Commander Troussures, Lieutenant Colonel. He was wounded in combat and was finished off by a German soldier on the battlefield, right in front of General Gaston de Sonis.

Top Right: Count of Verthamon, Sergeant, 1st bearer of the unit banner, he was seriously injured and died 8 days later from his injuries.

Bottom Left: Count Fernand de Bouille, Grandson of Vendéen General Bonchamp. Next banner bearer, he was wounded during the battle while trying to carry the banner and died in Orléans on Dec. 25, 1870.

Bottom Right: Jacques de Bouille, son of Fernand. Bearer of the banner after his father, he was killed in battle and his body never found.

Please pray for the repose of their souls. They fought for Pope, King, and Country.

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord and let perpetual light shine upon them. May their souls, and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen

Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, ora pro nobis!

By Brendan Cassell (Papal Zouave History @PapalZouaveUS)

Jean-Joseph Gaume on the Revolution Redux

Monseigneur Jean-Joseph Gaume

A little over a year ago, we asked our readers for the source of a quote I found online many years back about the Revolution attributed to Monseigneur Jean-Joseph Gaume (1802-1879). While the source of that quote still eludes us, a reader recently informed us that our translation of a strikingly similar quote from the Italian edition of Gaume’s Où en sommes-nous? Étude sur les évènements actuels 1870 et 1871 [*] was faulty. Providing us with a link to a PDF copy of the book in the original French affords us the opportunity to publish a more accurate translation.

The following passages from Où en sommes-nous? Étude sur les évènements actuels 1870 et 1871 can be found on pages 344-345:

Qu'on ne s'y trompe pas: la prise de Paris n'est pas la défaite de la Révolution. La Révolution est un principe, une idée, un système, une puissance spirituelle. On ne tue pas les idées avec de la poudre. L'idée ne peut être dominée que par l'idée. Sans doute, la Révolution se personnifie dans quelques hommes, mais ces hommes ne sont pas elle. Si vous l'interrogez, elle-même vous dira: «Marat n'était pas moi, Robespierre n'était pas moi, Mazzini n'est pas moi, Garibaldi n'est'pas moi, Victor-Emmanuel n'est pas moi, les Communeux ne sont pas moi. Ces hommes et leurs pareils sont mes fils et mes soldats, mais ils ne sont pas moi. Ils meurent, et je vis; ils habitent des lieux déterminés, et je suis partout. Toutes les langues, je les parle, et tous les échos du monde répondent à ma voix. Je suis l'Esprit du mal qui souffle aujourd'hui sur le monde et qui l'arme contre Dieu.»

L'Esprit du mal ne peut être vaincu que par l'Esprit du bien. Il y a dix-huit siècles, par qui l'abominable tyran, dominateur du monde, futil chassé de son empire? Par l'Esprit du bien, le Saint-Esprit; uniquement par lui. Aujourd'hui, nulle autre puissance ne le vaincra.

Ainsi, en arrachant la capitale de la France aux mains de ses tyrans, qu'avez-vous fait? Vous avez fusillé, enchaîné, envoyé à Cayenne quelques-uns des fils de la Révolution, mais non la Révolution elle-même.

The improved translation:

Let there be no mistake: the taking of Paris is not the defeat of the Revolution. The Revolution is a principle, an idea, a system, a spiritual power. Ideas are not killed with gunpowder. The idea can only be dominated by the idea. Doubtless, the Revolution is personified in a few men, but these men are not it. If you question it, it will tell you: "Marat was not me, Robespierre was not me, Mazzini was not me, Garibaldi was not me, Victor-Emmanuel was not me, the Communards are not me. These men and their like are my sons and my soldiers, but they are not me. They die, and I live; they inhabit specific places, and I am everywhere. I speak all languages, and all the echoes of the world respond to my voice. I am the Spirit of evil which today blows over the world and arms it against God."

The Spirit of Evil can only be defeated by the Spirit of Good. Eighteen centuries ago, by whom was the abominable tyrant, dominator of the world, driven from his empire? By the Spirit of Good, the Holy Spirit; by him alone. Today, no other power will defeat him.

So, in wresting the capital of France from the hands of its tyrants, what have you done? You have shot, chained, and sent to Cayenne some of the sons of the Revolution, but not the Revolution itself.

* Ove Siamo? Studio Sugli Avvenimenti Presenti, 1870 e 1871, Prato, 1872, pp. 260-261