Kingdom of Two Sicilies
The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies was formed in 1816. It was the merging of the Kingdom of Naples and the Kingdom of Sicily. The Kingdom of Naples included the city of Naples (previously the Duchy of Naples), as well as all of the land on the Italian peninsula south of the Papal States – what are now the regions of Molise, Campania, Basilicata, Apullia, Calabria, and part of Abruzzo.
Ferdinando I was the first king of this new kingdom. He was previously known as Ferdinando IV of the Kingdom of Naples, and Ferdinando III of the Kingdom of Sicily. The merger consolidated his two kingdoms, making him the first of the new kingdom and therefore made him Ferdinando I of the new kingdom.
In 1825, the king died and his oldest surviving son, Francesco I became the new king. He was in his late forties. His reign lasted only five years, with him dying at age fifty-three.
Francesco I was succeeded in 1830 by his oldest surviving son, Ferdinando II . His image is depicted on several stamps in this sub-album.
It may be confusing that the kingdom was called the two Sicilies since we think of the island as Sicily and not the southern end of the Italian peninsula, which was known as the mezzogiorno (translated to mid-day or noon in English) region. The reason it was called that has to do with it’s origins and history. Sicily wasn’t originally the name for the island, but the name of the region that includes the island and the southern peninsula region – with the capitol in Naples. The island was called Trinacria because it was triangle shaped.
As a result of the War of the Sicilian Vespers from 1282 to 1302, the then king of Sicily lost the Trinacria, the island. The kingdom of Sicily, though, continued with only the southern peninsula region. However, it was sometimes referred to by outsiders as the Kingdom of Naples during this period. The Trinacria island fell under the rule of the Aragon Crown. The Aragons started calling the island, the Kingdom of Sicily, despite that name being in conflict with the king in Naples. Perhaps they did it to irritate him, or to say that they were the true Sicily [1] The result was that there were two kingdoms being called Sicily. Eventually, Ferdinando I became king of both and then united them into one. Maybe for clarity, he called the joined regions, The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.
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