In Naples: The former capital of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies

Follow me to Naples and discover why there were two Sicilies... and two Calabrias

Samuel Augustus Mitchell, Kingdom of Naples or The Two Sicilies, Philadelphia 1846, The Rumsay Collection https://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/detail/RUMSEY~8~1~588~60226

I interrupt my journey through Calabria to take a detour to Naples, the former capital of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies (Regno delle Due Sicilie), which included much of central and southern Italy, including Calabria, and served as the inspiration for the name of my blog, LeDueCalabrie, the two Calabrias.

The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies officially existed from 1816 to 1861, when the reigning Bourbon dynasty, originally from Spain, could not withstand the attacks of Giuseppe Garibaldi, and the territory was incorporated into the Kingdom of Italy. Around 1861, Italy was not yet a unified country. In the north, the Savoy family ruled in the Kingdom of Sardinia, the Habsburgs ruled in the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia, the Bourbons controlled the south, and in between were the Papal States and various duchies. The freedom fighter Garibaldi traveled from north to south to unite Italy, and thus, the Kingdom of Italy was officially born in 1861.

After the Congress of Vienna in 1815, which aimed to reorganize the balance of power in Europe, the Kingdoms of Sicily and Naples were “merged,” creating the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. However, the term dates back to the 15th century, while the establishment of the Kingdom of Sicily by the Normans is dated to the 12th century. At that time, people spoke of “Sicily on this side and the other side of the lighthouse,” referring to the lighthouse of Messina. One could also say that there was a distinction between the island of Sicily and the “mainland Sicily” to refer to the rest of southern Italy. After the arrival of the French Anjou family, power struggles and various claims to the throne led to the division of the Kingdom of Sicily and the creation of the Kingdom of Naples. Sicily remained Sicily with Palermo as the capital, and Naples included Abruzzo, Apulia, Campania, Basilicata, and Calabria.

During this period, Calabria was divided into Calabria Ulteriore and Calabria Citeriore (which could be translated as Upper and Lower Calabria), also known as Greek Calabria and Latin Calabria. To me, this sounded like two Calabrias, just as there were once “two Sicilies,” and that is how LeDueCalabrie came about. Since my blog is history-focused, I liked this connection. Even today, one can still feel this rich heritage. For example, in the dialect: without being a linguist, I would venture to say that the Calabrian dialect has influences from Spanish. I have noticed this, for instance, in the formation of the past tense and in certain words. Perhaps the Bourbons also left their linguistic mark?

By the way, I will explain what exactly the Greek and Latin Calabria were in more detail in my upcoming articles as I continue my journey through Calabria.

A little postscript: In February 2025, we were in Naples to visit the royal palaces Palazzo Reale and Reggia di Caserta and, of course, to eat the world’s best Margherita pizza!