A Birthday Honored with Neapolitan History and Devotion

Heartfelt thanks to my friends for these remarkably thoughtful birthday gifts. The October 1977 issue of The Connoisseur—with its deep attention to the "Bourbons of Naples," "Sebastiano Conca at Holkham," "Eighteenth-Century Neapolitan influence on the Decorative Arts," "The Laboratorio delle Pietre Dure," and "Le Voyage Pittoresque de Naples et de Sicile"—is a time capsule of serious taste and scholarship. Paired with Francesco II, Il Re Cattolico (2016), a moving and rigorous volume drawn from an unpublished manuscript of the last King of the Two Sicilies and enriched by contemporary scholars, it reflects a deep respect for history, faith, and continuity. I’m grateful not only for the beauty and substance of these works, but for the thoughtfulness and common understanding they convey.