Photo of the Week: Allegory of Charity, Vatican

Photo by New York Scugnizzo

A Look at the Unveiling of the Monument Dedicated to King Ferdinand IV of Bourbon in San Leucio, Caserta

A bronze statue dedicated to King Ferdinand IV of Bourbon, sculpted by Don Battista Marello, was officially unveiled this afternoon in the Borgo di San Leucio, Caserta. Viva 'o Rre!

Photos by Angela Cuccillato and Gennaro Conte were liberally gleaned from Facebook.

This Morning Caserta Shines for the Bourbons Again

Photo courtesy of Movimento Neoborbonico

Statue of King Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies being installed this morning in San Leucio, Caserta. It will officially be unveiled on Sunday 29 May. Viva 'o Rre!

Ponderable Quote from ‘The Diary of a Writer’ by F.M. Dostoevsky

Portrait of Dostoevsky in 1872 by Vasily Perov

“Take the instance of Count Cavour,—wasn’t his a great mind? Wasn’t he a diplomat?—I am citing him because his genius is generally recognized and also because he is dead. Yet what did he do, look: Oh, he did achieve his aim, he did unite Italy, but what was the result?—For 2,000 years Italy bore in herself a universal unifying idea—not some abstract idea, not a speculation of some theoretical mind, but a realistic, organic idea; the fruit of the national and universal life. This was the unification of the whole world—first, the ancient Roman and later—the papal unification. The peoples who have been growing and disappearing in Italy in the course of these two and one-half millennia, understood that they were the bearers of a universal idea, while those who did not understand it felt and divined it. Science, art—everything was invested and permeated with this universal significance. Oh, let us admit that, at length, this universal idea became worn out and wasted there (although hardly so!). But what—in the long run—has come in its stead? Upon what can Italy be congratulated? What advantage has she achieved after Count Cavour’s diplomacy? —There rose a united second-rate little kingdom which had lost every kind of a universal aspiration; which exchanged it for the most worn-out, bourgeois principle—the thirtieth repetition of this principle since the French revolution a kingdom fully content with its unity which means nothing, a mechanical, and not a spiritual unity (i.e., not the former universal unity), and on top of that—a kingdom burdened with insolvent indebtedness, and, in addition,—one specifically content with its own second-rateness. This is what came of it; such was Count Cavour’s creation!” 

Reprinted from The Diary of a Writer (1877, May-June, Chapter II: Former Agriculturists—Future Diplomats) by Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky, translated and annotated by Boris Brasol, George Braziller, Inc., 1954, P.718-719

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

Battle of Bitonto (c.1750) by Giovanni Luigi Rocco

Members of our little neobriganti community in New York City gathered at Amunì Ristorante (7217 3rd Avenue) in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn last Saturday for our Fourteenth Annual Battle of Bitonto Commemoration in memory of King Carlo di Borbone’s decisive victory over the Austrians in Apulia on 25 May 1734 and the subsequent founding of the Bourbon Dynasty of Naples and Sicily (later the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies).

Moved forward on account of the Minor Rogation Days, Ascension Thursday and Memorial Day Weekend, revelers exchanged Bourbon-themed gifts, won raffle prizes and, as always, enjoyed a bountiful Sicilian repast.

We honored the fallen on both sides with prayers and toasts. Viva 'o Rre!

Carciofi fritti

Arancini

Milinciani fritta (breaded eggplant, roasted peppers and mozzarella)

Pizza

Cavatelli with sausage, broccoli and pignoli

Braciola di maiale al forno

Montepulciano d'Abruzzo

Raffle prizes included artisanal soaps from Casa Amalfi and
a tie with the coat-of-arms of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies

Artisanal soaps, fleur-de-lis placemats and repurposed Argenio watch boxes with King Carlo di Borbone filled with various Kingdom of the Two Sicilies lapel pins

A Prayer for Uvalde, Texas

Ven. Antonio Margil de Jesús, ora pro nobis

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims of the horrific May 24 mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas and their families. Taking place just ten days after the deadly attack in Buffalo, New York, our society clearly suffers from a grave spiritual malady. May Venerable Antonio Margil de Jesús, St. Anthony of Padua, St. Joseph and the Holy Innocents watch over the Great State of Texas.

Prayer for the victims

Loving God, welcome into your arms the victims of violence and terrorism. Comfort their families and all who grieve for them. Help us in our fear and uncertainty, and bless us with the knowledge that we are secure in your love. Strengthen all those who work for peace, and may the peace the world cannot give reign in our hearts. Amen.

Photo of the Week: San Raffaele Arcangelo and Tobia by Renato Rossi

San Raffaele Arcangelo e Tobia by Renato Rossi, 1931, hand painted ceramic tiles on the facade of the Confraternity of Annunziata and Rosario (next door to the Chiesa San Giovanni) in Vietri sul Mare. Photo by New york Scugnizzo

High Mass for the Feast of Santa Rita da Cascia at Our Lady of Peace Church in Brooklyn, New York

Santa Rita da Cascia, ora pro nobis

After the traditional Latin Mass at Our Lady of Peace Church in Brooklyn, New York on Sunday, I visited the statues of a few familial and personal patrons, and prayed for our Prior, His Grace Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone. Evviva Santa Rita da Cascia!

San Giovanni Battista, ora pro nobis

San Rocco di Montpellier, ora pro nobis

Santa Lucia, ora pro nobis

Meridiunalata XXX: Abbrúsciala by Cav. Charles Sant'Elia

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

Abbrúsciala 

Abbrúsciala
Sta lettera ca te sto screvenno, 

Mo ca stammo luntane, 

Manco 'o suonno
Nci'ha da aunì. 

Abbrúsciala
Int'a nu fuoco ardente, 

Miéttela llà mmiezo 

Int' 'o core d' 'e sciamme 

Ca nun fujesse. 

Abbrúsciala
E nun te ne ncarrecà chiù 

'E stu penziero
Ca nun maje nce avev' 'a stà 

Ma ca nc'è caduto. 

Abbrúsciala, 

Abbrúsciala...

Tu pe me. 

Burn It 

Burn it
This letter that I’m writing you, 

Now that we’re far apart,
Not even dreams
Can unite us. 

Burn it
In an ardent fire,
Put it there in the middle 

In the heart of the flames 

So that it not escape. 

Burn it
And don’t bother any more about 

This thought
Which shouldn’t have been
But which fell upon us. 

Burn it, 

Burn it... 

You for me. 

* 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.

Photos of the Week: Details of the Pulpit at Our Lady of Peace Church in Brooklyn, New York

After High Mass Sunday morning I took a few pics of the
marble Franciscan Saints adorning the hexagonal pulpit

New Book — Pierre-François Hugues d'Hancarville: The Complete Collection of Antiquities from the Cabinet of Sir William Hamilton

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

• Pierre-François Hugues d'Hancarville: The Complete Collection of Antiquities from the Cabinet of Sir William Hamilton by Madeleine Howler and Sebastian Schütze

Publisher: Taschen

Publication Date: Aug. 16, 2022

Hardcover: $80.00

Language: English

Pages: 514

Read description

Click here to see more books

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High Mass for the Feast of the Apparition of San Michele Arcangelo on Monte Gargano and Supplica at Our Lady of Peace Church in Brooklyn, New York

After the traditional Latin Mass we prayed the Supplica
beneath the statue of the Madonna del Rosario di Pompei

Madonna della Pace, ora pro nobis

Beautifully decorated high altar

San Michele Arcangelo, ora pro nobis

Photo of the Week: Street Shrine Dedicated to Our Lady in Naples

Photo by Andrew Giordano

Congratulations U.S. Lecce! I Lupi Returns to Serie A

After a short but harrowing spell in Serie B, U.S. Lecce won promotion back to Serie A with their 1-0 victory over Pordenone yesterday at the Stadio Via Del Mare in Puglia. Zan Majer’s goal in the 46’ secured the Giallorossi victory and their most welcome return to Italy’s top flight football. We wish them all the best and much success. Forza Lecce!

* * *

Benevento Calcio finished in seventh and go into the play-offs. We’re rooting for Le Streghe’s triumphal return to Serie A next campaign. Forza Benevento!

A Musical Night with Anna Lomax Wood, Lilian Caruana, and David Marker

Zampognaro David Marker welcomes guests with his bagpipes

Wednesday evening anthropologist and public folklorist Anna Lomax Wood, photographer Lilian Caruana, and ethnomusicologist David Marker highlighted the musical heritage of Italy with a fascinating presentation and performance at the Center for Italian Modern Art (421 Broome St.) in Manhattan. Ms. Lomax Wood discussed at length the vast and varied regional differences of Italian folk music using powerpoint and audio samples from her father Alan Lomax’s famed collection. 

Canto dei battipali

Ninna nanna

La tammurriata

Ms. Caruana and Mr. Marker shared some photos of the musicians and shepherds they took in Southern Italy and these United States.

(Above & below) Lilian and David's photos

A shepherd in Campania

Mr. Marker also spoke briefly about the history of the zampogna (bagpipe) in Italy and his own musical journey with this ancient and beautiful instrument.

David performs the Novena di Natale

The presentation came to a close with Mr. Marker playing a variety of different instruments from Southern Italy, including a hauntingly beautiful rendition of the Novena di Natale with the zampogna.

Also see:
• Preserving Italian Immigrant Music Making at the Center for Italian Modern Art (CIMA)