Kingdom of the Two Sicilies

Territory

The Kingdom included the present regions of Abruzzo, Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Molise, Puglia and Sicily, as well as most of today's southern Lazio. The Realm, also belonged, administratively included in the province of captains, the archipelago of Pelagosa, today part of Croatia.

The city of Benevento (Campania today) and Pontecorvo (now in Lazio) were, however, the papal enclave.

Administrative division

The main division of the kingdom, though he had it in administrative, was among the continental part, the Royal Domains on this side of the lighthouse, and Sicily, the Royal Domains beyond the lighthouse, with reference, therefore, to the Lighthouse Messina.

From the administrative point of view, however, the kingdom was divided into 22 provinces, of which 15 in Hither Sicily (former Kingdom of Naples), and 7 in Sicily further (former Kingdom of Sicily), which are subdivided into districts (administrative units second level) and districts (administrative units of the third level).

Origin of the name

The first official mention is when Alfonso V of Aragon only formally unifies the Kingdom of Sicily and the Kingdom of Naples under the crown of Rex Utrius this Siciliae. The use of the terms Kingdom of Sicily beyond the lighthouse and the Kingdom of Sicily on this side of the lighthouse, in reference to the lighthouse and then the eponymous Strait of Messina, however, has already origin when Charles I of Anjou crowned by Clement IV rex Siciliae, the Aragonese court of Catania and Palermo claimed for himself the title.

Peace of Caltabellotta, in 1302, gave this separation (according to the agreement, the death of King Frederick of Aragon Aragonese, the island would have to go back to the Angevins, which in fact did not happen).

Under the Spanish Government the two kingdoms continued to be completely independent, one with capital Naples, the other with capital Palermo.

In 1816, following the Congress of Vienna and the Treaty of Casalanza, Kingdom of Naples and Kingdom of Sicily were officially reunited for the second time, after almost 600 years, as the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.

History and politics of the United

Before the French Revolution of 1789 and the subsequent Napoleonic campaigns, the Bourbon dynasty reigned in the same areas, but these were divided into the Kingdom of Naples and the Kingdom of Sicily. Generally agreed, however, to include in the historical treatment of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies throughout the period of Bourbon sovereign over the kingdoms of Naples and Sicily (thus starting from 1734) for a clear continuity between the various state entities.

The XVIII century

Charles of Bourbon

On 10 May 1734 Charles of Bourbon, son of Philip V, King of Spain, made his entrance in Naples, May 25, 1734 finally defeated the Austrians at Bitonto, then conquered Sicily and January 2, 1735 assumed the title of King of Naples "without specific numbering" in July was also crowned King of Sicily in Palermo. Meanwhile, by decree of 8 June 1735, provident to establish a new body to provide advice and courts: the Real Chamber of Santa Chiara.

The kingdom had no real autonomy from Spain until the Peace of Vienna, in 1738. According to the agreements, the Austria ceded to Charles of Bourbon I Ill State of Deans, the Kingdom of Naples and the Kingdom cli Sicily, which it had exchanged with Sardinia in 1720 as a result of the Hague Peace. In August 1744 the Royal Army, led by King Charles, defeated the Austrians at Velletri trying to regain the kingdom.

The political and economic situation inherited by Charles in 1734 was disastrous, for he seized power in a kingdom depleted by greedy Spanish taxation, particularly heavy in the second half of the Spanish viceroyalty (a factor that triggered a century before the revolt led by Masanleilo), and by the continuous removal of men from the countryside who enlisted in the Spanish armies, fought major wars in Europe and America.

Among the first reforms undertaken by the king to be reminded of the struggle privileges ecesstici: in 1741, with composition were drastically reduced ii asylum and other immunities; ecclesiastical goods were subject to taxation. Similar successes were not yet in the fight against feudalism: the initiatives that threatened further the interests of the privileged classes were in fact boycotted by the noble class.

During the reign of Charles, whose reforms they provided to repair the ills born in the former viceregal period, there was a remarkable development of the economy, due to the increase of agricultural production and trade online. The revival of trade was made possible thanks to the conclusion of several commercial treaties and the fight against the scourge of piracy Moorish. In the 17 was established at the University of Naples, the first chair of political economy in Europe, headed by the great theoretician delleconomia Antonio Genovesi, whose ideas had a great influence on the Enlightenment and courses of southern Italy (in Italian, not in Latin) were seguitissimi. These signs of recovery of the two kingdoms were part of the era that saw the flourishing throughout Europe, the so-called enlightened despotism, experiences of renewal from above.

Ferdinand IV and the Neapolitan Republic

In 1759, the departure of Charles, who became king of Spain, came to the throne at the age of 8 years Ferdinand. Leading exponent of the Regency Council was the Marquis Bernardo Tanucci, who had the reins of the two kingdoms and continued the reforms begun in age carolina. In the legal field, many advances were made possible by the support given to the Minister Tanucci by Gaetano Filangieri, who, with his "science of law" (begun in 1777), can be considered one of the forerunners of modern law.

King Ferdinand married Maria Carolina, daughter of Empress Maria Theresa, and sister of the French queen Marie Antoinette. The new queen (under a specific provision of the marriage pacts that allowed her to participate in the Council of State on the day of the birth of the heir to the throne) was active, unlike her husband, the government of the kingdom.

The only fields, in fact, when Ferdinand undertook personally were the public works, the relationship with the Church and the creation of the colony of San Leucio (Caserta), an experiment in social legislation and manufacturing development, but to inspire the code San Leucio laws was the same queen who wanted to experience the Royal Colony egalitarian legislation.

In the early years of government, Maria Carolina showed himself sensitive to instances of renewal and moderately favorable to the promotion of individual freedoms. This trend, however, suffered a sharp reversal of course after the French Revolution, when the abolition of the monarchy, the execution of the King and the years of terror led to the emergence of a large fear in the ruling classes and the request object to any insistence on reform.

After decapitation of the French kings repressive measures of the Bourbons of Naples led to an incurable rupture between the monarchy and the intellectual class which until that time had been in dialogue with the same Queen Maria Carolina, engaged in programs of enlightened despotism.

The French were already in Italy in 1794 by Napoleon Bonaparte, who had managed easily to be right of the Austrian army and the weak local governments. In 1796, the French occupied Rome. An attempt to counteract the transalpine was carried out by the troops of the Kingdom of Naples: October 23, 70,000 men of the Neapolitan army, under the command of the Austrian general Karl von Mack, penetrated into the territory of the Roman Republic to restore papal authority, but the following 14 December, a French counteroffensive forced them to a hasty retreat.

The operation, therefore, resulted in a failure, and so the French found themselves the open road to Naples. On 22 December 1798, the king left the kingdom of Naples to go to Sicily, leaving the city of Naples virtually defenseless, the only ones to oppose the French invasion (from 13 to 23 January 1799) was the so-called Iazzari.

The common people opposed to the troops across the Alps a desperate resistance, but tenacious, recognized as the French general Championnet.

The lazzari also suffered a bombardment by the Neapolitan Jacobins who were able to take the fort of Castel Sant 'Elmo.

The battle for the city claimed the lives of about 8,000 French and 1,000 Neapolitans.

II January 22, 1799 while Iazzari still fighting, the Neapolitan Jacobins proclaimed the republic.

The Neapolitan Republic did not last long, overwhelmed by a stronger European and unable to secure membership of the working class and the provinces not occupied by the French army. Was strong control exercised by the French who feared a real strength and independence of a free republic, with a vast territory in Italy.

The republican government, however, brought important innovations (especially to denote the end of feudalism, burdensome for rural populations and the judiciary), but failed to find practical implementation in just five months of life of the Republic.

Value of the European contribution was provided by the intellectual class liberal southern witnessed by the newspaper "Neapolitan Monitor", directed by Eleonora Pimentel Fonseca, extraordinary figure of a woman engaged in democratic battle until the supreme sacrifice. In provincial territories were followed popular uprisings, were full of incidents of cruelty is the "outbreaks" anti-republican and the repression by the partisans of the Neapolitan Republic, and especially by French soldiers. So if during the few months of the republic were sentenced to death and shot, after formal political processes, 1,563 citizens of the Kingdom, just as tough you the behavior of so-called Army of the Holy Faith, consisting largely of peasants, and even some lazzari notorious bandits, as Fra Diavolo.

On 13 June 1799, the Sanfedists, led by Cardinal Fabrizio Ruffo, took the city of Naples returning it to the Bourbon monarchy (ruled, during the Republic, the Kingdom of Sicily only). Meanwhile, on May 7, the city of Naples had already been abandoned by the French, called in the north of Italy because of the entry of the Russian army of Suvorov in Italy (May 29 should also abandon the Cisalpine Republic). The retreating French brought in their wake a rich booty in works of art (stolen from churches and mansions Neapolitan). In the following months, a junta appointed by Ferdinand began the trials against the Republicans captured and sentenced to death or life in prison, very few released.

The XIV century: the Napoleonic period and the unification of the two kingdoms

II Napoleonic period

The next five years saw the Bourbon government of the two kingdoms to follow a policy swinging against Napoleonic France that, as already dominant on the continent remained largely on the defensive on the seas did not allow this situation to the Kingdom of Naples - strategically located in the Mediterranean - to maintain strict neutrality in the conflict across the board between English and French.

After the victory of Austerlitz on December 2, 1805, Napoleon regulated definitively deal with Naples declaring the Bourbon dynasty and appointed his brother Joseph Bonaparte King of Naples.

Ferdinand, fled again into the kingdom of Sicily, soon had to contend with the insidious British policy, which aims to turn the island into a protectorate (as in the meantime already awenuto with Maim). A Joseph Bonaparte in 1808 destined to rule over Spain succeeded Joachim Murat, reigning until May that filming for himself the title of King of the Two Sicilies deleting the administrative authority of the Kingdom of Sicily, where he had taken refuge Ferdinand I of Bourbon and concentrating power with a single nation with capital

Naples.

During the regency of Neapolitan Giuseppe Bonaparte, August 2 was issued the famous law which put an end to the feudal system in the Kingdom of Naples. The fight against feudalism, recovery in this period with great vigor, with the fundamental contribution of jurists such as Giuseppe Zurlo and David Winspeare, was continued by Joachim Murat and eventually was able to lead to a break with the past and the emergence of bourgeois property. However, the reforms could only partially achieve their main goal: that is to give birth to a small and medium size farmers, in fact this was done only in the most developed areas of the kingdom. The end of feudalism, however, brought significant progress in judicial and administrative field.

The reforms in the kingdom during the French riguardarono directly also the city of Naples, which saw significantly reduced its role as a leading city compared to the rest of the kingdom. Administratively, in fact, the new government followed a line aimed at decentralizing some functions that in the past were the exclusive prerogative of Naples. New survey acquired the provincial capitals and decentralization similar happened also in the fields of other administrations, military, judicial and financial.

The Bourbon restoration

The second return of Ferdinand to Naples was not characterized by repression. The king kept most of the reforms implemented by the French (however, was, for example, abolished divorce), placing it in fact the head of a modern administrative monarchy based on the Napoleonic code.

Single cut embossed with the Napoleonic period occurred in the relationship with the church, who returned to occupy a prominent role in the civic life of the Kingdom. After the Congress of Vienna and the Treaty of Casalanza (20 May 1815), 18 December Ferdinand IV brought together in a single state the kingdoms of Naples and Sicily under the name Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, leaving to them the name of Ferdinand IV of Naples and Ill of Sicily and assuming that of Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies.

This act was, among other things, the effect of depriving actually Sicily Constitution promulgated on the same Ferdinand.

Until the Congress of Vienna, the Kingdom of Sicily had maintained its independence, represented by the Sicilian Parliament, despite the personal union (ie only King for two Kingdoms) with the Kingdom of Naples, in fact there were two kingdoms independent from each 'another; Ferdinand reserved but more attention to the latter, causing major discontent in the Sicilian population.

In 1812, King Ferdinand I of Bourbon, escaping from a Naples occupied by Napoleon, took refuge in Sicily, where they were waiting for him the honors of the occasion, and not only the Sicilians asked in a loud voice that he knew a Constitution guarantee better stability of the state and greater legal certainty. Driven indirectly by economic interests that the British had on the island, Ferdinand granted the Constitution, clearly inspired by English, which later became an example of generosity for the times.

In 1814, however, following the Congress of Vienna, King Ferdinand I of Bourbon, he made a real coup: the united Kingdom of Sicily and the Kingdom of Naples under a single crown, forming the newly formed Kingdom of the Two Sicilies and this saw to it that the Sicilian Parliament no longer had meaning and made to decay. The Bourbon monarchy made his restoration by not restoring the union of the kingdoms of Naples and Sicily to the status quo ante 1789, but implemented a choice he did make a leap back five centuries and a half, restoring the reign of Charles I ' Anjou. The act was seen by the political class Sicilian as an affront to what non-stop, and about 700 years, was an independent kingdom in all respects.

Almost immediately began a campaign against Bourbon, accompanied by a propaganda Sicilian identity, especially by the action of aristocratic elites of Palermo. This resulted in 1820 in a revolution that began in Palermo, which led to the establishment of a provisional government, avowedly separatist. However, the lack of coordination of the forces of the various Sicilian cities, led to the weakening of the power of the Provisional Government (Messina and Catania Palermo osteggiarono claim to want to govern the island), which soon fell under the blows of Bourbon repression. On July 1, the news that Spain had been restored the Constitution of 1812, rose to Nia a group of soldiers led by lieutenants Michele Morelli and Joseph Silvati. The revolt was also supported by senior officers including the distinguished general Guglielmo Pepe. Ferdinand, found it impossible to quell the revolt, he gave the Spanish Constitution and appointed his vicar's son Francesco. II work began on October 1 of the new parliament in which prevailed the bourgeois ideals disseminated in French decade. Among the acts of parliament, there were the reorganization of provincial and municipal governments and a prowedimento on press freedom and worship.

The changes introduced in the United Two Sicilies after the riots, however, were not appreciated by the governments of the major European powers, who convoked Ferdinand in Ljubljana. At the start of the king was opposed, among others, the crown prince Francis. Following the Congress of Ljubljana, the kingdom was invaded by Austrian troops in March 1821 that defeated the Neapolitan constitutional army commanded by General Guglielmo Pepe. A sap I Neapolitan army fighting spirit earned him a proclamation of King Ferdinand who, in the wake of the Austrians, invited them to lay down their arms and not fight those who came to restore order in the kingdom.

The March 23, 1821 Naples was occupied, the constitution was suspended and began the repressions were counted at the end of 13 life sentences and 30 death sentences, among which are reminiscent of Morelli and Silvati - made in 1822 - and those of Michele Carrascosa and William pepper, which were never carried out because the two officers were able to escape from the kingdom.

Francis I of the Two Sicilies

In early January of 1825, King Ferdinand I died and came to the throne his son Francesco I. His six-year United were characterized by a lot of progress in the economic and technological. On the political front, he pursued a reactionary policy, despite having had a favorable attitude towards the revolutionary movement during the reign of his father.

Ferdinand II, reforms and 1848

On the death of Francis I, the Kingdom passed to his son Ferdinand II, then only twenty years old, the new young king immediately showed progressive ideas and a friendly attitude towards the people. His government, in fact, was characterized by reforms to improve the economy and administration.

In particular, the financial sector was implemented a significant reduction of taxes, made possible, among other things, as a prudent public spending and a reduction of the costs of the court. Ferdinand arranged to call back home and re-assignments in numerous exiles (including the General Guglielmo Pepe) and reintegrate in their role as the most deserving, managing to secure the loyalty of the army, but also between employees and officials dismissed after the decade French.

In the social field intervened to reduce the penalties for political prisoners and pushed towards new methods of prison administration, seeking to improve the conditions of detention and applying, for the first time, the principles of positive criminal school for the recovery of bandits.

In foreign policy Ferdinando tried to keep the United outside the sphere of influence of the powers of the time: "His watchword was" Independence. "'This address was actually pursued while promoting the initiative in foreign kingdom, but always in perspective of knowledge acquisition technology that would allow, in a relatively short time, the liberation from France and England, which made the king (and the kingdom) disliked these great European powers and politically isolated.

In the economic sphere, finally, we should note the significant industrial effort supported Ferdinand II, which allowed him to draw a comparison with other European countries. Several primates were also recorded under his reign, the first rail (Naples-Portici, inaugurated in 1839), and the first lighthouse lens of Italy, who were joined by numerous other innovations in engineering and industry. But should be explained that in 1816 the British Government had made Ferdinand to grant a monopoly on the exploitation of Sicilian sulfur (90% of world production) behind a pay almost negligible. It should be noted that sulfur was a matter of strategic importance, with which it was produced gunpowder and sulfuric acid; hold its monopoly meant dominate an essential source for war and industry of the time. Ferdinand II, decided to reduce the taxes through the abolition of the tax on the ground decided to give the monopoly to a French company which granted a payment more than double that of England: This measure sparked the so-called 'question of sulfur. "Palmerston sent suffered a military fleet to the Gulf of Naples, threatening to bomb the city.

The war was touched with the intervention of Louis Philippe, King of France: the king had to repay both the British and the French for the alleged harm done.

The kingdom, however, was again shaken by a Sicilian revolution of independence in 1848, awenimento that sparked similar movements in the year in the rest of the kingdom, in the rest of Italy and in many European countries, from Austria to France to Prussia, with implications also very important. The King tried to stem the liberal granting requests the Constitution, first in Italy, with the Royal Decree of January 29, inspired by the French model - judged the best - (the same criteria followed two months later the Kingdom of Sardinia). Paradoxically, the riots in France quarantotteschi travolgevano in late February, just the best model of the Constitution and ¡The King Louis-Philippe of Bourbon - Orleans. The Constitution granted Ferdinand, endorsing the demands of the new government, there was also a promoter of major reforms of a genuinely liberal, unfortunately destined to remain only on paper as a result of the circumstances. Among the many constitutional reforms planned by the government will remember for example that of Education, which was commissioned by King Francis De Sanctis.

The Sicilian revolution broke out in January 1848 in Palermo, led by Giuseppe La Masa.

After bloody clashes, La Masa, under the command of the popular army, managed to drive out the Lieutenant-General and a large part of the Bourbon army from Sicily, constituting a <(general revolutionary committee. "The general committee established a provisory government in Palermo, among congratulations and general optimism, Ruggero Settimo, a moderate liberal member of the Sicilian nobility, was appointed chairman. February 11, the Constitution was enacted, sworn February 24, the same day of the flight of Louis Philippe from Paris. Following of motions in Sicily, 25 March 1848, Parliament met General of Sicily, with revolutionary government headed by Ruggero Settimo and consists of ministers appointed by the president who declared the independence of the island. optimism followed however well early disillusionment political forces in coalition appeared very fact contrary: there was strong presence of moderate liberals, as opposed to Democrats and a few Mazzini. Fields that lit the fuse of the rivalry was mainly the establishment of a National Guard and suffrage universal, both supported mainly by Pasquale Calvi, Democratic member of the government. Scarce positions were mostly on that line of conduct to undertake the government of Naples and the chance to take part in the formation or not of the Italian State, the latter supported only by the minority Mazzini.

Meanwhile, despite the concrete support of the Sicilian cities to the Provisional Government of the Seventh, rural areas became poorly controlled, and peasant unrest began in serious difficulties local governments.

The elections in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies Constitution were held in April, but the overcoming of this serious step does not put an end to a dispute between the Sovereign, who regarded the Constitution as soon granted as the basis of the new system representative, and the most radical of the newly elected, on the contrary, intended to "carry it" - as it was with terminology that is neutral - that is the first act of Parliament was supposed to be a constitutional amendment just passed. In the meantime, Sicily May 15, 1848, the day after the opening of the House, there were barriers to Palermo the city streets (especially those close to the Royal Palace) with barricades which departed in the direction of the shot divisions deployed. These disorders determined the reaction direction and the dissolution of the House. A month later, on June 15, new elections were held but the elect were largely those of the previous election. After the first session, the reopening of the House was adjourned several times each month until 12 March 49, when it was reproposed "indefinitely."

The life of the newborn Sicilian Parliament was therefore short-lived and the so-called decree of Ferdinand II of Bourbon Gaeta regained possession of Sicily due to military action led by General Carlo Filangieri (which adopted some innovative strategies regarding the use of landing forces) by dissolving the session of the strongholds and bombing of the city of Messina (action that earned Ferdinand II in the name of "King Bomb"). The crackdown Bourbon summer of 1849, against an interim government now unstable, decreed the end of the experience of 1848-1849 and the creation of a fracture almost exists between the political class and the Sicilian

Naples.

Douse the flames of revolution erupted in 1854 to return the shadow of the Crown local governments throughout the Kingdom were signed petitions with which citizens are represented by the mayors, demanded the abolition of the Statute. The representatives of the liberal argued that, in order to reconcile the bourgeoisie to the crown, was the then Secretary of state Giustino Fortunato conceiving the ingenious idea of ??the petition.

The initiative petition, which caused controversy by the liberal press, was extremely positive both here, is beyond the lighthouse, where the work was fundamental persuasive carried out by the General Filangieri against the political class Sicilian quest 'last, in the end, accepted willingly subscriptions of obedience to the king. Only a small minority of auditors refused to sign, suffering gradually dismissal from their posts and police surveillance. Great majority of mayors, owners and the general public, however, spontaneously joined the initiative, as tired of the unrest caused by the revolution of 48.

The petition concluded with the following request: "May it please the MV resume granting torn by violence and treachery with the violation of the most sacred duties, and prepared with the most sacrilegious and unfair sectarian aims. Return peoples under the sole power of His paternal scepter, and we and our children bless, restored with the powerful force of absolute monarchy, the sacred name of our magnanimous good King Ferdinand ll ". Raffaele De Cesare argued that the petition of Fortunato was destroyed in the time of the unification of Italy, since it would have been an official act incompatible with the national plebiscite supported by the government of Savoy.

Although there was a formal revocation of the Constitution, but his "suspension" indefinitely, after the Sicilian rebellion Ferdinand II not taken more than a constitutional reform of the Kingdom. Also in this case there was a succession of trials and convictions, including those of Louis Settembrini an illustrious philosopher and educator, author of

Protest of the people of the Two Sicilies, Philip Agresti and Silvio Spaventa. The restoration of absolutism followed a crackdown by the liberal movement and the suffocation of coup attempts (Carlo Pisacane).

With the events of the years '48-49, the progressive ideas and attitudes were less tolerant of Ferdinand II: the king took a pipe fixed that, on the one hand, allowed him to regain control of his kingdom, but, on ' other, meant that he was portrayed as a "monster" by the liberal press European Union.

Compounding the hostility of the king to the political openings helped the attempt on his person Agesilaus made by Milan in 1856. These soldier Calabrian old sympathies Mazzini, the 8th day of December 1856, taking advantage of the proximity of the King (intent to review the troops), pounced on them with Ferdinand

the bayonet giving him a deep wound to the abdomen which, however, did not have a fatal outcome.

The Ferdinand died May 22, 1859 just 49 years after a painful septicemia whose causes are still controversial. In fact, he was struck by an inflammation in the groin during the journey from Naples to Bari to welcome the young wife of the Duke of Calabria, this inflammation but was not treated for the last time and attempts to save his life took place already in an advanced stage of septicemia, after an arduous sea voyage from Bari to Naples.

The Francis and the end of the United

The Francis ascended the throne in 1859 along with his energetic wife, Maria Sofia of Bavaria (sister of the famous "Sissi", the wife of Emperor Franz Joseph). Good-natured, his reign was short as intense as the first had to face a revolt broke out in the 3rd Swiss Regiment in Naples (due to the fact that the Swiss government that year he decided that its citizens would not longer able to serve in the military in foreign powers), then had to face the much more serious invasion of Sardinia and Garibaldi and the delicate constitutional transformation of his reign. Overwhelmed by events failed to break the political isolation of the kingdom and prevent the dissolution, he nevertheless undertook to riconcedere the Constitution (which he did with the help of Filangieri during the tragic days of the Sicilian revolution) and some historical sources claim that he was his will resume the path "reformist" stopped in 1849. Under the reign of Francis The in each case there was a dramatic shift from the past in politics and institutions Bourbon: the old ruling class and reactionary ferdinandea was completely sidelined and isolated, it was replaced everywhere by people of liberal faith constitutional and democratic. This abrupt change of regime was one of the main reasons for the great weakening of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies in the frantic days dellinvasione: the new government institutions found themselves in a situation that required a determination that was missing completely at that delicate moment of transition. The United fact survived until 1861, when, after the conquest of most of its territory by Giuseppe Garibaldi, with the "Expedition of the Thousand", an initiative that can on the one hand to gather the will of the revolutionary democratic Action Party the other to act with a tacit and partial but real support of Savoy, the last strongholds Bourbon (Gaeta, Messina and Civitella del Tronto) surrendered to the besiegers Piedmont.

The enterprise of Garibaldi astonished contemporaries lardimento volunteers, the ability to ensure guidance, strategy and discipline by Garibaldi and his officers, for the speed with which the Mille succeeded in conquering the kingdom, despite the huge differences in forces. After the occupation of Sicily, in the kingdom occurred uprisings led by many liberals new and old (coordinated by Silvio Spaventa) who, not satisfied by the new constitutional orders granted by the Bourbon government, rallied strongly in favor of the unification of Italy . The liberal movement and unity in the Two Sicilies fished both hands in the southern bourgeoisie, the contribution of this class (which is commonly believed, wrongly, alien to the south Bourbon) was important in those occasions.

The first revolt came to power, August 18, in which the province of Basilicata is annexed to the Kingdom of Italy proclaimed; followed on August 21 by the Land of Bari with the insurrection of Altamura. Bourbon armies (80,000 units) at first failed to organize effective resistance, although it had also documented numerous incidents of insubordination and corruption of the same senior officers of the kingdom, who were for the most part ex Carbonari and former murattiani called in service by Ferdinand ll for military skills demonstrated in the Napoleonic decade, though, politically, many of them could not say supporters of the Bourbon cause. The young and inexperienced Francesco ll getting conflicting reports in Naples, could not contain the failed conducting operations in Sicily in general Lanza, who did nothing to make use of its clear superiority in men and equipment (in Sicily disposal of approximately 24,000 men), causing deep resentment in the same troops reali.In particularly remembers the controversial decision of the General Landi (old participant of the uprisings of 1820) in Calatafimi to withdraw Hunters Neapolitan own when the thousand were to be reduced to defeat total. The exasperation of the soldiers of the Royal Army culminated in Calabria: General Briganti (already advocate the bombing of Palermo in the days of), after giving the troops the nth order to retreat without fighting the partisans, fù shot by his own men, thinking he was a traitor, not more than the telleravano Briganti refused to attack an enemy much weaker by opening the road to Naples.

The decisive factor was the role played by senior officers of the Sea which basically refused to sink ships Garibaldi on their way from Sicily to Calabria and that, subsequently, delivered most of its ships to the Navy deliberately Savoy.

Only in the final part of the campaign, the battle of the Volturno, the kingdom recovered his dignity as a last stand with King Francis ll to the front with the soldiers. The royal troops and the commander in chief Joshua Ritucci fought valiantly despite the strategic errors committed by the State Major decreed that the decisive defeat. The determination not to surrender was also demonstrated by the besieged fortress of Gaeta, where she fled the royal family, in which the remnants of the Neapolitan army was facing an exhausting siege in the armies of the Kingdom of Sardinia, in the meantime come to afflancare the armies of Garibaldi, superior in number and weaponry. Surrounded, Gaeta was subjected to a naval blockade and heavily bombed by sea and land, until the yield (Siege of Gaeta).

Formally, the Two Sicilies were annexed to the Kingdom of Sardinia after the outcome of the plebiscite for annexation, as in other parts of Italy, were not representative of the actual will of the local population, largely excluded from voting. Voted so only the propertied classes in the condition it was difficult to talk about freedom and secrecy of the vote.

In the capital, for example, there were seats chaired by shooters, police and partisans. In the rest of the provinces there was intimidation and there were manifestations of change of opinion and deployment by the nobility and gentry.

On the field, the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies ceased to exist March 20, 1861, the day of the surrender of the Fortress of Civitella del Tronto, the last stronghold of the Bourbons. The end of the reign heir of the monarchy founded by Roger the Norman in 1130 remains an important moment in the history of Italy, but the forms and determined that the above choices of the monarchy, and the governments of the new Italy were far removed from ' ensure the realization of the ideals of unity of the nation and equality of citizens overshadowed by the idealism of Giuseppe Mazzini and the generation of the protagonist struggles risorgimentaii.

Economy

Assets and Financial

The law of 20 April 1818 fixed the monetary unit of the United Duchy of silver weighing 22.943 grams.

At the time of the bra, was withdrawn a prodigious quantity of silver arrived in the Kingdom as a result of strong growth in exports of the Two Sicilies took place in the 50s 800. Francesco Saverio Nitti stated that, at the birth of Italy joined the Bourbon kingdom was the state that carried less debt and more great public wealth in all its forms. However, Nitti considered that the public wealth was due to an economic system with a small static and public spending, especially in infrastructure. The economist Luke, however, argued that the reserve asset of enormous proportions could have been an opportunity for redemption for the South at the time of national unification. Similar positions on the other meridionalista Giustino Fortunato, was of the opinion that not only the abundance of fluids, but also inconsistent public debt and low tax rate was due to a too limited public spending. In particular, the Lucky argued that the abundance of precious metal coins had only an indirect effect of the discovery of new gold deposits in California and Australia. Taie event brought about an increase in the production of gold, this metal, largely poured into France, meant that the state transalpine silver coin became subsidiary used for imports from abroad (especially from the Two Sicilies).

This argument, however, was contested by other economists, including Charles Rhone man, very critical interpretations of Fortunato about the abundance of money in precious metal, said that in the second half of the nineteenth century, the government of the Two Sicilies allowed the export of grain and other foodstuffs, hitherto prohibited, and decreased the duty on oil. The result was an increase in exports and a simultaneous increase in input silver in the territory of the kingdom. ln any case, the finances of the kingdom were managed with absolute rigor: this attitude helped to maintain in good condition the financial situation of the Two Sicilies until the end of the kingdom.

The banks of the Realm were represented vat to 1808 from 8 public benches operating in the city of Naples in the sixteenth century (eg, Banco di San Giacomo). bank deposits were traditionally certificates from "faiths credit" which were in effect a way representative of the deposit, freely transferable, endorsable as a surrogate of the coin: in an economy that did not include the use of paper money, to make payment needed the delivery (or shipping) of metallic money, often very difficult operation. The faith of credit, easier to handle and send the money, and provided with undoubted security guarantees provided by banks of issue, soon became a good substitute for cash valued and spread throughout the territory of the Kingdom and abroad.

In 1806 the Banks Neapolitans were involved in innovative policy that Joseph Bonaparte impressed the Kingdom of Naples, trying to model them on the French system.

Banco di San Giacomo was then transformed into the 'Tour of the Court "in the service of the state, all other banks were merged into a single" Private Tour of "serving the public.

In 1808, Murat became King of Naples, wanted to unify the Banks prior to giving birth to a new school on the model of the Bank of France, the Tour of the Two Sicilies. The major innovation was to be a share capital, calling to participate in the fate dellistituto public bodies and the class of owners and investors.

The Bourbon restoration in 1815 did not alter the provisions enacted during the French decade. The Tour of the Two Sicilies was divided into two separate sections: the Case of the Court, I ¡serving the general treasury of the Kingdom (under the Ministry of Finance) and the Case of Private. In 1816 he was also created a Discount Bank, in favor of commerce and industry. Only in 1858 there was the opening of a Bank Court in Bari, which was soon annexed a section of the Cash Discount. In the last years of the Realm of the major customers of the bank were, in addition to the nobles and to the public, many industrialists and old and young companies and trading companies in the United flowering species after 1830.

After the unification of Italy in 1862, was finally introduced the legal status of the Lira (currency of the Kingdom of Sardinia), soon replaced by fiat currency (1866). This measure was taken to address the dramatic consequences of the large amount of debt accumulated by the Kingdom of Sardinia in those years would have on the value of the lira.

Agriculture, livestock and fisheries: economic and social conditions

In the Bourbon kingdom agriculture being the predominant sector. The climatic conditions of the Two Sicilies favored the production of wheat, oats, potatoes, pulses and oil. Were also important citrus crops and many other plants suited to the Mediterranean climate, such as the olive tree, etc.. Areas thoroughly exploited for the cultivation of fruit trees were such campaigns around Vesuvius. The breeding was mainly sheep (wool), horse and pig.

The fishing was an activity traditionally spread on all the coasts of the Kingdom. It became an industrial mainly thanks to the work of Vincenzo Florio in Sicily was also very active in this field, building traps and plants for the processing and storage of fish.

The agriculture of the Two Sicilies had its strengths in the plains of Puglia and Campania.

In the fertile plains bells were often applied to crops is intensive (eg products for industry such as hemp, flax and gi). The plains and rocky hills of Puglia, however, soils were suitable for the production of oil and grain quality were effectively sold the stock exchange in Naples on all major European markets. wines, especially those produced in Sicily, fueled a flourishing trade with the United Kingdom and the Americas.

To expand agricultural land reclamation works were undertaken: one of the most important we remember the remediation plan Fucino. Similar measures were taken to counter problems related to hydrogeological, such as the construction of canals, important agricultural colonies were also born to the royal will, the most famous was the royal estate of Carditello which served as an experimental center for culture and innovative productions.

Especially in Campania and Puglia reforms introduced since 1806 (mainly [abolition of feudalism) and the subsequent modernization of public affairs and strengthening economic structures built by Ferdinand ll, gave rise to a class bourgeois agrarian intended soon to replace much of the old noble landowners. In fact, many of the nobles of the kingdom were used to reside permanently in Naples uninterested rural properties, so they proved willing to dispose of them extended affittandole or selling land to the nobles of the province, who were able to acquire and manage them profitably. Part of this middle class that was formed in the first half of the 800 quickly became the cornerstone of the new liberal movements: the southern bourgeoisie, strong economic positions reached, demanded reforms and positions of power in the government of the Kingdom. The desires of the bourgeoisie, however, had to struggle with the rigid absolutist politics of Ferdinand II In this way, the middle class was born thanks to the economic policies of Bourbon became, after the failed reforms of 1848, the social class hostile to the dynasty, becoming the backbone movements and unitary constitutional protagonists of the dissolution of the kingdom in 1860.

The abolition of feudalism you the culmination of a process that began since the time of Ferdinand I, who, spurred by the intellectuals of the Kingdom, first began to adopt a policy aimed at tackling landlordism, the main obstacle to the progress of agriculture rural south. The king drew up in 1792 a law on the reform of state-owned (De Administratione Universitatum), which involved the reduction of the estate by creating a class of small and medium-sized landowners, which would transform the peasants hired smallholders. However, the measure was not appreciated nor by the barons, who have lost most of their possessions, nor the provincial bourgeoisie, who could not bear to be bypassed by peasants in the division of estates. With the exile of Ferdinand I and the birth of the customary Neapolitan Republic of 1792 was applied by the Jacobin government in order to win the sympathy of the peasants of the interior. However, following the fall of the Neapolitan Republic Sanfedists and the reconquest of the kingdom, the middle class and the nobility returned in possession of the lands entrusted to the people in 1799. In the first restoration of the matter to be regulated by the state-owned returned prarnmatica of 1792 that became the basis of the Napoleonic reforms sull'eversione of feudalism. The end of feudalism, however, according to Thomas Pedio, despite the great importance of impressing had a turning point in the modern sense within the State and in the consolidation of bourgeois property, in many cases, made more precarious economic conditions of the farmers in the areas rural Realm (already miserable conditions if we consider that the unique properties of these farmers were generally the family home and small plots of land). In fact, in prowedimento adopted by the government of Joseph Bonaparte to eradicate feudalism, the share of land allocated to the laborers did not take account of household composition, forcing many of them to borrow ¡rich landowners to buy more land.

In the second restoration ¡The Bourbon government adopted legislation came into force in the Napoleonic decade, and so many of the problems related to the sale of land in rural provinces, despite the abolition of the feudal remained unresolved, so lead after revolt the events of the state property issue worsened further after the unification of Italy, Savoy as the new government not only refused to solve problems related to the division of the old estates granted but also the rural bourgeoisie of the South, in exchange for her fundamental political support, to take over the old property also public lands on which was based the livelihood of the poorest peasant class.

In the less fertile and more devices of the Kingdom (such as in the interior of Sicily and in some mountainous areas inland Mainland) isolation contributed to the persistence of some serious legacies of feudalism (finally abolished in 1806 in the continental dominions and 1813 in Sicily), which adversely affecting the economic conditions of local farm laborers. These inconveniences caused primarily by the difficulty share in the land of the old noble landowners of the province, still tied to the rent, but were offset by a relatively low tax rate, the modest cost of living and an almost total freedom to sell products agrarian agricultural and craft market (these factors that fueled a rural economy that made all things bearable and stable economic situation of the poor peasants of the inland areas of the South). It is important to remember this because, after the unit, with the considerable increase in taxes and a little careful regulation of tariffs for agricultural products, the economic status quo inland southern passed away.

The changeover actions taken by the government of Savoy, as well as making more precarious economic situation of farmers, contributed greatly to food in the years following the unification of Italy (along with many other factors, such as the militarization of the provinces and the ambiguous role played by local landowners in the transition) a strong dissent against the new state of the lower classes in the southern province. Dissent, often combined with ideological motivations, give rise to the so-called "banditry" first and then the great migration.

Industry and Entrepreneurship

The industrial sector, although less significant agriculture, a field was developing and was favored by the Bourbon government through protectionist policies and encouraging the inflow of foreign capital in the Kingdom. The Bourbon dynasty, after the second restoration, started with Ferdinand I, a policy of economic independence of the realm. It was inaugurated, therefore, an industrial policy, which, despite its limitations, led to the origin of the first modern factories of the peninsula and a major shift in the social fabric of the South.

Naples was, in industry, the most important city of the kingdom and already in the 30s, it was decided to channel its industrial expansion to the eastern suburbs and along the coast of Vesuvius. Among the most important activities of the urban area of ??Naples remember the production of crockery, mobilitici, crystal factories, musical instruments, distilleries and all other food industries. The steel and engineering industry sector accounted for more consistent. Relevant fact was the shipyards and workshops of Naples Granili, part of the large state-owned industry in Naples.

Due to a purely centralized system, Naples, then, was the site of a major industrial aggregation: this resulted in the early years of this process of industrialization, massive displacement of workers, who come from other provinces of the kingdom, aspiring to better living conditions , not always, however, employment was guaranteed for all. With the evolution of society brought about by the industrial growth, however, the phenomenon of internal migration was increasingly diminishing until it disappears almost completely in the last decades of life of the Kingdom. In fact, outside of the major economic centers such as Naples, Palermo and Bari, important industrial arose gradually in many other provinces of the kingdom.

In Calabria there was further Foundry Ferdinand, in which iron was produced in large quantities, where it was processed and converted the iron extracted from several mines in the area were built rails for the first Italian railway, the "Naples-Portici" and all the tracks of the old railway line from the south of the peninsula reached Bologna.

In Sicily, in the areas of Catania and Agrigento, was present mining based on the processing of the Sicilian sulfur, at that time essential for the production of poIvere gun, which met 4/5 of the world demand.

The Swiss community of the Two Sicilies

The Swiss community in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies was the most conspicuous foreign communities in the territory of the kingdom.

The first migration back to the second half of the eighteenth century, when Swiss mercenaries moved in the Two Sicilies to be hired by the Bourbons. At the same time, however, another type of migrants descended the peninsula. It was Swiss families who came to occupy, both as entrepreneurs and as workers, whole sectors of the economy of the kingdom.

To attract big investors and the labor force, were the secondary and the tertiary sector: in particular the textile industry, 'na also the hospitality industry, the banking industry and commerce. A compose the Swiss community in the Two Sicilies, there were only businessmen and workers, but also a host of men of culture, composed of intellectuals, artists and writers who made Naples the source of inspiration for some of their works.

In Salerno and in the valley of the Sarno there was a real center of the textile industry, managed predominantly by entrepreneurs belonging to the large number of Swiss bell with this presence textile Salerno became known as the "Manchester of the two Sicilies".

In the Land of Bari and other cities of Puglia, in the first half of 800, there was a process of industrialization which involved numerous urban centers of Puglia, often in a remarkable and often thanks to not only capital, but also foreign expertise. The presence of companies founded by foreign entrepreneurs had a positive impact both in terms of transfer of skills and knowledge to local enterprises, both in terms of economic growth, promoting private initiative native.

After 1824, many small manufacturing factories were transformed into real industrial complexes that made some parts of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies at the forefront of other states pre unit in the initial stage of industrialization of the peninsula.

Thomas Pedio shows that, especially in the private sector, in 1848 the wages of workers in the Kingdom were low there were no rules to protect workers and guarantee no substantial: the worker did not have the right to protest for better working conditions and I strike could be punished by the law Bourbon as "unlawful act tending to the disturbance of public order" that helped to create in the years after '48 a ferment among the working class of the Realm. Pedio also pointed out that, in the face of this situation, the middle class (the so-called galant men), not to harm the interests of those in power, are not paid in favor of the workers. However, around 1848, there was the birth of some nuclei socialists among the workers of industrial Naples and Salerno, and in some intellectual circles of the capital.

There is also a dossier of economists Victor Daniel (University of Catanzaro) and Paul Malanima that rebuilding the Product per capita of the Italian regions on the basis of data from 1891 and later, in 1860 concluded that there was no real difference in terms of income Average individual between north and south, that gap began instead to create dell'BOO last decade. In conclusion, the authors state that lattuale southern poverty can not be explained by resorting to cause pre-unification, since the difference can be seen from the last two decades of the 1800s in the form of lower growth in the South

Infrastructure and transport

At the end of the eighteenth century, the kingdom had to cope with the scarcity of land routes, especially in the more continental. This situation, in fact, made it difficult to transport and, therefore, trade within the state of the Two Sicilies. Ferdinand II was interested in a particular way for the construction of new public works and infrastructure, similar to what made her great grandfather Charles. Meanwhile, governments Bourbon had failed to create a considerable merchant fleet, capable of connecting the Kingdom to the main capitals of the world.

Railways

The young Ferdinand II, attracted by new techniques, intuitive first in Italy the potential of a new means of transport since 1829 moved quickly into the English countryside: the Iocomotiva. So Ferdinand II after introducing the first in Italy gas lighting, built bridges, roads open and started cleaning up the Everglades at Paestum and Brindisi, turned his attention to the streets of iron and officially responded to the demands of French engineer Armando Bayard giving concessions for the construction of the first railway line between Naples and arcades. To compensate the Bayard of construction costs, the Bourbon government gave him 80 years for the right to collect the money from the use of the railway, after which the state would take over. II October 3, 1839, there was the inauguration of the new "iron road" in the presence of the king and the same engineer Bayard. Thus was born the first Italian railway line, on which in a single month traveled some 60,000 people.

Then he saw fit to reach Salerno, from Nocera. This project, however, was very bold in so far as it exceeded the steep slopes and the removal of obstacles to the mountains. The king gave his concession Bayard but works stopped many years, and at the time of unification, the line had reached at Eboli.

In 1857, Ferdinand II decided to build on behalf of the State railway of Apulia, by immediately begin work between Sarno and Italy and between Foggia and Barletta. This remarkable infrastructure left from Naples and came up to Bari from Bari extended up to Conversano, Monopoli, Ostuni and Brindisi finally.

This line was to be built entirely with materials and means of national origin.

The sudden Italian unification meant that the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, the railways remain the sole prerogative of Campania. The construction of these buildings, in addition to being expensive, it was also difficult because the Southern Railways had to clear extend for long distances in mountainous regions, or at least geologically unstable before reaching the city the other Adriatic and Ionian coasts.

Roadways

At the outset of the Bourbon dynasty, the young King Charles undertook a policy of complete restructuring of public works neglected in the viceregal period. Among them we gave importance to the opening of new roads, including the continental parts of the kingdom had great need. In 700, in particular, were built new roads connecting the Campania (the region from increasingly rich infrastructure) with the papal border, Apulia, Basilicata, Abruzzi and Molise.

800 Ferdinand I and Francis I were engaged in the construction of new links for all the capitals of the provinces of the Kingdom, branches that building from the main roads heading for the city pnncipalï in order to connect them with the capital, the seas and boundaries land. They were also renovated the 3 major roads "Regie" that linked the capital with Abruzzi, Apulia and Calabria and with the postal service daily, due to the lack of stops during races and frequent changes of horses at stations e-mail, allowing you to reach in a short time the predetermined destination. It is the opinion of many historians that the construction of new infrastructure has suffered a setback after the events of 1848, as the government of Ferdinand implicitly judged dangerous new links to the political stability of the kingdom, especially in regard to Sicily . At the moment the unit existed a relatively efficient and organic royal and provincial roads linking the main towns and centers most relevant to the strategic areas of the Kingdom. However, very 1321 of 1848 municipalities of the kingdom were not yet connected to the road system state, mostly small villages located in mountainous areas and rural areas.

Merchant Marine and International Trade

The Kingdom was equipped with an important merchant marine who, taking advantage of the strategic location of the Two Sicilies in the Mediterranean, made the temporary gap rail a factor of little importance in the economic activities of the country. Both the business industry, in fact, concentrated mainly in the coastal cities, they used the shipping from the many international shipping companies and the same state that, in addition to sail the Mediterranean, also were making oceanic routes. For example, the company Sicula Transatlantic, shipowners Palermo De Pace, was endowed of Sicily, a steamship built Scottish, which connect Palermo to New York in 26 days, becoming the first Italian steamship to arrive in the Americas.

In 1734, when Charles of Bourbon assumed the title say the Two Sicilies, the merchant navies of Naples and Sicily, after two centuries of Spanish Viceroyalties, was quite poor. The minor ports were closed to traffic and exports minimized. To cope with this situation, King Charles did establish a set of rules and provisions which will finally effective commercial shipping in his country. Regulations were established modern masters and sailors and was increased shipbuilding and vocational education in the areas of most long seafaring tradition. The new course of merchant navy of Naples and Sicily was also determined by the strengthening of the Navy, which made it possible to eradicate piracy Arabic and the Balkans, and also the elimination of customs privileges for wood English, French, Spanish and Dutch who got problems to 'national exchequer. In the middle of the woods 700 of the Two Sicilies resumed trade with ï main ports of the Mediterranean, with occasional travel beyond the Pillars of Hercules.

With the accession to the throne of Ferdinand IV on the throne of Naples consolidated the rules introduced in the reign of Charles of Bourbon, were enhanced facilities to serve the commercial and manneria were signed new treaties of commerce, which allowed the ships of the Two Sicilies to be able to pass through the Dardanelles and the Bosphorus to reach the ports of the Black Sea in those years were also strengthened and consolidated commercial relations with all the states of the Mediterranean and the major powers.

During the decade of the French economic and social structures of the kingdom grew stronger, he consolidated the bourgeoisie, feudal barons heir to the now abolished, and above all, formed a new political consciousness. Back on the throne Ferdinand I of Bourbon retained the regulations of the Napoleonic era, he gave prizes to the woods that exported in the seas further away, gave birth to the first insurance companies and British expanded the national shipbuilding. In the white flag anni'lO 800 Bourbon, the first ever of an Italian state, began to fly regularly in U.S. ports in the north and south, the West Indies and the East Indies. In 1817 the Prince of Ottajano Luigi de 'Medici, the finance minister, decided that the realm would have acquired steamship for commercial shipping, which at the time were thought to be unsuitable for use in the open sea. It was in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, which probably decided for the first time to use steam ships for sea. So they commissioned the first steamship in the Mediterranean: the Ferdinand I.

With the reign of Francis I had a further consolidation of the merchant fleet of the Two Sicilies were increased rewards for exporting to America, was increased in the construction of steam ships were contracted and new trade agreements. In particular, please note the agreement with the Sublime Porte that allowed the free passage of the Bourbon flag vessels in the Bosphorus.

Dead Francis I, ascended the throne of the Two Sicilies his son Ferdinand II, the ruler who gave impetus to the development of higher merchant marine in the Realm. Under his reign were recorded many firsts: the first cruise ship to steam the Mediterranean, the first transatlantic steam between Naples and New York, the first modern lighting system in Italy. Were also expanded and modernized almost all the ports of the Two Sicilies, including that of Naples, were built new ports and establish new sailing schools and hospitals. In 1830 Ignatius German devised a new method of crossing the Atlantic which was to navigate to the Tropic of Cancer, thus greatly shortening the time to reach American shores. Also increased traffic to the Black Sea, Latin America, Scandinavia, exports were consolidated in the United Kingdom. Captain Vincenzo di Bartolo, under the command dell'EIisa, was the first Italian to reach a ship of a state pre-unification the East Indies and Oceania. The company's Bartolo opened the way for trade to the East Indies. In those years, there was a continuous and steady growth of exports and imports and, consequently, a steady growth of the economy of the Kingdom. In the realm is lowered or eliminated many protectionist duties: fabrics, works in silk and metal, chemicals and medicines, export olive oil.

The riots of 1848 marked a setback for the trade of the kingdom, but after a few years the navy of the Two Sicilies resumed its growth.

In 1852, the Neapolitan vessels began to trade with Calcutta, and the events of the Crimean War were later exploited by shipping companies regnicole, which greatly increased their capital by providing their fleets for military transport. During the '50s Ia consistency of the merchant fleet of the Two Sicilies reached its peak, in the yards of the Sorrento peninsula were built the first ships, which captured another first for a pre-unification Italian state. He then had a series of commercial treaties. II between 1859 and 1860, Ferdinand II died, other openings were made by liberal Francis II, which consisted in decreasing drastically ¡import duties, measures ever applied since followed the annexation of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies to the Kingdom of Italy with implementation of the regulations of the Kingdom of Sardinia.

In 1859 the merchant marine of the Two Sicilies had a total of nearly 12,000 ships and boats.

At the time of the unification of Italy the merchant marine Bourbon exceeded that of the Kingdom of Sardinia tonnage of ships and capital investments. However, in the years following unification witnessed a gradual dismantling of the southern fleet: the new Italian government pointed heavily on industry and on construction sites in the north, particularly in Liguria, supporting them with political intervention, with generous advances of capital and other sowenzioni state. The lack of investment in the South and the gradual loss of economic power confined in those years, the transformation of the merchant fleet of the South in the modern sense. At this negative trend resisted only some of the major owners of Naples, the Sorrento peninsula and Florio in Sicily. Other shipping companies Neapolitan gradually disappeared, or took a local dimension that led to a downsizing.

Culture

The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies inherited the secular traditions of the kingdoms of Naples and Sicily, and their cultural heritage.

Was the lively cultural and artistic life in the major cities of the kingdom, there were many theaters and cultural institutions. In Naples, was located the Real Teatro di San Carlo, one of the largest and oldest in Europe, in which they were represented memorable first of the likes of Vincenzo Bellini, Saverio Mercadante, Gaetano Donizetti, Gioacchino Rossini, Giuseppe Verdi, etc.. interpreted by the most acclaimed voices of the time. In the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies emerged the figure of Vincenzo Torelli, journalist and theater manager, owner of the magazine Omnibus, known at the time for the role which played in the management of Neapolitan theaters and reports undertaken with numerous actors, composers and musicians.

In those years he also imposed the Neapolitan song. The beauty of the Gulf of Naples were inspired in those years to Neapolitan painters, such as Giacinto Gigante, one of the founders of the "School of Posillipo". In artistic training played an important role at the Academy of Fine Arts in Naples. The wealth of archaeological evidence (the most striking example was the ruins of Pompeii) gave birth to one of the most important archaeological museums in the world, the National Archaeological Museum of Naples. In the realm formed distinguished intellectuals, as humanists and other cultural figures of the Kingdom, and Francesco De Sanctis; scientists like Ferdinand Palasciano, many of whom gave a fundamental contribution to the events of 1848.

Among the most relevant scientific institutions Pontaniana remember the Academy and the Royal Institute of encouragement of Naples. The University of Naples, the largest of the kingdom, as would face strong competition from numerous (and often prestigious) private academies, was distinguished for his scientific achievements. By that time he recalls the engineer Luigi Jura, author of several architectural works of the most famous Bridge Real Ferdinand and Maria Cristina Bridge.

Education

Primary education, despite being governed by detailed rules, was unevenly distributed on the territory, especially in inland areas and most rural of the realm. The public elementary education was in fact delegated to the diocese, and although there were primary schools in all the municipalities of the continantale of the realm, the bishops did not fail to point out the poor state of the education system in some regions (lack of infrastructure and personnel, earnings from discontinued). According to statistics reported by the historian John Vigo, in 1818, Basilicata (one of the more rural areas of the kingdom) turned the province with the lowest level of education in the kingdom.

A positive aspect concerned the application of meritocratic criteria in the school system, where inadequate cultural preparation and a lack of professional ethics, which could affect the operation of public education, led to the dismissal of a particular teacher. As of 1Q, they began to glimpse little improvement: the Bourbon government put into effect reforms that allowed the inclusion of new staff in many schools of the kingdom, which until then had remained under staffed.

The public high school, however, divided into "Royal Colleges' and" Secondary Schools ", were located in the provincial capitals, major cities and economic centers more important, more important in urban areas, however, was predominantly private education that could count on a large number of institutions. In the 40s of the XIX century, the United could count 12 Royal Colleges and 42 secondary schools, these were schools that unlike the Royal Colleges teachings imparted mainly technical, practical and professional.

In Naples, the University was located in the capital, where the president held the position of Minister of Education.

From the University of Naples depended also five universities 'secondary' (called Royal High Schools ") located in L'Aquila, Ban, Salerno and Catanzaro (as well as in Naples), also empowered to issue licenses to carry out the study of the liberal professions ( mainly medical and legal). It must be remembered in Naples also the presence of the "College of the Chinese" (now University "L'Orientale"), founded in 1732 by the missionary Matteo Ripa with the aim of expanding the cultural and economic relations with the Far East.

The Sicilian universities were 3: one of Palermo, Catania and Messina to.

The birth of the Southern question

Lost its independence, the productive sectors of the former realm, especially in industry, went into a deep crisis. As long as the new State STARTUP policy of industrialization (1878), the impact of the annexation before and customs policies adopted by the new Italian state then, marked the tine of not more "protected" firms in the South than the competition British and French, and on the domestic market, compared to emerging companies and more secure area that will later be called "Industrial Triangle".

According to the reconstruction of Nitti, the substantial riches of the kingdom as well as a greater contribution to the national exchequer training, were intended primarily to fiscal consolidation as the northern regions of Piedmont and Liguria, compromised by the disproportionate expenditure incurred by the Kingdom of Sardinia in those years and the development of the provinces of the "industrial triangle", the Piedmontese government debt grew in the decade prior to 1860 of 565%, resulting in a dramatic increase in the effect of taxes (they were introduced in the Sardinians were 23 new taxes in the 50 800) , the sale of state property and the need to acquire large loans, recovering in this way the fate of Savoy was in the hands of a few large banks (such as the Rothschilds). The same national bank (the Bank of the Two Sicilies) you then split into Banco di Napoli and Banco di Sicilia.

Recent research of a scientific report that did not exist before the unification substantial economic differences between North and South in terms of per capita income and industrialization and the gap began to appear in the last 800 years, spreading from then on until create the current dualism between the center-north and the south, the origin of the so-called southern issue highlighted at this time by politicians and scholars in the south as Sidney Sonnino, Gaetano Salvemini and Francesco Saverio Nitti. Nitti, in particular, never failed to point out the enormous and continuous drain of wealth from the South to the North and Awenne after 1860. According Nitti fact, the large amounts of capital obtained by the new unitary state after the occupation of the Two Sicilies were spent almost exclusively in the Italy North to finance works and public institutions, schools and infrastructure at the expense of the South, although it contributed predominantly to 'national exchequer.

The impoverishment struck the south in the decades following the unification of Italy was one of the causes of that, which some historians consider to be a real civil war, which ignited the southern campaigns, then called "combat briciantapciio '. Later poverty led to the formation of a massive influx, absent in pre-Unification era. economic decline of the South is emphasized in those years by the different proportions of migration in different parts of the country: in fact, if in the period 1876-1900, on a total of 5,257,911 expatriates, most of the emigrants were inhabitants of central and northern regions, one in 1900-1915, a total of 8,769,785 refugees, the trend was reversed and the primacy of migration came to the southern regions with a reduction of the emigrants northern and growth of those from the South: in particular, less than nine million immigrants, almost three million came from Campania, Calabria and Sicily.

The same Giustino Fortunato, although he was very critical positions towards policies Bourbon and was a fervent supporter of national unity, he argued that the greatest damage inflicted on the economy of the South after the unification of Italy was caused by protectionist policy adopted by the Italian state in 1877 and 1887, which in turn determined that "the fatal sacrifice of the interests of the South" and "the exclusive patronage of those of the North", as crystallized the economic monopoly of the northern Italian market.