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Naples, kingdom of, former state, occupying the Italian peninsula south of the former Papal States. It comprised roughly the present regions of Campania Campania , region (1991 pop. 5,191,468), 5,249 sq mi (13,595 sq km), central Italy, extending from the Apennines W to the Tyrrhenian Sea and from the Garigliano River S to the Gulf of Policastro. It includes the islands of Capri, Ischia, and Procida.
..... Click the link for more information. , Abruzzi Abruzzi , region (1991 pop. 1,249,054), 4,167 sq mi (10,793 sq km), central Italy, bordering on the Adriatic Sea in the east. L'Aquila is the capital of the region, which is divided into Chieti, L'Aquila, Pescara, and Teramo provs. (named for their capitals).
..... Click the link for more information. , Molise Molise , region (1991 pop. 330,900), 1,714 sq mi (4,439 sq km), S central Italy, bordering on the Adriatic Sea in the east. Campobasso is the capital of the region, which is divided into the provinces of Campobasso and Isérnia.
..... Click the link for more information. , Basilicata Basilicata , region (1991 pop. 610,528), 3,856 sq mi (9,987 sq km), S Italy, bordering on the Tyrrhenian Sea in the southwest and on the Gulf of Taranto in the southeast. It forms the instep of the Italian "boot.
..... Click the link for more information. , Apulia Apulia , Ital. Puglia, region (1991 pop. 4,031,885), 7,469 sq mi (19,345 sq km), S Italy, bordering on the Adriatic Sea in the east and the Strait of Otranto and Gulf of Taranto in the south.
..... Click the link for more information. , and Calabria Calabria , region (1991 pop. 2,070,203), 5,822 sq mi (15,079 sq km), S Italy, a peninsula projecting between the Tyrrhenian Sea and the Ionian Sea, separated from Sicily by the narrow Strait of Messina. It forms the toe of the Italian "boot.
..... Click the link for more information. . Naples was the capital.
In the 11th and 12th cent. the Normans under Robert Guiscard Robert Guiscard , c.1015–1085, Norman conqueror of S Italy, a son of Tancred de Hauteville (see Normans). Robert joined (c.1046) his brothers in S Italy and fought with them to expel the Byzantines.
..... Click the link for more information. and his successors seized S Italy from the Byzantines. The popes, however, claimed suzerainty over S Italy and were to play an important part in the history of Naples. In 1139 Roger II Roger II, c.1095–1154, count (1101–30) and first king (1130–54) of Sicily, son and successor of Roger I. He conquered (1127) Apulia and Salerno and sided with the antipope Anacletus II against Pope Innocent II. In 1130, Anacletus crowned Roger king.
..... Click the link for more information. , Guiscard's nephew, was invested by Innocent II with the kingdom of Sicily Sicily , Ital. Sicilia, region (1991 pop. 4,966,386), 9,925 sq mi (25,706 sq km), S Italy, mainly situated on the island of Sicily, which is bounded by the Mediterranean Sea on the west and south, by the Ionian Sea on the east, and by the Tyrrhenian Sea on the
..... Click the link for more information. , including the Norman lands in S Italy. The last Norman king designated Constance, wife of Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI, as his heir and the kingdom passed successively to Frederick II Frederick II, 1194–1250, Holy Roman emperor (1220–50) and German king (1212–20), king of Sicily (1197–1250), and king of Jerusalem (1229–50), son of Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI and of Constance, heiress of Sicily.
..... Click the link for more information. , Conrad IV Conrad IV, 1228–54, German king (1237–54), king of Sicily and of Jerusalem (1250–54), son of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II. He was elected (1237) king of the Romans at his father's instigation after Frederick had deposed Conrad's older brother
..... Click the link for more information. , Manfred Manfred , c.1232–1266, king of Sicily (1258–66), the last Hohenstaufen on that throne. An illegitimate son of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II, Manfred was regent in Sicily for his brother Conrad IV.
..... Click the link for more information. , and Conradin Conradin , 1252–68, duke of Swabia, titular king of Jerusalem and Sicily, the last legitimate Hohenstaufen, son of Holy Roman Emperor Conrad IV. While Conradin was still a child in Germany, his uncle Manfred made himself (1258) king of Sicily.
..... Click the link for more information. of Hohenstaufen. Under them S Italy flowered, but in 1266 Charles I Charles I (Charles of Anjou), 1227–85, king of Naples and Sicily (1266–85), count of Anjou and Provence, youngest brother of King Louis IX of France. He took part in Louis's crusades to Egypt (1248) and Tunisia (1270).
..... Click the link for more information. (Charles of Anjou), founder of the Angevin Angevin [Fr.,=of Anjou], name of two medieval dynasties originating in France. The first ruled over parts of France and over Jerusalem and England; the second ruled over parts of France and over Naples, Hungary, and Poland, with a claim to Jerusalem.
..... Click the link for more information. dynasty, was invested with the crown by Pope Clement IV, who wished to drive the Hohenstaufen family from Italy. Charles lost Sicily in 1282 but retained his territories on the mainland, which came to be known as the kingdom of Naples. Refusing to give up their claim to Sicily, Charles and his successors warred with the house of Aragón, which held the island, until in 1373 Queen Joanna I Joanna I, 1326–82, queen of Naples (1343–81), countess of Provence. She was the granddaughter of King Robert of Naples, whom she succeeded with her husband, Andrew of Hungary.
..... Click the link for more information. of Naples formally renounced her claim.
During her reign began the struggle for succession between Charles of Durazzo (later Charles III Charles III (Charles of Durazzo), 1345–86, king of Naples (1381–86) and, as Charles II, of Hungary (1385–86); great-grandson of Charles II of Naples. Adopted as a child by Joanna I of Naples, he later lived at the court of Louis I of Hungary.
..... Click the link for more information. of Naples) and Louis of Anjou (Louis I Louis I, 1339–84, king of Naples (1382–84; rival claimant to Charles III), duke of Anjou, count of Provence, second son of John II of France. He founded the second Angevin line in Naples.
..... Click the link for more information. of Naples). The struggle was continued by their heirs. Charles's descendants, Lancelot Lancelot or Ladislaus , c.1376–1414, king of Naples (1386–1414), son and successor of Charles III. Almost his entire reign was consumed by his struggle with the Angevin rival king of Naples, Louis II, and with Louis's ally, the
..... Click the link for more information. and Joanna II Joanna II, 1371–1435, queen of Naples (1414–35), sister and successor of Lancelot. The intrigues of her favorites kept her court in turmoil. Her second husband, James of Bourbon, tried to seize power but was imprisoned in 1416.
..... Click the link for more information. , successfully defended their thrones despite papal support of their French rivals, but Joanna successively adopted as her heir Alfonso V Alfonso V (Alfonso the Magnanimous), 1396–1458, king of Aragón and Sicily (1416–58) and of Naples (1443–58), count of Barcelona. He was the son of Ferdinand I, whom he succeeded in Aragón and Sicily.
..... Click the link for more information. of Aragón and Louis III and René René , 1409–80, king of Naples (1435–80; rival claimant to Alfonso V of Aragón and Ferdinand I of Naples), duke of Anjou, Bar, and Lorraine, count of Provence. He was also called René of Anjou and Good King René.
..... Click the link for more information. of Anjou, and the dynastic struggle was prolonged. Alfonso defeated René and in 1442 was invested with Naples by the pope. His successor in Naples, Ferdinand I Ferdinand I or Ferrante , 1423–94, king of Naples (1458–94), illegitimate son and successor (in Naples) of Alfonso V of Aragón. His succession was challenged by Pope Calixtus III, but Pope Pius II made peace with him.
..... Click the link for more information. (Ferrante), suppressed (1485) a conspiracy of the powerful feudal lords. Meanwhile the Angevin claim to Naples had passed to the French crown with the death (1486) of René's nephew, Charles of Maine. Charles VIII Charles VIII, 1470–98, king of France (1483–98), son and successor of Louis XI. He first reigned under the regency of his sister Anne de Beaujeu.
..... Click the link for more information. of France pressed the claim and in 1495 briefly seized Naples, thus starting the Italian Wars Italian Wars, 1494–1559, series of regional wars brought on by the efforts of the great European powers to control the small independent states of Italy.
..... Click the link for more information. between France and Spain. Louis XII, Charles's successor, temporarily joined forces with Spain and dethroned Frederick (1501), the last Aragonese king of Naples, but fell out with his allies, who defeated him.
The Treaties of Blois (1504–5) gave Naples and Sicily to Spain, which for two centuries ruled the two kingdoms through viceroys—one at Palermo, one at Naples. Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba Fernández de Córdoba, Gonzalo , 1453–1515, Spanish general, called the Great Captain. He fought in the civil wars preceding and following the accession of Isabella I and in the conquest of Granada.
..... Click the link for more information. was the first viceroy of Naples. Under Spain, S Italy became one of the most backward and exploited areas in Europe. Heavy taxation (from which the nobility and clergy were exempt) filled the Spanish treasury; agriculture suffered from the accumulation of huge estates by quarreling Italian and Spanish nobles and the church; famines were almost chronic; disease, superstition, and ignorance flourished. A popular revolt against these conditions, led by Masaniello Masaniello , 1620?–1647, Neapolitan revolutionist, whose original name was Tommaso Aniello. A fisherman, he led a revolt of the lower classes, burdened by high taxes, against the Spanish rulers of Naples.
..... Click the link for more information. , was crushed in 1648. In the War of the Spanish Succession the kingdom was occupied (1707) by Austria, which kept it by the terms of the Peace of Utrecht (1713; see Utrecht, Peace of Utrecht, Peace of, series of treaties that concluded the War of the Spanish Succession. It put an end to French expansion and signaled the rise of the British Empire. By the treaty between England and France (Apr.
..... Click the link for more information. ). During the War of the Polish Succession Polish Succession, War of the, 1733–35. On the death (1733) of Augustus II of Poland, Stanislaus I sought to reascend the Polish throne. He was supported by his son-in-law, Louis XV of France.
..... Click the link for more information. , however, Don Carlos of Bourbon (later Charles III Charles III, 1716–88, king of Spain (1759–88) and of Naples and Sicily (1735–59), son of Philip V and Elizabeth Farnese. Recognized as duke of Parma and Piacenza in 1731, he relinquished the duchies to Austria after Spain reconquered (1734) Naples
..... Click the link for more information. of Spain) reconquered Naples and Sicily. The Treaty of Vienna (1738) confirmed the conquest, and the two kingdoms became subsidiary to the Spanish crown, ruled in personal union by a cadet branch of the Spanish line of Bourbon Bourbon , European royal family, originally of France; a cadet branch of the Capetian dynasty. One branch of the Bourbons occupies the modern Spanish throne, and other branches ruled the Two Sicilies and Parma.
..... Click the link for more information. . Naples then had its own dynasty, but conditions improved little.
In 1798 Ferdinand IV and his queen, Marie Caroline Marie Caroline, 1752–1814, queen of Naples, consort of Ferdinand IV (later Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies), daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Francis I and Maria Theresa, and sister of Queen Marie Antoinette of France.
..... Click the link for more information. , fled from the French Revolutionary army. The Parthenopean Republic Parthenopean Republic [from Parthenope, an ancient name of Naples], state set up in Naples in Jan., 1799, by the French Revolutionary army under General Championnet and by liberal Neapolitans after the flight of King Ferdinand IV (later Ferdinand I of the Two
..... Click the link for more information. was set up (1799), but the Bourbons returned the same year with the help of the English under Lord Nelson Nelson, Horatio Nelson, Viscount, 1758–1805, British admiral. The most famous of Britain's naval heroes, he is commemorated by the celebrated Nelson Column in Trafalgar Square, London.
..... Click the link for more information. . Reprisals were severe; Sir John Acton Acton, Sir John Francis Edward, 1736?–1811, Neapolitan statesman of British origin, b. Besançon, France. Called upon by Queen Marie Caroline and King Ferdinand IV of Naples (later Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies) to reform the Neapolitan army and navy in
..... Click the link for more information. , the queen's favorite, once more was supreme. In 1806 the French again drove out the royal couple, who fled to Sicily. Joseph Bonaparte (see under Bonaparte Bonaparte , Ital. Buonaparte , family name of Napoleon I, emperor of the French.
Parentage
Napoleon's father,
Carlo Buonaparte, 1746–85, a petty Corsican nobleman, was a lawyer in Ajaccio.
..... Click the link for more information. , made king of Naples by Napoleon I, was replaced in 1808 by Joachim Murat Murat, Joachim , 1767–1815, marshal of France, king of Naples (1808–15). He left his theological studies to enter the army and fought in Egypt under Napoleon, whom he helped (1799) in the coup of 18 Brumaire.
..... Click the link for more information. . Murat's beneficent reforms were revoked after his fall and execution (1815) by Ferdinand, who was restored to the throne (Marie Caroline had died in 1814). In 1816 Ferdinand merged Sicily and Naples and styled himself Ferdinand I Ferdinand I, 1751–1825, king of the Two Sicilies (1816–25). He had previously been king of Naples (1759–99, 1799–1805, 1815–16) as Ferdinand IV and king of Sicily (1759–1816) as Ferdinand III.
..... Click the link for more information. , king of the Two Sicilies.
For the remaining history of Naples, annexed to Sardinia in 1860, see Two Sicilies, kingdom of the Two Sicilies, kingdom of the. The name Two Sicilies was used in the Middle Ages to mean the kingdoms of Sicily and of Naples (see Sicily and Naples, kingdom of).
..... Click the link for more information. .
Bibliography
See H. Acton, The Bourbons of Naples (1734–1825) (1956) and The Last Bourbons of Naples 1825–61 (1961); B.Croce, History of the Kingdom of Naples (1925, tr. 1970).
Naples, Kingdom of (1) A state in southern Italy, formed in 1282 after the Angevin rulers of the Kingdom of Sicily lost Sicily itself. The dynasty retained its rule over the Kingdom of Naples until 1442. Naples became the capital of this state. During the Angevin rule, the feudal system was consolidated; feudal lords, including many from abroad, especially France, enserfed the peasants and acquired a number of important political rights. Constant internal strife and wars against Sicily, where the Aragonese dynasty had established itself, weakened royal power. Oppressive taxation and royal grants of privileges to merchants from northern and central Italy at the expense of local merchants further retarded growth of the economy. In 1442, the Kingdom of Naples was conquered by King Alfonso V of Aragon, who combined it with Sicily and proclaimed himself Alfonso I, “King of the Two Sicilies.” He granted vast privileges to both local and Spanish nobles, thus intensifying the tendencies toward decentralization. After the death of Alfonso I in 1458, Naples and Sicily were again separated. During the wars waged in Italy from 1494 to 1559, the Kingdom of Naples became a Spanish possession (1504) and with Sicily again made up the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. The term “Kingdom of Naples” continued to refer to the continental portion of this state. (2) An Italian state dependent on France and located in the continental portion of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies; it existed from 1806 to 1815, while the country was occupied by the French. The Kingdom of Naples was ruled by Joseph Bonaparte from 1806 to 1808 and by J. Murat from 1808 to 1815.
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