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| Kingdom of Naples (Kingdom of the Two Sicilies) | |
|---|---|
| Native name | Regno di Napoli; Regno delle Due Sicilie |
| Conventional long name | Kingdom of Naples (Kingdom of the Two Sicilies) |
| Common name | Naples; Two Sicilies |
| Era | Early Middle Ages–19th century |
| Status | Kingdom; state union |
| Government | Monarchy |
| Year start | 661 |
| Year end | 1861 |
| Event start | Lombard duchies; Byzantine reconquest |
| Event1 | Norman conquest |
| Date event1 | 1130 |
| Event2 | Angevin rule |
| Date event2 | 1266 |
| Event3 | Aragonese viceroyalty |
| Date event3 | 1442 |
| Event4 | Spanish Bourbon rule |
| Date event4 | 1734 |
| Event end | Unification of Italy |
| Capital | Naples |
| Common languages | Italian; Neapolitan; Latin |
| Religion | Roman Catholicism |
| Currency | Neapolitan piastra; ducato |
Kingdom of Naples (Kingdom of the Two Sicilies) was a political entity in southern Italy whose dynastic, territorial, and institutional transformations spanned from early medieval Lombard and Byzantine contestation through Norman, Angevin, Aragonese, Spanish Habsburg, and Bourbon rule, culminating in incorporation into the Kingdom of Italy during the Italian unification of 1861. Its capital, Naples, served as a major Mediterranean port and cultural center linked to courts, universities, and religious institutions across Europe and the Mediterranean.
The region's medieval origins involved the Duchy of Naples, Byzantine Empire, Lombards, and the maritime republics such as Amalfi and Gaeta, before the Norman conquest of southern Italy and the establishment of the Kingdom of Sicily under Roger II of Sicily. Following the War of the Sicilian Vespers and the Treaty of Caltabellotta, the mainland crown evolved into an Angevin kingdom under Charles I of Anjou, later contested by the Aragonese conquest of Naples and integrated into the Crown of Aragon and then the Spanish Empire. The decline of Spanish Habsburg power saw Bourbon restoration under Charles VII of Naples (later Charles III of Spain), leading to reforms, the influence of figures like Gioacchino Murat, upheavals tied to the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars, and the 19th‑century revolutionary episodes including the Carbonari and the Revolutions of 1848. The kingdom's end was sealed by the Expedition of the Thousand led by Giuseppe Garibaldi and the annexation under Victor Emmanuel II and the House of Savoy.
Monarchical sovereignty shifted among dynasties including the House of Anjou, House of Barcelona (Aragon), House of Habsburg, and the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. Administrations alternated between royal councils, viceregal systems under Viceroy of Naples, and Napoleonic client-state structures such as the Kingdom of Naples (Napoleonic) under Joseph Bonaparte and Joachim Murat. Legal institutions reflected Roman law continuities mediated by chancelleries, courts in Naples Cathedral precincts, and reforms inspired by the Enlightenment and ministers like Tanucci and jurists linked to the University of Naples Federico II. Diplomatic engagement involved envoys to courts in Madrid, Paris, Vienna, and London and treaties such as the Treaty of Utrecht and agreements during the Congress of Vienna.
The kingdom's economy combined agrarian estates around the Mezzogiorno, trade through ports like Naples and Taranto, and artisanal production in urban centers influenced by guilds and mercantile networks tied to Genoa, Venice, and Alexandria. Agricultural products included grain, olives, and wine exported via Mediterranean routes contested by Ottoman Empire corsair activity and regulated by customs offices in the port of Naples. Fiscal systems under Bourbon ministers reformed tax farming and attempted cadastral surveys; tensions with landholders and peasantry fed social unrest exemplified by the Masaniello revolt precedent and 19th‑century peasant insurrections. Intellectual circles connected to the Accademia Pontaniana, the University of Naples, and salons hosted reformers, clergy, and figures influenced by Giuseppe Parini and Ugo Foscolo.
Cultural life centered on Naples with institutions like the Teatro di San Carlo, patronage by Bourbon courts such as Carlo di Borbone, and composers including Domenico Cimarosa and Niccolò Piccinni. Artistic production engaged painters and architects influenced by Baroque and Rococo aesthetics associated with Caravaggio's legacy and the works of Giacomo dell'Anima-era artisans. Religious life was dominated by the Roman Catholic Church, monastic orders like the Benedictines and Jesuits, and dioceses including Salerno and Benevento; synods, confraternities, and pilgrimages to shrines such as Montevergine shaped popular devotion. Printing presses produced literature, legal codes, and the periodical press that circulated ideas from the Enlightenment and Romanticism.
Military forces comprised royal armies, mercenary condottieri traditions inherited from medieval practice, and naval squadrons operating in the Tyrrhenian Sea and Ionian Sea. The kingdom engaged in conflicts like the Italian Wars, the War of the Spanish Succession, and Napoleonic campaigns where figures such as Marshal Masséna and Horatio Nelson intersected with Neapolitan fate. Diplomatic alignment shifted between France, Spain, and Austria; the Congress of Vienna reasserted Bourbon rule while the Holy Alliance and revolutionary movements influenced security policy. Fortresses like Gaeta and coastal batteries defended against blockades and amphibious operations during episodes culminating in the siege of Gaeta (1860).
Territorial divisions included provinces, ducati, and feudal estates concentrated in regions corresponding to modern Campania, Apulia, Calabria, Basilicata, and parts of Molise and Sicily during dynastic partitions. Cities and towns such as Naples, Salerno, Bari, Taranto, Messina, and Reggio Calabria served as administrative and commercial hubs. Demographically the population comprised nobles, clergy, urban artisans, rural peasants, and coastal merchants with linguistic diversity including Neapolitan language variants and minority communities such as Jewish and Greek enclaves in southern peninsular and insular settlements. Public health crises like successive plagues and cholera outbreaks impacted mortality and migration patterns.
The kingdom's dissolution integrated its territories into the newly consolidated Kingdom of Italy after Garibaldi's campaign and plebiscites favoring annexation by Victor Emmanuel II and the Savoy monarchy. Its legal codes, bureaucratic structures, artistic heritage, and urban architecture influenced Italian national institutions and regional identities in the Mezzogiorno; historiography debates the roles of Bourbon governance, the Brigandage in Southern Italy insurgencies, and economic divergence addressed by scholars from Antonio Gramsci to modern economic historians. Monuments such as the Royal Palace of Naples and archives including those in Naples National Library preserve records for research into Mediterranean, European, and colonial connections spanning centuries.
Category:History of Italy Category:States and territories disestablished in 1861 Category:Former monarchies of Europe