Ulisse - The Pleasure of Discovery

Journey to the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies (Second Version of the Episode "Journey to the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies: Discovering Splendors and Secrets")

0.01h 53mFebruary 23, 2015

The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, a chapter in pre-unification Italian history that is in many ways surprising and little-known. Of all the Italian kingdoms, the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies was by far the largest, richest, and most populous. Nearly 10 million people, or one in three of our peninsula's inhabitants, lived under the aegis of the House of Bourbon. And Naples was the heart of this kingdom: one of the largest cities in Europe, second only to Paris and the fifth largest in the world, a destination for scholars and travelers of the time. In this episode, we will discover why the Bourbon kings, once beloved and respected rulers, were then fiercely opposed by their people, and why their kingdom, rich in economic achievements, technological achievements, and cultural treasures, went down in history as a closed and backward world, responsible for the ills that still plague our southern Italy.