Memorial Day: Honoring the Fallen

Photo by New York Scugnizzo

The last Monday in May is Memorial Day, a solemn day set aside to mourn and remember American service members who died in the line of duty.

Pictured is Dawn of Glory, a striking monument by the Sicilian American sculptor Pietro Montana (1892–1978), located on the Brooklyn side of Highland Park along the Queens border. Unveiled on July 13, 1924, the memorial honors members of the local community who served during World War I; an estimated 10,000 people attended its dedication.

The larger-than-life figure depicts a fallen soldier rising from the battlefield. Nude and powerfully built, he casts off his shroud—a stark image of sacrifice transformed into triumph over death. The model for the figure was the Calabrian-born bodybuilder Angelo Siciliano (1894–1972), better known as Charles Atlas.

Prayer for Memorial Day

May God, the Lord of nations and the Prince of Peace, bless our country, bring comfort to those who mourn, and grant eternal rest to the fallen. Amen.

A Look at the Eighteenth Annual Battle of Bitonto Commemoration in New York City

Portrait of King Carlo di Borbone (c.1761) by Anton Raphael Mengs
and The Battle of Bitonto (c.1750) by Giovanni Luigi Rocco

Due to a crowded Memorial Day weekend schedule, this year’s Annual Battle of Bitonto Commemoration—held in memory of Carlo di Borbone’s decisive victory over the Austrians in Puglia on 25 May 1734, which established the Bourbon dynasty in Naples and Sicily—was moved to Friday evening, making our customary convivial Sunday dinner a decidedly meatless affair. As is our tradition, we honored the fallen on both sides of the conflict while also celebrating the feast of Santa Rita. Viva 'o Rre!

 A painted copy of Anton Raphael Mengs' circa 1761 Portrait of Carlo di Borbone

Fritto misto palermitano (crocchè di patate, arancini e panelle)

Polpette di melanzane

Sfincione

Insalata di finocchio with fennel, oranges, arugula, and lemon dressing

Zuppa di cozze

Gamberi Oreganati

Pasta al pesto di pistacchi

Pasta alla Norma

Homemade cannoli with crushed pistachios

Gelato al limone

Festa di San Ciro at Casa Italiana in Springfield, Massachusetts

A Modern Man, Bound by Tradition

Tommaso Aniello, known as
"Masaniello" (1620-1647)

Though formed by the modern age, I remain deeply attached to tradition. That does not mean I am a Luddite, nor that I wish to turn the clock back to the Middle Ages. The past, as it was, cannot be restored—and should not be imitated wholesale. What matters is fidelity to the principles that gave rise to the structures and traditions we aspire to.

To call oneself a monarchist is often misunderstood. It is not an expression of personal ambition, nor a quiet fantasy of elevation. I am content with my station. I do not dream of crowns or titles, nor do I indulge in illusions of power. Rather, it is a recognition that order, hierarchy, and continuity have their place in the proper arrangement of society.

There is something admirable in figures like Masaniello, who, despite being thrust into leadership, never mistook it for his natural place. When offered a gold chain by the Viceroy, he refused it outright, insisting he wished to return to selling fish once the moment had passed. On another occasion, he drove away curious nobles, declaring he preferred the company of simple people like himself. Whatever became of him, there is a clarity to that instinct—a refusal to confuse circumstance with calling.

In this, I stand apart from the revolutionary impulse—whether clothed in utopian language or material promises. I have no desire to tear down in hopes of ruling over the ruins. History shows too clearly how such dreams end: not in justice, but in blood and disillusion.

If anything, my instinct is the opposite—to serve rather than to dominate. As the inversion of Milton’s adage suggests, better to serve in heaven than to rule in hell. And if our present age often feels unmoored, even infernal at times, the task is not to seize power within it, but to remain grounded in something higher than it.

This same instinct extends into more personal domains, including the question of continuity within family and culture. I find myself sympathetic to Carlo Rossi di Lauriano’s understanding of endogamy as the recognition that inheritance is not merely material, but spiritual.* Traditions, habits, beliefs, and ways of seeing the world are carried, preserved, and transmitted through living communities, most immediately through the family and lineage across generations.

The old Neapolitan saying captures this well: “A crianza fa ’o signore, no ’a lira.” Good breeding makes a gentleman, not money. It is not wealth or sudden elevation that confers dignity, but formation—something cultivated over time, not seized in a moment.

To uphold continuity in this sense is not merely to reject the outside world, but to resist dissolution within it. It is an acknowledgment that what has been handed down is fragile and, without conscious preservation, easily lost. In an age that celebrates rootlessness as freedom, there is something quietly radical in choosing to remain rooted.

~ By Giovanni di Napoli, May 23rd, Feast of Sant’Eframo di Napoli

Notes:
* Duke Carlo Rossi di Lauriano was a Piedmontese nobleman, diplomat, and intellectual active during the first half of the twentieth century. He is best known for his involvement in the UR Group (Gruppo di Ur), a short-lived but influential circle of esotericists and philosophers. The ideas referenced here are drawn primarily from Spirito aristocratico e casta aristocratica, published in La Torre: Foglio di espressioni varie e Tradizione una, 2nd rev. ed. (Edizioni Mediterranee, 2020).

In Memory of King Ferdinando II of the Two Sicilies

Shrine to King Ferdinando II of the
Two Sicilies at Red Sauce Studios
in Little Italy, New York

Friday afternoon, members and friends of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of St. George gathered in New York’s Little Italy to honor the memory of King Ferdinando II of the Two Sicilies with a luncheon at the historic Vincent’s.

Established in 1904, the old-school landmark remains renowned for its legendary red sauce and enduring connection to the neighborhood’s Duosiciliano heritage. The gathering combined remembrance, fellowship, and continuity with the customs and traditions long associated with southern Italian communal life.

As the luncheon fell on a Friday, the table reflected the traditional custom of abstaining from meat in favor of seafood. Among the dishes enjoyed were scungilli, fried calamari, and shrimp balls, alongside several of the restaurant’s classic specialties.

The occasion served not merely as a social gathering but also as a remembrance of a historical legacy preserved through fraternity, ritual, and shared cultural memory. Viva 'o Rre!

Following the luncheon, several members visited the nearby Italian American Museum to view the ongoing Totò and His Naples exhibit, dedicated to the life and legacy of the great Neapolitan actor and comedian Totò.

The visit provided a fitting conclusion to the afternoon, linking the legacy of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies with one of Naples’ most beloved cultural figures, whose work preserved the humor, dignity, sorrow, and spirit of the southern Italian people.

Documenti e testimonianze della dinastia borbonica nella raccolta del Museo di Napoli–Collezione Bonelli

Il Portastendardo di Civitella del Tronto (n. 59 - Maggio 2026)

New Book — Sicily: The Unidealized Archive

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

• Sicily: The Unidealized Archive: A guide to enduring the most dense, layered, and contradictory place in Southern Italy by Olga Angelucci

Publisher: Independently published
Pub. Date: April 29, 2026
Paperback: $39.99
Kindle $9.99
Language: English
Pages: 97

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10th Anniversary of the Ordination Rev. Fr. Jon Tveit at Blessed Sacrament Church in New Rochelle, New York

Remembering King Ferdinando II of the Two Sicilies

January 12, 1810 - May 22, 1859

In memory of King Ferdinando II of the Two Sicilies, we pray for the happy repose of his soul. Viva ‘o Rre!

Eternal rest grant unto His Majesty, O Lord and let perpetual light shine upon him. May his soul, and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen

New Music — Pergolesi: L'Olimpiade

Forthcoming music that may be of interest to our readers.

• Pergolesi: L'Olimpiade performed by Anicio Zorzi Giustiniani

Label: Arcana Records
Release Date: July 17, 2026
Audio CD: $29.99
Number of Discs: 2

Available at Amazon.com

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The Feast of the Ascension at Carditello

HRH Princess Beatrice of Bourbon–Two Sicilies with dignitaries and reenactors
Photos courtesy of Gaetano Bonelli and 1° Reggimento Re

At the historic Royal Site of Carditello, the Feast of the Ascension unfolded as a rare union of sacred tradition, historical memory, and Bourbon heritage. The event gathered clergy, historians, reenactors, and distinguished guests—including HRH Princess Beatrice of Bourbon–Two Sicilies—for a day that restored something of the ceremonial spirit once associated with the old Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.

Members of the 1° Reggimento Re

Particularly notable was the presentation of several unique and largely unseen artifacts from the collections of the Museum of Naples, many connected to the history of the Bourbon dynasty. The exhibition transformed the estate from a mere historical site into something closer to a living continuity, offering a rare glimpse into a world too often flattened into stereotype, yet still preserved through objects, ritual, and memory.

The religious dimension of the celebration remained central. The traditional floral display, the solemn Mass celebrated by Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe, and the procession of Carlo Brunelli’s altarpiece reaffirmed the deeply Catholic character of the feast. Especially striking was the ancient blessing of the waters from the Carolino Aqueduct, a rite that seemed to bind together landscape, faith, and history in a distinctly Duosiciliano way.

Rather than functioning as a simple cultural event, the Feast of the Ascension at Carditello demonstrated how historical memory can still be lived publicly and spiritually. For a few hours, the Royal Site became, once again, part of a living tradition rather than a monument to a vanished world.

~ By Giovanni di Napoli, May 20th, Feast of San Bernardino da Siena

HRH Princess Beatrice of Bourbon–Two Sicilies with Gaetano Bonelli

Cav. Mirko Speranza