Editing Ferdinand I of Naples (section)

=== Twenty years of prosperity ===
==== Marriage policy ====
After having triumphed against his enemies and subdued the whole kingdom, Ferrante thought of restoring it from the damage of the seven years of war that had upset him. First of all, through political marriages, he tried to keep the kingdom safe and therefore decided to marry his eldest son Alfonso with [[Ippolita Maria Sforza|Ippolita]], daughter of the [[Francesco I Sforza|Duke of Milan]], the eldest daughter [[Eleanor of Naples, Duchess of Ferrara|Eleanor]] with the [[Duchy of Ferrara|Duke of Ferrara]] [[Ercole I d'Este, Duke of Ferrara|Ercole d'Este]], and the younger [[Beatrice of Naples|Beatrice]] with King [[Matthias Corvinus|Matthias Corvinus of Hungary]]. All these celebrations were interrupted by mourning for the death of Queen [[Isabella of Clermont|Isabella]], a woman of numerous virtues. She was mourned by everyone, and her body was taken to the [[San Pietro Martire, Naples|church of San Pietro Martire]], where her sepulcher can still be seen today. King Ferrante, after long years of widowhood, in 1477 married his cousin [[Joanna of Aragon, Queen of Naples|Joanna]], daughter of his uncle King John II of Aragon.<ref name="Le vite de Re di Napoli"/><ref>{{harvnb|Biancardi|1737|pp= 339–340}}.</ref>

==== Internal Politics during the Golden Age ====
The end of the [[Conspiracy of the Barons|rebellion of the barons]] was followed by twenty years of internal peace which allowed Ferrante to strengthen the state and increase its wealth. The confiscation of the lands of the rebel barons transformed the balance of power between the crown and the nobility of the kingdom. Ferrante, always distrustful of the barons, pushed his subjects to greater economic vigor with the introduction of new measures that effectively allowed the entire population of the kingdom to enjoy greater freedom in daily life. With a law of 1466, he allowed farmers to freely dispose of their products, releasing them from the obligation of having to sell the food to the local lord at the price he set.

[[File:Lazzarelli-ferranti-fasti-christianae-religionis-detail.jpg|thumb|Miniature from the late 15th century, possibly from the 1480s showing King Ferrante receiving gifts]]
State-owned cities gained increasing importance as it imposed greater controls on baronial power. In the kingdom the Jews, protected by King Ferrante, carried out a notable artisanal and commercial activity. It was an important moment for municipal freedoms. The king himself granted statutes to state-owned cities and ratified those granted by the barons, favoring the growth of an urban aristocracy as a counterweight to the feudal nobility.<ref name="test1" />

Furthermore, in 1466, in order to prevent the abandonment of the lands with its inevitable consequences, harmful to the tax authorities and to the well-being of the [[Kingdom of Naples|country]], he ordered that the privileged classes, used to hoarding them, could not be of any obstacle to the free sale of the fruits of the earth, such as prices set at their discretion. In 1469, while confirming ecclesiastical immunities, he left them only to those who actually dedicated themselves to the practices of worship. He tried to reactivate the industries, especially those of silk and wool; indeed, he himself became an industrialist and merchant, associating himself with the daring enterprises of Francesco Coppola, later Count of [[Sarno]].

Nor is the increase and promotion of the fine arts and cultural life less innovative. In fact, in addition to the erected architectures and the impulse given to the [[University of Naples Federico II|university]], during his reign a true [[Culture of Italy|Italian]] and Latin culture was formed in the kingdom, which counted among its major representatives the Panormita, the [[Jacopo Sannazaro|Sannazaro]], the [[Giovanni Pontano|Pontano]]: literature that reflected life of the country, its tendencies, its needs, especially through the works of Diomede Carafa, of [[Antonio de Ferraris|Galateo]], of Tristano Caracciolo, and, as such, it was destined to survive even in the following centuries.<ref name="treccani1">{{cite web|url=https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/ferdinando-i-d-aragona-re-di-napoli_(Enciclopedia-Italiana)/|title = FERDINANDO I d'Aragona, re di Napoli in "Enciclopedia Italiana"}}</ref>

The death of the Duke of Milan Francesco Sforza in 1466, followed later by that of Gjergj Kastrioti, Lord of Albania, deprived Ferrante of his closest friends.

==== The League of Italian powers ====
Ferrante further strengthened his power with a series of alliances. Around 1463 he promoted a league between the major [[List of historic states of Italy|Italian states]]: Naples, Florence, and Milan. The pacification of the kingdom of Naples had positive effects throughout Italy and the alliance was, as Ernesto Pontieri writes, also beneficial "for the purpose of preserving peace in [[Italy]]".<ref name="www.ilportaledelsud.org">{{Cite web|url=http://www.ilportaledelsud.org/ferrante_1.htm|title=ferdinando I d'aragona|website=www.ilportaledelsud.org}}</ref>

However, the equilibrium achieved with such great effort soon proved to be very precarious. The duchy of Milan [[Galeazzo Maria Sforza|Galeazzo Maria sforza]] in March 1470 allied himself with [[Louis XI|Louis XI of France]], effectively invalidating the league with Florence and Naples. Ferrante, then, exploited the weak point of the [[House of Sforza|Sforza]] power represented by [[Republic of Genoa|Genoa]], fomenting the rebellion of the [[Genoa|capital]], where in 1476 there were riots to the cry of "long live the king of Naples and long live freedom".<ref name="www.ilportaledelsud.org" />

==== The war of the census  ====
On 19 August 1464 Pius II also died, depriving Ferrante of his most faithful ally. The successor, [[Pope Paul II]], recognizing that his predecessor had neglected the collection of the income due to the papacy, began to urge Ferrante to pay all the taxes he owed to the Holy See, which had not been paid for several years. Ferrante, aggravated by the excessive expenses for the last war, had run out of money and therefore not only apologized for not being able to pay them, but asked the Pontiff to subscribe to the payment. A discord was generated from this claim that stopped when the Pope asked for help from Ferrante to lower the power of the sons of the counts of Anguillara, who sent him troops.

Once the undertaking was over, the Pope renewed his request for censuses obtained with greater diligence than before. The King then demanded from the Pope to release the censuses for the expenses he had recently made to help him and also demanded for the future that the prior papal income from his kingdom, eight thousand [[Oncia|oncie]] a year, should be reduced. He claimed that payment was excessive even for the Kingdom encompassing both Naples and Sicily, and that since Sicily was ruled by his uncle, King John of Aragon, Ferrante, and Naples should not pay the entire amount. The Pope on the other hand emphasized the help that Ferrante had received from his predecessor.

Ferrante added another claim: the restitution of Papal lands within the borders of the kingdom, consisting of Terracina in Terra di Lavoro, [[Cittaducale|Cività Ducale]] and [[Leonessa]] in [[Abruzzo]]; and this in force of the agreement made in 1443 by [[Pope Eugene IV]] with his father King [[Alfonso V of Aragon|Alfonso V]]. Ferrante also demanded the restitution of Benevento, which he had granted to his ally Pope Pius, but now demanded its returned. The Pope, seeing how soured the mood of the King was, and not being able to resist him with the army or with other ways, immediately sent to Naples Cardinal [[Bartolomeo Roverella|Roverella]] to try to appease Ferrante, who then angrily ordered Alfonso his son to remove the [[Duchy of Sora]] to the Church. The Cardinal carried out the task so well that from then on there was no more talk of expired censuses, nor of the restitution of those lands. Other disputes arose between them for the defense of the Lords of [[Tolfa]], given that the Pope was pretending that the city was his and laying siege to it, but the army of the King arrived and the army of the Pope, seeing that of Ferrante, fled immediately, leaving the siege. The disputes that the Kings of Naples had with the [[Pope|Roman Pontiffs]] were always bitter and continuous not only in Tolfa, but also in the territory of [[Pozzuoli]] and [[Agnano]] that the Pontiffs claimed belonged to them.<ref name="Le vite de Re di Napoli" /><ref>{{harvnb|Biancardi|1737|p= 341}}.</ref>

The death of Pope Paul on July 26, 1471, and the succession of Pope Sixtus IV, former Cardinal Francesco della Rovere, ended all discords. In 1475, Pope Sixtus in a Bull exempted Ferrante from having pay the census, save for the investiture to send him a well-trimmed white horse every year; thus the use of the [[chinea]] was introduced to [[St. Peter's Basilica|Saint Peter]]. Ferrante, recognizing the virtues of this Pontiff, wanted to pay homage to him by giving the Duchy of Sora (which he had taken from Giovanni Paolo Cantelmo) to Leonardo della Rovere, with whom he then married one of his daughters.<ref name="Le vite de Re di Napoli" /><ref>{{harvnb|Biancardi|1737|p= 342}}.</ref>

==== The Aragonese Court ====
Ferrante, therefore, placed himself in a placid calm, marked the same footsteps of King Alfonso his Father, and did not neglect in these years of happiness and peace the need to reorganize the kingdom and enrich it with new arts and provide it with provided laws and institutes, also making at his court men of letters and illustrious in all sorts of sciences, and above all professors of civil and canonical law. In his reign, in addition to the splendor of the royal house, letters and writers flourished. In these years Naples had a flourishing golden age similar to the one it was in the reign of [[Charles II of Naples|Charles II of Anjou]] for the promotion of [[Renaissance art|art]] and for the many royals who adorned its palace, in fact Ferrante had numerous offspring like Carlo which increased its prestige. The [[House of Trastámara|Royal House of Naples]] in these times did not have to envy any court of the major princes of [[Europe]], because one day in a feast celebrated in Naples more than fifty people of this royal family appeared, so much so that it was believed that they could never to finish.<ref name="Le vite de Re di Napoli"/><ref>{{harvnb|Biancardi|1737|pp= 342–343}}.</ref>

==== Foreign Policy During the Golden Age ====
In 1471 Ferrante made alliances with [[Kingdom of England|England]], with [[Kingdom of Burgundy|Burgundy]] and with the Republic of Venice.

In this moment of peace, the Turkish danger reappeared with the conquest of the Venetian island of [[Euboea|Negroponte]] by Mohammed II. Venice and Naples immediately undertook unitary actions of the fleets in the [[Aegean Sea|Aegean]], slowing down the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] expansionism. France and the Duchy of Milan unsuccessfully tried to thwart the alliance, potentially very dangerous for their [[Mediterranean Sea|Mediterranean]] interests. But it was instead Ferrante's ambition that decreed the end of the alliance, when in 1473 he demanded the possession of the island of [[Cyprus]], protectorate of the Serenissima, proposing in complete secrecy to marry his son Alfonso with a daughter of King [[James II of Cyprus|James]]. All this took place with the complicity of [[Pope Sixtus IV]], who did not look favorably on Venetian expansionism in the Aegean.<ref name="www.ilportaledelsud.org" />

In the rapid game of alliances and account-alliances that characterized the era, on 2 November 1474 an alliance pact was signed between the Duke of Milan, [[Galeazzo Maria Sforza]], Florence, and Venice. Ferrante responded by contrasting the coalition with the State of the Church, stipulated in January 1475. On the occasion of the [[Jubilee in the Catholic Church|Jubilee]] of that year, Ferrante went to Rome together with some barons of the Kingdom, and the trip constituted an opportunity to further strengthen, through the alliance, the links between the Papal State and the Neapolitan kingdom. Thus two antithetical blocs were created, which again threatened peace in Italy. Ferrante, with his diplomacy made up of moves and countermoves, also forged ties with the Duke of Ferrara and the King of Hungary, who, as mentioned, had married two of his daughters.

King [[Louis XI]], meanwhile, in 1475 had taken possession of [[Duchy of Anjou|Anjou]], thus securing the Angevin rights to the throne of Naples. Later he proposed the marriage of his niece [[Anne of Savoy]] with [[Frederick of Naples|Frederick]], son of Ferrante, but the proposal was accepted only in 1478. In 1476 Galeazzo Maria Sforza died, and Ferrante wanted to take advantage of the occasion by trying, with the support of Pope Sisto IV, to take possession of the Duchy of Milan. Ferrante stirred up the Genoese and the [[Switzerland|Swiss]] against [[Duchy of Milan|Milan]] to make the [[Bona of Savoy|duchess regent]] were to defend itself on two sides. Genoa and [[Savona]] rebelled and the Swiss entered [[Lombardy]] in November 1478, but Milan knew how to defend itself. Ferrante's plan also failed because he did not obtain the support of the Emperor [[Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederick III of Habsburg]], who was reluctant to meddle in the unstable arena of Italian politics. This furthermore led to the failure of the planned marriage between [[Frederick of Naples|Frederick]], son of Ferrante, and [[Kunigunde of Austria|Kunigunde of Habsburg]], daughter of the emperor. Sixtus IV himself understood that Ferrante's ambitious plans would end up bringing him into conflict with the other Italian states.<ref name="www.ilportaledelsud.org" />

In any case, the Republic of Genoa, thanks to subsidies and the rebellion aroused by Ferrante, escaped the dominion of Sforza, becoming independent and with [[Prospero Adorno]] appointed doge of the republic. However, after internal discord between [[Adorno family|Adorni]] and [[Fregoso|Fregosi]] revived by the regency of Milan, [[Battista Fregoso (1450-1505)|Battista Fregoso]] was elected doge, and Adorno was forced to embark in a galley of King Ferrante who was returning to Naples.<ref name="Vincenzo Buonsignori-1856">{{cite book|title=Storia della repubblica di Siena esposta in compendio:Volume 2|author=Vincenzo Buonsignori|year=1856|editor=G. Landi|location=Siena}}</ref>

Don Ferrante then completely overturned his policy, starting to secretly support the rebels of the Papal States, such as [[Niccolò Vitelli]] who fought the pontiff for the possession of [[Città di Castello]]. He made arrangements with [[Mehmed the Conqueror|Mohammed II]], who was happy to find an ally against Venice. He entered into trade treaties with [[Syria]], [[Mamluk Sultanate|Egypt]] and [[Hafsid dynasty|Tunisia]], which gave a beneficial impetus to the kingdom's [[trade]] and maritime traffic.<ref name="www.ilportaledelsud.org" />

==== Don Ferrante and the printing press ====
In 1470 Ferrante was one of the first to introduce into Italy the [[Movable type|printing press]],<ref name="Le vite de Re di Napoli"/> recruiting with high salaries Arnold of Brussels, [[Sixtus Riessinger]] and Iodoco Havenstein. Among the books printed in Naples, were the [[Latin literature|Latin classics]]; Commentaries on the first books of the Code of the famous Antonio d'Alessandro; those on medicine by Angelo Catone da Supino; lectures on [[Philosophy]]; the work by Aniello Arcamone on the Constitutions of the kingdom; and poetry from both of fishermen and of heroes of Italy.<ref name="Nicolò Morelli-1849" /> Among the other Neapolitan books that were printed was also the [[Arcadia (poem)|Arcadia]] of the famous Sannazaro printed by [[Pietro Summonte]], his dear friend.<ref name="Le vite de Re di Napoli"/><ref>{{harvnb|Biancardi|1737|pp= 343–344}}.</ref> When Riessinger returned to Rome in 1478, [[Francesco Del Tuppo]] took over as director of the printing house and was the most prolific of the printer in 15th-century Naples.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=hg5BAQAAMAAJ Dizionario biografico universale], Volume 5, by Felice Scifoni, Publisher Davide Passagli, Florence (1849); page 440.</ref>

==== The meeting between Don Ferrante and Saint Francesco of Paola ====
[[File:Incontro tra Ferrante e Francecso da Paola.jpg|thumb|Blood from the broken coin, second half of the 18th century, picture gallery of the Sanctuary of San Francesco of [[Paola, Calabria|Paola]]]]
Ferrante, at the insistence of the King of France Louis XI and driven by the fame of his integrity, had the monk [[Francis of Paola|Francis]], famous for his holiness, come from Paola. The pious religious left his Calabria and was in Naples in 1481. Welcomed at [[Porta Nolana, Naples|Porta Nolana]], he was received with great honor and courtesy by the King, who had him lodged in the Royal Palace of Castel Nuovo, in a small room that still exists. During this stay the king begged him, before going to France, to found a convent in Naples, making him choose the place to found it. The Saint chose a solitary and rocky place overlooking the sea, asylum for criminals, on the northern slopes of Mount Echia.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.altaterradilavoro.com/francesco-di-paola-il-santo-delle-due-sicilie/|title = San Francesco di Paola il Santo delle Due Sicilie – Alta Terra di Lavoro}}</ref>

Warned not to be deceived in the election of the site, Francis prophesied that this place would be the most important and populated center not only in Naples, but in the whole Kingdom. The Convent was built with next to it, a church dedicated to San Luigi, called the church of San Luigi di Palazzo, for a chapel that existed at the time and dedicated to this saint. During the factory, many alms and a conspicuous donation from the King were received.<ref name="sanfrancescodapaola1">{{cite web|url=http://www.sanfrancescodapaola.com/indexfra2.html|title = San Francesco di Paola}}</ref> The saint insistently requested and also obtained that the body of [[Januarius|Saint Januarius]] be transferred to Naples, at which ceremony with great pomp celebrated by Cardinal [[Oliviero Carafa]], he too wanted to attend.<ref name="Nicolò Morelli-1849" />

Although the Kingdom of Naples was ruled by Ferrante, locally the effective power was the prerogative of the noble families, according to what was the feudal system. These barons oppressed the population, which occupied the lowest social level, so Ferrante tried to hinder their power. Francis also fulfilled in this historical context the mission of spreading the [[Christianity|Christian life]].

Wanting to prove his integrity - as it is said - Ferrante brought the saint to the parts of the current [[Piazza del Plebiscito]] and tempted him with a tray full of gold coins offered for the construction of a convent of the [[Minims (religious order)|Minims]] in Naples, in the open space that today it is occupied by the colonnade of the [[San Francesco di Paola, Naples|Church of San Francesco di Paola]]. St. Francis refused, took a coin, broke it, and let out blood. The blood that came out of the coins was that of the subjects, of the people who suffered the powerful. Faced with a huge supply of money and a proposal of ultimate prosperity and wealth, anyone would be able to be seduced; so, it was not for the Saint.

When the latter then left for France at the invitation of King Louis XI, the [[Pope Sixtus IV|Pope]] and the King of Naples took the opportunity to strengthen the fragile relations with France, foreseeing, in perspective, the possibility of reaching an agreement to abolish the [[Pragmatic Sanction of Bourges]].<ref name="sanfrancescodapaola1"/>