# Via Nova 1861 ‘Taliani

- Link: https://italiajoe.com/433-2/
- Published: 2024-05-30T03:02:29+00:00
- Author: Joseph Simonetti

**§ The Peninsula of City States**

 * Greek Settlements around Calabria and Sicily, dramatized by Virgil’s _‘The Aeneid’._
 * Roman connections to Vibo Valentia in Calabria.
 * Summary of the peninsula’s foreign occupations through history.

Fast-Forward Historical Ready-Mix

 * Brief tutorial on the Italian Peninsula’s geographical and biblical historical
   connections.
 * Contextual discourse based on Dr Eric Cline’s lectures: Bronze Age, Anatolia,
   Sea People, Philistines, Etruscans, Canaan, Mycenean culture, Cyprus name derived
   from _‘Cuprum’, _Lattin name for Copper, tin trade routes, the Exodus.
 * Chaos Theory effect on Civilizations, Homer’s ‘Troy, Simcha Jacobovici’s interpretation
   of Exodus, and Noah’s flood have similarities with the story of Gilgamesh and
   Enkidu.
 * Agricultural know-how exchange between East, West and North Africa.
 * Beginnings of social and religious structures of communities. The Peninsula mountain
   terrain is the cause of communal fragmentation.

Tincture of Oblivious Bliss

 * Augustinian friar Johan Mendel discovers genetics, too late for the rulers to
   overturn their incestuous clinging to power, beginning with the Pharaohs.
 * The gods of Egypt include the monotheistic beliefs of Akhenaten and Nefertiti.
   Incest resulting in Tutankhamun’s frail physical condition. Other factual narrative
   citations: Ptolemaic Dynasty and Cleopatra
 * Contrary to the teachings of the Old Testament Bible, in its attempts to rectify
   the events following the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, incestuous marriages
   became the norm in the Roman Empire and later, Christian Europe.
 * The Hapsburg Dynasty was genetically corroded by an inbred gene pool. Hapsburg’s
   insane control over the Italian Peninsular. The last Hapsburg King of Spain was
   Charles II, which culminated in the _War of the Spanish Succession._
 * Kaiser Wilhelm II, the British Monarchy and WWI and later Charles Edward’s force
   into the Nazi camp during WWII.

** § Only a Millenia To The Renaissance**

Getting Dark Ages out of the Way 400-1000

 * Roman Empire dislodged by the Islamic, Ottoman Empire
 * Parlous state of governance of the peninsula. **Factual narrative citations**:
   Dante Alighieri, Niccolò Machiavelli, Historian Christopher Duggan
 * Lombards invade from the North, and Byzantium holds together in the South.
 * The Prophet Mohammad, stirred things up with Christianity setting up the Crusades,
   leading to the Ottoman’s invading across the Balkans, eventually halted by Charles
   Martel’s son, who became known as Charlemagne.
 * Frankish administration over the North
 * The beginning of Papal ascendency

Feudalism Locked and Loaded

 * Brief tutorial on the Feudal system of governance.
 * The ‘peasant’ of the British class structure, in the Italian context defines 
   the downtrodden lowest class as _‘contadini’_. The term is evaluated from a contemporary
   viewpoint.
 * Introduction to Edward C Banfield’s confronting research ‘_The__ Moral Basis 
   of a Backward Society (1958)’_. The reach of the term _‘contadini’_ into 20^(
   th) Century Simonetti’s.
 * Britain sets the pace for reform for labour rights.
 * Pope Urban sets the course for the Crusades. **Factual narrative citations**:
   Steven Runciman’s books of the Crusades.

Communities Sprout 11th to 14th Century

 * Trade goes hand in hand with the Crusades.
 * The differentiation between North and South surfaces.
 * Enter the Normans.
 * Enter the German, Hohenstaufen Dynasty
 * German influence and intrigues over the Papacy. **Factual narrative citations**:
   Germany’s Henry III was succeeded by Henry IV, the last German Pope, Victor II(
   1055-7), Abbey of Monte Casino, WWII connections.
 * **Factual narrative citations**: Richard I, the Lion-Heart of England, Angevin
   Empire, King John, _‘Magna Carta’_.
 * The ‘_Sicilian Vespers’_ rebellion against the French, Simonetti folklore interpretation.
 * End of the Hohenstaufen Dynasty.

Francavilla Angitola: Town from Antiquity

 * The human soul, driver to form communes?
 * Introduction to the work by Lorenzo Malta. Research into the origins of my homey
   commune and whether it had Greek connections. **Factual narrative citations**:
   Virgil’s hero Aeneas, Lycophron’s poem _‘Cassandra’, _Paris, the son of Priam
   and Hecuba of Troy.
 * Eastern Saints in Calabria; The Patron Saint of Francavilla is ‘_San Foca Martire_’
   with connections to the hieromartyr[^([1])](https://italiajoe.com/433-2/#_ftn1)
   from _‘Sinópe nel Ponto’_, in today’s Turkey.
 * Saint Gregory’s (Bishop of Tours)[^([2])](https://italiajoe.com/433-2/#_ftn2),
   recorded Latin writing of ‘_San Foca Martire_’, is translated into a quote to
   explain the connections with snakes. **Factual narrative citations**: _‘Menologion
   of Basil II’_ manuscript depicting Phocas-(Foca) at the point of execution. Simonetti
   folklore interpretation of the Saint.
 * 9^(th) and 10^(th) Centuries Saracen’s attacks on the Calabrian coasts. **Factual
   narrative citations**: pushback by Byzantine leader, Nikephoros Phokas; his bio
   is narrated. Cross-fertilised folklore of the two men named ‘Phokas’ circulates.
 * The Simonetti-Attisani family makes up the descriptive historical narration. **
   Factual narrative citations**: Norman Kings Roger I & II, Arab Muslim geographer,
   Muhammad al-Idrisi, writings by Ilario Tranquillo confirmation of the commune
   at the turn of the millennia.

The Washout (Renaissance Italy 1300-1494)

 * In the North, _Ghibelline and Guelf factions _were a complex web of ineffective
   alliances. **Factual narrative citations**: Dante Alighieri’s _‘Devine Comedy’._
 * Governance evolution in the City States, Financial Systems make the elites of
   Bankers: Bardi, Peruzzi and Medici. **Factual narrative citations**: loans to
   Edward III, England for the ‘_Hundred Years’ War’_, break the bankers.
 * In the South, the Feudal Kingdom was ruled by Angevins until 1442. Geography 
   is a hindrance to governance. Francavilla’s social and commercial development
   is reviewed. **Factual narrative citations**: writer Leandro Alberti, Alfonso
   of Aragon Duke of Calabria (later king of Naples). Writers Lorenzo Giustiniani
   and Antonio F Parisi have opposing views of the Roman provenance of the locale
   _Ad Turres._
 * **Factual narrative citations**: Black Death in 1348, Giovanni Boccaccio wrote
   the _‘Decameron’ _about that period. Enrico degli Scrovegni, the son of Money
   Lender, Reginaldo degli Scrovegni, commissioned Giotto to adorn the Arena Chapel,
   but still earned a place in Dante’s hell.
 * Calabria remains in the backwaters of feudalism whilst changes at the top continued
   with the support of the Papacy: Angevine’s to oust the Hohenstaufen Dynasty, 
   war between Angevines and Aragonese followed.
 * Francavilla was bought and sold during the takeover by the Aragon Dynasty. Large
   numbers of Spanish settled in Calabria.
 * Niccolò Machiavelli uses the revenge taken by Ferrante in his book ’The Prince’.
   Writer Peter Robb and historian Christopher Duggan weigh in on that discourse
   about revenge.

Bosphorus Phosphorus: Part 1

 * This is a lead into events which will occur in the 20^(th)
 * Elemental phosphorous forms a critical molecular component that enables all living
   cells to utilise the fuel for the maintenance of life. Discourse engages in the
   other facets of phosphorous, its incendiary properties used as a metaphor for
   the clash of civilizations, Christian Europe and Muslim East across the Bosphorus
   Straights. All were made even more complex by the _‘Great Schism’_ which split
   Christianity into Catholicism and Orthodox Christianity.
 * Human propensity for heinous behaviour explored.
 * The nature of God presiding over human consciousness presented through **factual
   narrative citations**:_ Documentary Hypothesis or Graf-Wellhausen Hypothesis’
   _in the development of the Old Testament Bible.
 * Theme encompassing the destruction of humankind exists in various cultures. **
   Factual narrative citations**: Epic Mythological Poem about Gilgamesh king of
   Uruk, Prometheus, Epimetheus and Pandora from Greek mythology and Noah. In contemporary
   times the existential struggle continues amongst ‘_Communism’,_ _‘Socialism’_
   and the _‘Religions’_ seen as the antithesis of _‘Democracy’_. Governing structures
   vacillate through principles of _‘liberalism’_. The _‘Doomsday Clock’_ ticks 
   on.
 * **Factual narrative citations**: Luc Ferry, Ovid, John Milton’s ‘_Paradise Lost’_,
   Evolutionist Charles Darwin and his protagonists Intelligent Design advocates,
   Stephen Meyer, James Tour and Creationist, Michael Cremo. Dante’s _‘Inferno’_
   could not adequately deliver damnation for the _‘anti-Christ’_ Hitler, Stalin
   and Mao Zedong.
 * Satirical light humour to lighten the mood infused with references made to _‘
   Monty Python’ _crew and _The Firm’ _stringing together in a song about the adventures
   of the _‘Starship Enterprise’._
 * The spread of Islam alarms the West to unite adequately to mount a defence of
   Christendom, however _‘Sharia Law’_ prevailed over territories captured when 
   of process of proselytising was enforced.

** § Nature Echoes Across Applied Social & Economic Veneers: 1494-1789**

Markers to the 16th and 17th Centuries

 * Wealth created by the banking dynasties became economically unproductive due 
   to investments made in works of art and villas.
 * Charles VIII of France in 1494 initiated war in the North enriching some of the
   locals.
 * By 1527 Spain controlled Sicily, Naples and Lombardy
 * War between France and Spain mitigated by lack of cash.
 * Galileo Galilei made his pronunciation for a heliocentric universe (concerning
   the earth) for which he will fall foul of the Catholic Church
 * Attempts at social reform were being tried in England with the _‘Poor Law of 
   1601’_ delivering mixed results.
 * The Italian economy improves after the plague of the earlier century. Public 
   works included land reclamations in the North.
 * Catholic Spain’s antagonistic stance against Protestant England fuelled the attempt
   to invade the British Isles by the Spanish Armada.
 * In the South brigandage begins to assert itself due to unemployment and food 
   shortages.
 * Volcanic eruptions and earthquakes wreak devastation. A review of Francavilla’s
   plight makes for a sombre reflection.
 * Origins of the ‘Simonetti’ name and possible connections with Spain explored.

Earthquakes Mix It With 18th Century Enlightenment Reforms

 * Spain’s power waning, Charles II, the last of the Spanish Hapsburgs dies leading
   to the ‘_War of the Spanish Succession’._
 * Makings of the First King of an Italian city-state emerged after Victor Amadeus(
   1666-1732) switched his allegiance from France to Austrian Hapsburgs. But there
   were troubles in that Regency, the Spanish came back to reclaim Sardinia and 
   then Sicily. The Savoy Kingdom was brokered by the _Quadruple Alliance_ (Britain,
   France, Hapsburg, Emperor Charles VI and the Dutch Republic),
 * Calabria’s lot was to continue in a parlous state made worse by new seismic activity.**
   Factual narrative citations**: Historian, General Pietro Colletta chronicles 
   the effects of the earthquakes.
 * Novel interpretation from own experience of the scientific nature of energy as
   the source of destructive power. **Factual narrative citations**: Deborah appears
   in the Book of Judges, Hillel I Millgram’s analysis of _‘Song of Deborah’._ Scientist
   Marcus Reiner assigns the improbability of mountains flowing to the sea a _‘Deborah
   number (De)’._
 * Francavilla folklore develops around possible occurrences of _‘Tsunami’, _childhood
   memories explored. The township was devastated in 1783, a rebuild was to be made
   elsewhere. Stories of survival and despair abound.

** § Sear With Wars, Add Nationalism, Then Stir: 1789-1849**

Bosphorus Phosphorus: Part 2

 * Introduction of the Vogels along with German–Austrian–Croatian ancestral connections.
 * _‘The Gates of Vienna about to fall’_ actual meaning is explored.
 * Kara Mustafa Pasha is driven by hubris to initiate an attack on Vienna. The siege
   and strategies are explored. The European States come together to counter the
   existential threat. An unlikely hero emerges from the ranks of the French–Italian
   nobility, Prince Eugene of Savoy.
    **Factual narrative citations**: Louis XIV’s
   mother was Anne of Austria, the sister of the King of Spain Philip IV (1605 –
   1665). Two centuries later Winston Churchill will compare Louis XIV to Hitler’s
   delusionary expansionary policies.
 * Eugene’s military career was made at the siege of Vienna, in support of the coalition
   forces led by King Jan III Sobieski of Poland; _‘The Treaty of Utrecht’_
 * Thread through history leads to descendants of Victor Amedeo, the first, post-
   Roman Empire King becoming embroiled with Benito Mussolini.
 * Circa 1889, Austrians are encouraged to migrate to Bosnia.
 * Croatia and Serbia’s histories are summarised. **Factual narrative citations**:
   Helga Horiak Harriman’s Doctoral Thesis ‘_The German Minority in Yugoslavia 1941–
   1945’._ The Vogel family migrated and settled in Lukavaç to become part of the
   ethnic ‘Volksdeuchen’.

First the Pyramids; Then The French Revolution Happened

 * A tongue-in-cheek exposé of the enlightenment movements spawning in France**.****
   Factual narrative citations**: Jean-Jacques Rousseau, the _Illuminati_, persecution
   of the Freemasons _(Liberi Muratori)_ in Italy.
 * Napoleon Bonaparte ousts the Austrians from the Northern Italian States and tries
   to reform Italy.
 * The Kingdom of Naples becomes pivotal in the geopolitical machinations swirling
   about the peninsular. **Factual narrative citations**: Maria Carolina daughter
   of the Empress of Austria, Maria Theresa, King Ferdinand as _‘Re Lazzarone’, 
   _Horatio Nelson’s part in the intrigues which evolved following Napoleon’s takeover
   of Naples.
 * The Italian Republic movement culminates into the brief ‘_Parthenopean Republic’
   __._ **Factual narrative citations**: Historian General Pietro Colletta, Cardinal
   Ruffo, French General Championnet,
 * Mine own memoirs’ logic and reasons for taking sides on issues that arise.
 * **Factual narrative citations**: historian Robert Lacey explains the troubled
   relationship between France and England, the two nations collaborated in the _‘
   Crimean War’._
 * The rise of brigands facilitated by geopolitics. The Papacy insisted on picking
   winners and relegating the losers, the Bourbonists were preferable to a home-
   grown Republic. _‘Canto dei Sanfedisti’_ was analysed in light of Pietro Colletta’s
   historical writings.
 * Francavilla’s role in the war to restore the Bourbon King. The carnage wreaked
   on Crotone by the ‘_Sanfedista Army’_. The town hosted a large contingent of 
   French soldiers after the second coming of Napoleon.
 * Son of a Scotsman, Étienne MacDonald leads to a discourse about the British Crown.**
   Factual narrative citations**: the Jacobites versus the Protestant line of successions.
 * French governance reform for the peninsular is the beginning of the _‘Risorgimento’,
   _but still, it does not auger well for Calabria’s development.
 * My memoirs introduced to analyse the stagnation occurring in Calabria. The basis
   for the discourse is the epic film _‘Gone with the Wind’ _based on the book by
   Margaret Mitchell.
 * Francavilla became involved in the battle of Maida, which brought brigands into
   the fray against the French on the side British – Bourbanist alliance.
 * **Factual narrative citations**: Joachim Murat’s role in the post-French occupation.
 * Brigandage becomes a scourge on society; their barbarism is explored via one 
   of these, _‘Il Bizzarro._ The politico of the French versus the British-Bourbon
   Alliance fuelled brigand excesses.
 * Mine own oral history memoirs of grownups talking about later-day outlaws as 
   the stuff of folklore, are narrated.

Restoration Panacea Causes Heartburn 1815-1849

 * Secret Societies formed to oppose the French but were unable to rally the population
   to revolt.
 * Introduction to our ancestors which enter the discourse after 1845.
 * Secret Societies initiate activism against the Austrian-backed establishment.
   The economic backdrop is bleak.
 * The Sardinian Monarchy consolidates in Turin, conceptual Italy becoming a nation
   is still- a long way off. Discontent by the populace forces some concessions 
   by the Monarchs in the South; the second French Revolution became a watershed
   moment forcing the King in the North to begrudgingly acquiesce to a people’s _‘
   Statuto’._
 * The Bourbon Restoration in Naples was backed by Austria; Generals imprisoned 
   including Pietro Colletta. **Factual narrative citations**: revolts by lieutenants
   Michele Morelli and Giuseppe Silvati eventually failed.
 * Calabrian peasants’ revolt against the Bourbons. Simonetti and Attisani’s ancestors
   are mentioned in the context of the events. **Factual narrative citations**: 
   Lorenzo Malta’s account of the battle between revolutionary General Francesco
   Stocco and Bourbon Gen. Nunziante’s army near Francavilla.

Place Your Bets

 * Finding a political baseline from amongst the social headwinds is trial and error
   exercise for the fledgling Monarchy.
 * Political power plays arise by the establishment of a parliament in Turin. **
   Factual narrative citations**: The rise of _Count Camillo Benzo di Cavour, _the
   Crimean War, the 1856 Paris Peace Congress, Napoleon III, Rome and the Papal 
   States impediment to a future unification of the peninsular.

---

[[[[[[[[[[[[1]](https://italiajoe.com/433-2/#_ftnref1) In the Eastern Orthodox tradition, a hieromartyr
is a martyr (one who dies for his beliefs) who was a bishop or priest.

[[[[[[[[[[[[2]](https://italiajoe.com/433-2/#_ftnref2) Les livres des miracles et autres opuscules
de Georges Florent Grégoire, évêque de Tours, Volume 3, Page 270, Ch XCIX