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To conclude this wide-ranging
review of the political, civil, social and cultural
history of Southern Italy under the rule of the Royal
House of Bourbon Two Sicilies (1734-1860) it can be
useful to make a short summary of the main “supremacies”
which marked in a deep way the Southern civilisation
and society in the second half of the eighteenth century
and in the first half of the nineteenth.
In fact, this short summary will clearly show how
positive and constructive were the works of the Bourbon
sovereigns (Charles, Ferdinand and Ferdinand II in
particular, as we saw) on one hand, and how misleading
and often untruthful is the Risorgimento “vulgate”
about the Bourbon rule in Italy.
To complete what said under all previous headings,
we will just list, one after the other, each “supremacy”,
at least the most important ones. The reader will
judge about their merit  .
INDUSTRY:
- At the Paris International Exhibition in
1856 it received the Prize for the third industrially
developed country in the world (first in Italy);
- First iron suspended bridge (across the
Garigliano river)
- First railroad and railway station in Italy
(Napoli-Portici railroad);
- First gas-fuelled lighting system;
- First electric telegraph;
- First network of lighthouses with lenses
system;
- Largest engineering industry in Italy,
at Pietrarsa;
- Naples shipyard had the first masonry dry
dock in Italy;
- First submarine telegraph in continental
Europe.
ECONOMY:
- Reclamation of Terra di Lavoro;
- State revenue listed at 12% at Paris Stock
Exchange;
- Lower discount rate (5%)
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The Bridge across the
Garigliano by Luigi Giura Watercolour on paper
by Fergola |
Inauguration of the Napoli-Portici
railroad
(The train arrives at Portici station)
by Salvatore Fergola |
Pietrarsa Industries, now
railway museum |
• First bank checks in the
history of economics (policies on Credit Guarantees);
• First University Chair in Economics (Naples,
A. Genovesi, 1754);
• First Goods Exchange and second Stock Exchange
in continental Europe;
• Greatest number of Joint-Stock Companies in
Italy;
• Best public finance in Italy; this was the
pattern in 1860 (in million gold-lire) :
- Kingdom of the Two Sicilies: 443, 2
- Lombardy: 8,1
- Venetian Region: 12,7
- Duchy of Modena: 0,4
- Parma and Piacenza: 1,2
- Pontifical State: 90,6
- Kingdom of Sardinia: 27
- Grand Duchy of Tuscany: 84,2
Outline of the first
steamboat built in Naples, the "S. Ferdinando"
then called "Ferdinando I"
Naples, Historical Archive |
- First merchant fleet in Italy (third in
the world);
- First cruising fleet in the Mediterranean;
- First Italian fleet to reach America and
the Pacific Ocean;
- First steamboat in the Mediterranean;
- First pension system in Italy (with 2%
deductions on salaries);
- Lower number of taxes in all Italian States.
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