The Currency and Stamps of Naples

About pre-unification currency and stamps The coinage of the Kingdoms of Naples and Sicily was based on a large silver coin called the Piastre. It was subdivided into 120 grains or "grana." The stamps were valued in denominations of grana. The subsidiary coinage of Naples was in multiples of grana, in the form of smaller silver coins, and in large copper coins in denominations of "tornese"; two grana made up one tornese. Often the lettering on these coins is beautiful, based on carved Roman inscriptions. Click on any of the photos below to see a larger, detailed version and read a description.     About Naples Naples was founded by the Greeks as Neopolis or "New City," and of course became part of the Roman Republic/Empire. Naples and southern Italy, along with Sicily, remained under the authority of the East Roman or Byzantine empire until the late 11th century, when Naples and southern Italy was conquered by adventurers from Normandy--shortly following the Norman conquest of England. Naples and Sicily usually remained separate kingdoms but ruled by the same monarch. Geographically, southern Italy and Sicily were termed "the Two Sicilies." Legally that became the name in 1816, after the Congress of Vienna. Naples became a dependent kingdom of Spain in the Renaissance, and in 1759 Naples and Sicily became free-standing kingdoms when Charles III of Bourbon of Spain left those thrones to his second son Ferdinand IV. Bourbon Naples in the 18th century is remembered for its high culture, when the San Carlo theater, still in use and legendary for its incomparable acoustics was erected; when the philosopher G.B. Vico flourished; when the excavation of Pompeii began under royal patronage; and when exquisite works of art, such as superb porcelains, were produced. The Neopolitan Bourbons were allies of Great Britain, and the great port of Naples was a home base for the Mediterranean squadron of the Royal Navy, to their mutual advantage. The affair between Admiral Lord Nelson and Emma, Lady Hamilton, in the era of the French Revolution, is legendary. Lady Hamilton's husband, Sir William Hamilton, was the British ambassador to Naples; he possessed the finest collection of ancient vases of his time and published a highly influential book of engravings that illustrated the antiquities he had collected during his ambassadorship. Naples and Sicily were conquered in 1861 by the soldier of fortune Garibaldi on behalf of the cause of Italian unification, at a time when the new and last king, Francis II, was inexperienced and lacking in leadership. Mount Vesuvius has always been a symbol of this fascinating city. See some landmarks of Naples with John Domini, Artist-in-Residence of the UCO English Department during the Passport to Italy semester.

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