WWW Book 5 - Italia Joe

§ 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] from ‘Sinópe nel Ponto’, in today’s Turkey.
Saint Gregory’s (Bishop of Tours)^[2], 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 factionswere 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] In the Eastern Orthodox tradition, a hieromartyr is a martyr (one who dies for his beliefs) who was a bishop or priest.

[2] Les livres des miracles et autres opuscules de Georges Florent Grégoire, évêque de Tours, Volume 3, Page 270, Ch XCIX