Giacinto de’ Sivo: In Defense of the Two Sicilies

Giacinto de' Sivo (1814-1867)

Giacinto de’ Sivo (1814–1867) was one of the most influential historians and political writers of nineteenth-century Southern Italy. Born in Maddaloni, near Caserta, he dedicated much of his life to preserving and documenting the history, traditions, and institutions of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. A committed Catholic and Bourbon loyalist, de’ Sivo emerged as one of the leading intellectual voices opposing the Italian Risorgimento, arguing that the unification of Italy came at the expense of the South’s legitimate monarchy, cultural identity, and political independence.

Educated in law but drawn to literature and history, de’ Sivo initially pursued a career in public service, eventually serving as counselor for the province of Terra di Lavoro. Following Garibaldi’s conquest of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies in 1860, he refused to swear allegiance to King Vittorio Emanuele II and openly opposed the new regime. In 1861, his uncompromising defense of the Bourbon cause led to his imprisonment on two occasions. Amid mounting political persecution, he left for Rome in 1862, then under Papal rule, where he spent the remainder of his life devoted to scholarship and writing.

Before composing his major historical works, de’ Sivo continued his opposition through journalism. He contributed to the legitimist newspaper L’Iride and later founded La Tragicommedia, a satirical journal that sharply criticized the new Italian government. The publication was suppressed after only three issues, illustrating the increasingly hostile climate faced by Bourbon loyalists in the aftermath of unification.

His best-known work, the five-volume Storia delle Due Sicilie dal 1847 al 1861 (History of the Two Sicilies from 1847 to 1861), remains a foundational text of the Bourbon perspective on Italian unification. Drawing upon official documents, eyewitness accounts, correspondence, and contemporary reports, de’ Sivo presented a detailed account that countered prevailing liberal interpretations. He argued that the conquest of the kingdom was driven not solely by popular enthusiasm for national unity but also by military invasion, diplomatic pressure, internal betrayal, and foreign influence. Among those he criticized most sharply was the liberal statesman Liborio Romano, whom he regarded as instrumental in the kingdom’s demise. Few writers did more than de’ Sivo to shape the historical memory of the Bourbon Kingdom, providing later generations of legitimists and historians of Southern Italy with the intellectual framework for reassessing the fall of the Two Sicilies.

Throughout his writings, de’ Sivo emphasized the legitimacy of the Bourbon monarchy and defended the social, religious, and legal institutions that had developed over centuries in Southern Italy. He regarded the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies as a distinct civilization rooted in Catholic faith, regional traditions, and centuries of institutional continuity. In his view, it was an independent state whose political and cultural identity deserved to endure. His works consistently highlighted the contributions of the South to Italian and European civilization while criticizing the post-unification policies he believed marginalized the Mezzogiorno.

Although his views have remained the subject of academic debate, de' Sivo is widely regarded as the foremost Bourbon critic of the Risorgimento and an indispensable source for understanding the collapse of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. His writings became an important precursor to later discourse surrounding the Southern Question, regional inequality, and the long-term consequences of Italian unification. Largely dismissed by mainstream liberal historiography of the late nineteenth century, his scholarship received renewed attention after Benedetto Croce reassessed his work in 1918. While rejecting de’ Sivo’s Bourbon political conclusions, Croce nevertheless acknowledged the depth of his research and the historical value of his work.

Whether read as a passionate defender of the Bourbon cause or as a significant historian of his age, de' Sivo's writings remain an enduring testament to the profound complexity of Italian unification and the importance of preserving perspectives that challenged its dominant narrative.

~ By Antonio Isernia