Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 10.djvu/752

 NAPLES

GSG

NAPLES

try, and after a long war Joanna was restored (1352). HaN-ing no children, she adopted as her heir Louis of Anjou, a brother of Charles v', King of France. This action led Charles of Durazzo to declare war upon Joanna, in which he received the support of Urban VI ; the queen was killed (1382), and Louis, also, having died (,1'JS4), the throne was left to Charles without a contestant, but Charles died in Hungary in 1386.

Many who were dissatisfied with the regency for Ladislaus I, the minor son and heir of Charles, called to the throne Louis (II) of Anjou, also a minor, and thereby pave rise to a new war between the Durazzo and the Angevin parties. Ladislaus was victorious (14(X)) and .sought to restore to Naples its preponder- ance in Italy; in this attempt, he invaded the Pontifi- cal States, and entered Rome itself (1408 and 1410). His successor Wiis Joanna II (1414-1434), who was noted for the perversity of her life. Louis III (of Anjou) declared war against her in 1420, on which account she adopted -Alfonso V, son of Ferdinand of Aragon and Sicily; but as that prince wished the ira- nieS to his illegitimate son, Fenlinaiid, while Sicily remained united to Aragon. Ferdinand refused to pay tribute to the pope, his suzerain, usurped eccle- siastical rights, violated boundaries, and in other ways provokeil I lie displeasure of the barons of the kingdom and of Innocent \'1II; the latter, therefore, gave his support to the barons, who revolted (1484-87), but Lorenzo de' M{-dici restored harmony to the state. Scarcely had Alfonso II ascended the throne (1494), when Charles V'lII, wishing to maintain the rights which he claimed to inherit from the House of Anjou to the throne of Naples, undertook his famous expedi- tion into Italy. Alfonso II, knowing the hatred in which he Wiis held, abdicated in favour of his son Ferdinand II; vainly, however, for almost without striking a blow, Charles became master of the king- dom. His success was but transitory, and Ferdinand was able to return to Naples in 1496, leaving the prin- cipal ports of the Adriatic coast in the hands of the Venet ians. By the Treaty of Granada, Ferdinand the Catholic and Louis XII divided the Kingdom of Naples between themselves at the expense of Fred- erick II, who had succeeded Ferdinand, and whose territory they invaded. There soon arose contentions between the two invaders with the result that Gonzalvo de Cordova drove the French from Italy (battle of Cerignola, 1503), and Naples thereafter was governed by Spanish viceroys. In 1528, the French general Lautrec had reached the walls of Naples, when Andrew Doria suddenly i)a.s,sed over with his fleet to the side of the Spaniards, who remained masters of the country. There were a great many insurrections against Span- ish rule; in 1.547, on account of the attempt to intro- duce the Inquisition; in 1599, at the instigation of Tommaso Campanella, O.P.; in 1647 (Giuseppe d'.-Mlessio at Me-ssina, and Masanicllo at Naples) it was proposed to offer the crown to Duke Henry of Guise; in ltj74, there was a revolt at Messina; all of these insurrections were suppressed.

In the war of the Spanish succession, Naples was conquered by the Austrians for Charles III, son of Emperor Leopold, and pretender to the throne of Spain; later, he became emperor as Charles VI. At the peace of Utrecht (1713), Sicily was given to King Amadeus of Savoy, but in 1720, it was reunited to Naples. In 1734 Charles of Bourbon, son of Duke Philip of Parma, a.ssisted by the Spanish general Montemar, comiuered Naples without much difficulty

and took the name of Charles III; the AuBtrians attempted in the following year to retrieve their lo.ss, but were defeated at Velletri. Charles introd\iced many reforms, several, however, to the disadvantage of the Church (Tannucci ministry), and consequently he IkkI (liflicullies with the Holy See which were not enlir<'ly cleared away by the concordat of 1755. When Charles ascended the throne of Sj)ain, he left Naples to his third son Ferdinand IV (17,59-1825). Having failed to drive the French from the Papal States in 1798, Ferdinand was compelled to withdraw to Sicily; the French invaded Naples, and in January, 1799, proclaimed the Parthenopian Republic. The kingdom was soon restored, however, through the efforts of Cardinal Fabricius Ruffo Scilla. In 1806, Naples was again conquered by Joseph Bonaparte, who became its king; upon ascending the throne of Spain, he was succeeded at Naples by Murat, who was dethroned and killed in 1815. In 1820-21 sectarian agitations brought about an insurrection; the king gave a constitution, but was compelled by Austria to withdraw it, and with Austrian assistance, returned to the throne (1821). Under Francis I (1825) and Ferdi- nand II (1830-.59), conspirators maintained their activity, especially in 1848 and 1849, when Sicily again attempted to sever its union with Naples. Ca\our gave his support to the exjicdition of Ciaribaldi against Francis II. Garibaldi landed at Mansala on 11 May, IStJO, and soon conquered Sicily; he then passed over to Calabria, and on 7 September, took Najiles. After the battle of Volturno (1 October), the regular troops of Piedmont entered the Kingdom of Naples, and King Francis withdrew to Gaeta, where, after a brave resistance, he capitulated on 12 February, ISlil, and signeil the annexation of his dominions to the Kingdom of Italy.

According to a legend connected with the church of St. Peter ad annii, the Apostle on his way to Rome consecrated as Bishop of Naples St. Asprenus, a brother of St. Candida, who had given hospitality to St. Peter. This St. Candida, however, is probably the one who lived in the sixth century and whose metrical epitaph is preserved. At all events, it was natural that Christianity should be taken to Najiles at an early date, especially among the Hebrews, since that city was in the neighborhood of Pozzuoli (Acts, xxviii, 13), and the catacombs of St. Januarius, St. Severus, and St. Gaudiosus show that there was a considerable number of Christians at Naples in the beginning of the second century. Hence the establishment of the epis- copal see may date from that time, as there is record of only nine bishops prior to 300, the first of them being Asprenus; the sixth, St. Agrippinus, suffered martyrdom, possibly under Valerian; the deacons Marianus and Rufus, also, were martyred. Bishop St. Maximus was exiled by Constantius on account of the prelate's firm catholicity (357?). At the close of the fourth century, the pagans were still numerous, and the pagan Symmachus calls Naples urbs religiosa (Epist. I, VIII, 27). The first removal of the body of St. Januarius from Pozzuoh to Naples took place under Bishop Severus (367); Bishop St. Nostrianus (about 450) fought against Pelagianism and during his incumbency, St. Gaudiosus, fleeing from the jiersecu- tions of the Vandals in Africa, landed at Naples, and died there. Bishop Demetrius was deposed by St. Gregory the Great (593), who appointed to the See of Naples the Roman Fortunatus; the courage of Bishop St. Angelus (671-91) saved the city from the invasion of the Saracens; Sergius, before he became bishop in 716, was famous for having retaken the castle of Cuma from the Lombards. St. Paul I (762), a friend of Pope Paul I, was prevented from taking possession of his diocese by the iconoclast dux; St. Tiberius (818) died in prison, in which he was confined because of his con- demnation of the wickedness of the consul Bonus; St. Athanasius I (850) was persecuted by his nephew, the