Ponderable Quote from Textos de Doctrina Política by Juan Vásquez de Mella (III)

Juan Vásquez de Mella y Fanjul
(8 June 1861—26 February 1928)

A people declines and dies when its internal moral unity is broken, and an entire generation appears—disbelieving—regarding itself as a broken link in the chain of the centuries, unaware that without the community of tradition there is no Fatherland; that the Fatherland is not formed by the soil we tread, nor the atmosphere we breathe, nor the sun that shines upon us, but by that spiritual patrimony which previous generations have fashioned for us over the centuries, and which we have the right to perfect, to expand, to ennoble; but not to squander, not to destroy, not to allow to reach future generations diminished or not at all; that tradition, in the final analysis, is identified with progress, and there is no progress without tradition, nor true tradition without progress. Tradition means the transmission of a wealth of ideas, beliefs, aspirations, institutions, from one generation to another, founded upon a right and a duty: the right of the generation that has produced the patrimony—or part of the spiritual and material patrimony—of a people, that it pass on to the generations to come; and the duty of the generation that receives it to develop it, not to diminish or destroy it, and thus deprive those who follow of it. Upon this right of the preceding generation and upon this duty of the generation that follows rests the juridical foundation of tradition, which cannot be denied without murdering the Fatherland.

A progress that were an extraordinary invention and did not rely upon tradition to transmit it would die at the very moment of its birth; and a tradition that added nothing to the inheritance received, indifferent to the demands of new needs, would be something dead and petrified, which would have to be set aside so as not to obstruct the channel of history through which the life of a nation flows. Therefore, while applauding progress—which consists only in successive perfection—it is necessary to feel as the Fatherland feels, to think as the Fatherland thinks, to love as the Fatherland loves; and for this it is necessary not to detach oneself from the chain of generations and to affirm those characteristics that no politician, nor any warrior, has fashioned, but which many generations and many centuries have shaped in collaboration with different races and peoples and diverse historical influences, which a single belief—serving as a golden clasp—joined together so as to seal our spirit with indelible marks.

Translation my own. Speech delivered in Santander, September 1916; published in Juan Vásquez de Mella, Textos de Doctrina Política, Preliminary Study, Selections and Notes by Rafael Gambra (Madrid, 1953), p.28.

56° Incontro Tradizionalista di Civitella del Tronto

Laetare Sunday at St. Michael's Church in Staten Island, New York

In Search of Colapesce with the Ghost of the Count of Sciancato

Today, we introduce a new semi-regular feature on Il Regno: In Search of… with the Ghost of the Count of Sciancato. From time to time, the Count’s restless spirit will join us to delve into some of history’s stranger tales and forgotten oddities. ~ Ed.

* * *

In Search of… with the Ghost of the Count of Sciancato explores mysteries where history and legend blur and conjecture begins—along with the strange, the macabre, and the uncanny. What follows suggests possible explanations—though not the only ones.

Colapesce: The Boy Beneath the Island

In the waters off Sicily and Naples, fishermen have long told of a boy who swam too well… and too deep.

They called him Colapesce—Nicholas the Fish.

Bas-relief of Colapesce (Niccolò
Pesce), Via Mezzocannone, Naples
Courtesy of storienapoli.it

Medieval chronicles from the 12th century speak of a youth who could remain beneath the sea for hours, exploring caverns no diver could chart. One account tells of a Sicilian boy summoned before a powerful ruler—often identified as Emperor Frederick II—who demanded proof of his remarkable talent.

Objects were cast into the depths. A goblet. A ring. Perhaps even a crown.

Each time, the boy returned.

But on the final descent, Colapesce discovered something far more unsettling. According to legend, Sicily did not rest securely upon the earth. It stood upon three immense pillars rising from the sea floor. One of them—cracked and crumbling—threatened the island’s stability.

He dove again.

And this time… he did not resurface.

Was it merely medieval imagination attempting to explain earthquakes and the fiery rumblings of Mount Etna? A symbolic tale born in a land shaped by tremors and tides?

Or could there have been a gifted diver—an extraordinary youth whose disappearance grew into myth?

No grave marks his passing. No record confirms his fate.

Yet in the Strait of Messina, where currents churn and the seabed drops away into darkness, sailors still speak of strange shapes moving far below.

Is Colapesce only legend?

Or does he remain there still—holding up an island, suspended between history and myth, beneath the restless sea?

……………………………………

Sebastiano III, Conte di Sciancato, a minor prince of forgotten Lucania, was said to have loved his wife more than his soul. When his beloved bride, Donna Lucrezia di Nerafiora, died in a tragic accident, he could not accept the will of fate. In his grief, he turned to ancient books and desperate learning, searching for a way to restore her to the world of the living. The attempt cost him his life. The ruins of his torre lie hidden, and when the earth trembles, some whisper he still searches for her.

The Five Chinese Brothers

Genuine conversation with a stranger feels rare these days, though now and then it still occurs. There was a time when we managed it without documenting ourselves mid-sentence. Without selfies or screens to retreat into, we argued about politics and religion, traded thoughts on music and art, and debated the latest news. I met fascinating people of every stripe that way.

Just the other day on the Staten Island Ferry, I struck up a conversation with a young philosophy student. Curious, I asked whom she was reading. I expected the usual names—Descartes, Kant, Nietzsche, Marx. Instead, she said The Five Chinese Brothers (1938) by Claire Huchet Bishop.

I assumed she was joking—until she pulled a worn, beat-up old copy of the children’s book from her bag. Its pages were thick with notes. Leafing through it, she explained how she tries to live her life according to its lessons.

Improbable as it sounds, I found her infinitely more interesting—and far more compelling—than most chance encounters these days. I’m not sure I’m ready to order myself a copy of the children’s tale, but I admired the conviction with which she tried to order her own life. In an age when so many drift without any guiding idea at all, that kind of seriousness is rare. While I wish she had found the Faith, there are certainly worse places to begin.

~ By Giovanni di Napoli, March 5th, Feast of San Giovan Giuseppe della Croce

Traditional Latin Mass Every Sunday at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Hackensack, New Jersey

A Request for Prayers

Earlier today, March 5th, a young member of my extended family passed away after a long and courageous battle with cancer. He was only fifteen years old.

He leaves behind his loving parents and two brothers, who cared for him with great devotion throughout his illness. Though his life was far too short, he brought joy and strength to those who knew him.

I ask for your prayers—for the repose of his soul, and for comfort and peace for his family in the difficult days ahead.

Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him. May he rest in peace.

Monologhi Teatrali in Lingua Laborina in Scena alla Scuola G. Di Biasio di Cassino

Simple Pleasures: Tri-State Napoli Club — Presente!

Spotted a Tri-State Napoli Club sticker in Little Italy, New York. Forza Napoli, sempre!

New Book — Voices of Naples: Neapolitan Proverbs in Italian and English

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

• Voices of Naples: Neapolitan Proverbs in Italian and English by Annunziata De Maria

Publisher: Independently published
Pub. Date: January 27, 2026
Paperback: $10.00
Language: English
Pages: 70

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Lenten Talk on the History of the Different Approved Catholic Rites in Sacred Tradition

Celebrating the Second Sunday of Lent

(L) During Lent, the altar is stripped of flowers in keeping
with the Church's penitential tradition. (R) After Mass, we
venerated the first-class relic of St. Francis of Assisi

Hear ye Him.

On the Second Sunday of Lent, we attended the traditional Latin Mass at Our Lady of Peace Church in Park Slope, Brooklyn. Prior to Mass, we recited the Holy Rosary, the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the Stations of the Cross in Latin. 

Memento mori at the feet of St. Francis of Assisi and St. Gerard

In faithful continuity, we dedicated our Sunday Rosary to the Beatification of Servant of God King Francesco II of the Two Sicilies and to the Canonization of Blessed Queen Maria Cristina di Savoia.

“Whatever is well and truly made, will be beautiful in kind because of its perfection.” ~ Ananda K. Coomaraswamy, Christian & Oriental Philosophy of Art

After Mass, we allowed ourselves a small reprieve from Lenten discipline and paid a long-overdue visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Asian Art Galleries. I had not returned since the death of a friend, with whom I often sat in the Astor Chinese Courtyard, listening as she waxed poetic on the works. Spanning from the 3rd millennium BC to the 21st century, the collection is among the largest and most comprehensive in the West.

~ By Giovanni di Napoli, March 3rd, Feast of Beato Pietro Geremia

(L) Head of an Attendant Bodhisattva, Northern Qi dynasty (550-77), ca. 565-75, Hebei province, Northern Xiangtangshan, Central Cave, limestone with pigment. (R) Head of an Attendant Bodhisattva, Northern Qi dynasty (550-77), ca. 565-75, Hebei province, Southern Xiangtangshan, limestone with pigment

(L) Standing Bodhisattva Maitreya (Buddha of the Future), Pakistan (ancient region of Gandhara), ca. 3rd century, schist. (R) Krishna Killing the Horse Demon, Keshi, India (Uttar Pradesh), 5th century, Gupta period, terracotta

(L) Bust of a Bodhisattva, possibly Maitreya, Pakistan, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, probably Loriyan Tangai monastery, ancient region of Gandhara, 2nd-3rd century, Schist. (R) Mask of Vaikuntha Vishnu, India (Jammu and Kashmir, ancient kingdom of Kashmir), late 5th century, bronze

Head of a Buddha or Bodhisattva, Afghanistan,
probably Hadda, 5th-6th century, clay, garnet (eyes )

Wrestler's Weight with Hercules and the Nemean Lion,
Pakistan (ancient region of Gandhara), 1st century, stone

Shiva Seated with Parvati, Nepal, Kathmandu Valley
Thakuri period, 11th century, copper alloy

(L) Chamunda, the Horrific Destroyer of Evil, India (Madhya Pradesh), 10th-11th century, sandstone. (R) Yoga Narasimha, Vishnu's Man-Lion Incarnation, India (Tamil Nadu), Chola period, 12th century, copper alloy

Vishnu Accompanied by Lakshmi and Sarasvati,
Bangladesh Pala period, 12th century, black phyllite

(L) Mask of the Spirit Deity Jumadi, Bhuta culture of Tulu Nadu,
coastal Karnataka, India, early 20th century, copper alloy with silver
pendants. (R) Bhairava, Nepal, Kathmandu Valley, Malla period,
16th century, gilded copper, rock crystal, paint

(L) The Goddess Durga Slaying the Demon Buffalo Mahisha, Bangladesh or
India (Bengal), Pala-Sena period, 12th century, argillite. (R) The Goddess
Durga Slaying the Demon Buffalo Mahisha, India (Himachal Pradesh,
probably Chamba Valley), 12th century, brass

Goddess Durga slaying the demon Mahisha, Pala-Sena dynasty, ca.
12th century, Bangladesh, northern Bengal, possibly Varendra
region, inscribed in proto-Bengali Gaudi script, copper alloy

(L) Goddess Durga Slaying the Buffalo Demon Mahisha, Eastern India,
Bihar, probably Gaya district, Pala period, second half of the 9th century,
black phyllite. (R) Four-Armed Durga Seated on Her Lion Vehicle,
India (probably Uttar Pradesh), 9th century, stone

(L) Tree Dryad (Shalabhanjika), India (Orissa), 12th-13th century,
ferruginous stone. (R) Celestial Beauty (Surasundari), India
(southern Rajasthan), 11th century, marble

Standing Parvati, India (Tamil Nadu), Chola period,
ca. first quarter of the 10th century, copper alloy

(L) Vasudhara, Goddess of Wealth, Nepal, Kathmandu Valley, Early Malla
period, 14th-15th century, gilt-copper alloy. (R) Tara, the Buddhist
Savior, Nepal, Kathmandu Valley, Malla period, 14th century. gilt
copper alloy with color, inlaid with semiprecious stones

Durga as Slayer of the Buffalo Demon Mahishasura, Nepal,
Kathmandu Valley, Early Malla period, 14th-15th century,
gilt-copper alloy inlaid with semiprecious stones

(L) Dharmapala Standing on a Lion, Tibet, ca. 16th century, stone with traces
of gold paint, inlaid with turquoise. (R) Hevajra and Nairatmya,
Tibet, late 12th century, brass with silver and pigment

(L) Standing Buddha, Thailand, Lan Na style, 15th century, gilt bronze. (R) Standing Crowned and Jeweled Buddha, Burma, Pagan period, 12th-13th century, wood with traces of red lacquer, gesso, and gold leaf

(L) Mandala of Chandra, God of the Moon, Nepal, Early Malla period,
late 14th-early 15th century, distemper on cloth. (R) Vaishravana,
the Guardian of Buddhism and Protector of Riches,
Tibet, 15th century, distemper on cloth

(L) Guru Dragpo, Padmasambhava's Fierce Emanation, Tibet,
18th century, distemper on cotton. (R) Vajrabhairava with His
Consort Vajravetali, Tibet, 18th century, distemper on cloth

(L) Kali, the wrathful protector (Shri Shri Kali), G. C. Dass, Kolkata,
West Bengal, ca. 1880-85, lithograph with watercolor on paper.
(R) Tara, a form of Kali (Tara Thakoorani), Kolkata, West
Bengal, early 20th century, gouache and ink on paper

(L) Kali, the wrathful protector, published by Calcutta Art Studio, Kolkata, West
Bengal, ca. 1879, chromolithograph with watercolor on paper. (R) Kali, the
wrathful protector, published by Ravi Varma Press, Malavli, Maharashtra,
ca. 1910-20, chromolithograph with varnish on paper

Teisai Hokuba (1771-1844), Evening Rain in the Yoshiwara, Edo period (1615-1868), ca. 1830-44, hanging scroll, ink, color, and gold on silk

(L) Kitagawa Utamaro (ca. 1753-1806), Wisteria Maiden with an Ōtsu
Demon Dressed as an Itinerant Monk, from the series Souvenir Paintings
from Ōtsu, Stocked in Edo (Edo Shi-ire Ōtsu Miyage), Edo period (1615-1868),
ca. 1802-3, woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper. (R) Huang
Xiangjian (1609-1673) Landscape, Qing dynasty (1644-1911), mid-17th
century, Album of twelve leaves, ink on paper

A Prayer for Peace in Iran

San Sebastiano, ora pro nobis

While we may not support the recent U.S. and allied strikes on Iran, we continue to support and pray for the brave members of our armed forces who serve with courage and sacrifice. We offer prayers for all those affected—especially our service members who risk their lives and the innocent civilians caught in the conflict. We ask God for protection, restraint, and wisdom for leaders on every side, and a swift path to peace. May St. Michael, St. Barbara, St. Sebastian, and Our Lady of Loreto watch over and protect you.

A Prayer for Peace

Almighty God, from whom all thoughts of truth and peace proceed, kindle in the hearts of all men the true love of peace, and guide with Your pure and peaceable wisdom those who make decisions for the nations of the earth; that in tranquility Your kingdom may go forward, till the earth be filled with the knowledge of Your love; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Feast of Beato Pietro Geremia

Beato Pietro Geremia, ora pro nobis

March 3rd is the Feast of Beato Pietro Geremia (1399–1452), a Sicilian Dominican friar renowned for his holiness, humility, and powerful preaching. Born in Palermo, he entered the Order of Preachers and became known for his deep life of prayer, devotion to the Eucharist, and tireless service to the poor.

A renowned and powerful preacher, he is venerated as one of Palermo's patron saints, alongside Santa Rosalia and other holy protectors of the city.

Celebrated for miracles and for his role in renewing faith in Sicily, he was beatified on 12 May 1784 by Pope Pius VI. His life remains a model of charity, obedience, and unwavering trust in God.

Evviva Beato Pietro Geremia!

In celebration of his feast, we offer this prayer:

Prayer to Blessed Peter Geremia

O God, who didst wonderfully raise up in Thy Church Blessed Peter, Confessor, to propagate the faith, grant us, we beseech Thee, that as we venerate his merits, we may also imitate his example. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Compra Sud — Burning Vibes by Rose

Hand-painted Sicilian wagon wheels

Discover the beauty of Sicily through the timeless art of woodburning with Burning Vibes by Rose. Each handcrafted piece is thoughtfully designed and burned by hand, blending rustic charm with rich Sicilian heritage. From the iconic Trinacria to traditional Sicilian motifs, Rose’s creations bring warmth, culture, and meaning into any home.

Perfect as gifts or statement décor, her work celebrates tradition while showcasing true artisan craftsmanship. Support a passionate small business and bring a touch of Sicily into your space with Burning Vibes by Rose.

Hand-painted Sicilian wagon wheels

(L) Detail of wagon wheel with Sicilian Trinacria.
(R) Hand-burned Sicilian Trinacria charcuterie board

The Medal in the Drawer

Recently, while rummaging through a cluttered desk drawer, I came upon a Saint-Gaudens Medal I had been awarded in high school by the School Art League for excellence in draughtsmanship. Its weight in my palm brought a sudden flood of memories—graphite dust on fingertips, the smell of turpentine, and long afternoons spent chasing form and shadow.

I was transported back to Mrs. A’s classroom, where Gaviota, my first true love, sat beside me, herself a gifted artist. We were young and certain of our calling. Mrs. A gave her advanced students carte blanche access to materials and reference books. It was in her classroom that I was first exposed to the works of Otto Dix, Dalí, and others who unsettled and expanded my sense of what art could be. She trusted us with freedom. We drew from plaster casts, from photographs, from life. We experimented boldly, confident that art would be both our vocation and our inheritance.

When graduation approached, I naively rejected sound advice to apply for stable city jobs. I was anti-materialistic, full of ideals, and romantic about the life of a starving artist. I did not yet understand how corrupt, cutthroat, and degenerate the art world could be. Reality came slowly. I found steady employment as a graphic designer—honest work, useful work—but it never replaced the deeper hunger for life drawing and painting.

Disenchanted and disgusted with the industry, I shamefully drifted from my craft. I allowed disappointment to dissuade me. Though I remain in contact with Mrs. A—an influential and heroic figure in my life—I sometimes feel I failed her by not realizing my full potential as an artist. She never imposed that burden; I placed it upon myself.

Yet I never lost my love for art. It endures, undiminished. It is one of the reasons I devote so much attention to art on the blog. I cannot visit museums and galleries enough. Each time I step into a quiet hall and stand before a painting or sculpture, I feel the same wonder I knew as a boy—discovering beauty as if for the first time.

Perhaps this is how I have remained faithful to that earlier self. If I did not become the artist I once imagined, I have at least remained a devoted pilgrim—returning again and again to the wellspring, drawing from it, and inviting others to look more closely.

~ By Giovanni di Napoli, March 2nd, Feast of San Luca Casale da Nicosia

Photo of the Week: One of Two Black Granite Lions of Nectanebo I, Vatican Museum

Photo by New York Scugnizzo

Commissioned by Pharaoh Nectanebo I (r. 380–362 BC) of the 30th Dynasty, the statues likely adorned a temple to Thoth at Hermopolis Parva (modern Tell Baqliya) in the Nile Delta. Transported to Rome during the Imperial period, they probably decorated the Temple of Isis in the Campus Martius. Rediscovered in the 15th century, they were installed in 1586 at the Fontana dell’Acqua Felice near the Baths of Diocletian. In 1839, Pope Gregory XVI ordered copies to replace the originals, which were transferred to the Vatican Museums, where they are now displayed in the Pinecone Courtyard (Cortile della Pigna).

Mártires de Tradición 2026