Copy of Anton Raphael Mengs’ Portrait of Carlo di Borbone
"Go forth and win: the most beautiful crown in Italy awaits you." ~ Elizabeth Farnese to her son Charles of Bourbon*
After the Traditional Latin Mass on Sunday morning, a small group of friends gathered to celebrate the Feast of St. Gregory VII and our Seventeenth Annual Battle of Bitonto commemoration, marking Carlo di Borbone’s decisive victory over the Austrians in Apulia on May 25, 1735, and the subsequent founding of the Bourbon dynasty in Naples and Sicily. Coinciding with Memorial Day weekend, the event was a modest yet meaningful celebration.
Once again, we were warmly welcomed by our dear friends at the exclusive Salone di Partenope. There, we enjoyed a delightful Duosiciliano dinner, accompanied by recordings of Neapolitan cantatas by Alessandro Scarlatti and Nicola Porpora, and lively conversations made all the more festive by SSC Napoli’s fourth Scudetto win.
After dinner, we had the pleasure of viewing an evocative selection of charcoal drawings from David DiPasquale’s Liber Mysteria and stamps from my private collection. We also officially unveiled our painted copy of Anton Raphael Mengs’ Portrait of King Carlo di Borbone, generously gifted by a dear friend last June. As is our custom, we concluded the evening by honoring the fallen on both sides of the conflict.
* Quoted from The Bourbons of Naples by Harold Acton, Methuen and Co. Ltd., 1957, p. 17
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| The statue of San Michele at our church was restored to its former glory |
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| Original charcoal landscape drawing from David DiPasquale's Liber Mysteria |
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| Original charcoal landscape drawing from David DiPasquale's Liber Mysteria |
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| Original charcoal landscape drawing from David DiPasquale's Liber Mysteria |
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| (L-R) Stamps honoring King Carlos III from Spain and Pope San Gregorio VII from the Vatican |
