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Kingdoms of Naples and Sicily
In 1516, Charles V inherited Naples and Sicily from his grandfather Fernando de Aragón. Charles installed viceroys and visited his possessions in southern Italy only once, in 1535, when he returned triumphantly from defeating the pirate Khayr Ad-Din Barbarossa in Tunis. In August 1535, he landed at Trapani at the western end of Sicily. He came to get to know his country and to be celebrated as Caesar since the people had suffered from the pillaging. Charles travelled via Monreale, Palermo, Taormina, Messina to Naples, where he spent Christmas. In the spring of 1536 he proceeded to Rome, where he delivered his famous Easter address to cardinals, diplomats and Pope Paul III.



Carlino, n. d., Naples.     Ø 23mm, 3,1g.  
Obv.:   CAROLVS IIIII ROManorum IMPerator   "Charles V, Roman Emperor"
laureated head, to the left monogram IBR (Juan Bautista Rabaschiero)
Rev.:   REX ARAGOn VTRIVSque SICiliae   "King of Aragon and both Sicilies"
Order of the Golden Fleece
Why "both" Sicilies?
The Byzantines already talked of the two Sicilies on either side of the strait, Sicily the island and Sicily on the mainland. The Normans unified lower Italy and established the Kingdom of Sicily in 1130 as papal tenure. The Hohenstaufen inherited it in 1195. Later the Pope called Charles I of Anjou who defeated the remaining Hohenstaufen in 1266. In 1282, an uprising against Charles I made him leave Sicily the island, where the House of Aragón took over. The House of Anjou kept Sicily on the mainland, which became the Kingdom of Naples in 1302. However, in 1442 it was lost again to the House of Aragón which now ruled "both" Siciles as two separate kingdoms.



Ducato, n. d., Naples.     3,50g.   Pannuti-Riccio 4 ; Friedberg 833a
CAROLVS.RO - MANOR.REX.   //   R.ARAGO.VTRIVSQ.SI.ET.
"Charles, Roman King"   //   "King of Aragón and both Sicilies"
Rev.:   arms of Castile & León, Aragón (vertical stripes), Naples and Sicily (two diagonals separate two eagles from vertical stripes). At the bottom the pomegranate for Granada. At the top right the cross of Jerusalem and horizontal stripes for Hungary. (Jerusalem and Hungary were not ruled by Charles V but by Sultan Süleyman and Charles's brother Ferdinand respectivly.)
On top of the shield: the crowned imperial double eagle with the Austrian band shield.



Testone, n. d., Naples.     Ø 27mm   CNI XIX, p.333, no.414 var
with five crowns distributed over the coin
CAROLVS:IIIII:RO:IM     //     Rex:HISPAN:VT - RIVS:SICILA
Rev.:   crowned arms between the wings and the tail of a threefold crowned double eagle.
Top left: Castile and León. Top right: Aragón, Navarra (5 circles) and Naples & Sicily. The sixth dot in Navarra's coat is a 'central dot' and does not belong to the coat.  Bottom left: Austria (band), New-Burgundy (fleur-de-lis), Old-Burgundy (inclined stripes) and Brabant (lion). Bottom right: Jerusalem (cross) und Old-Hungary (horizontal stripes). At the bottom point of the shield: a pomegranate for Granada, better to be seen on the next coin.



Mezzo ducato d'argento, n. d., Naples.     Ø 33mm, 14,8g.   CNI XIX, 328, 373 var
Obv.:   CAROLVS·V·ROMANO·IMP   laureated bust and monogram IBR
Rev.:   ··R·ARAGO·VTRIVS·SI··   crowned double eagle holds crowned shield

How did Charles V come by the coats of arms of Jerusalem and Hungary?
The kingdom of Jerusalem existed from 1100 to 1192. Emperor Frederic II of Hohenstaufen reconquered it and called himself King of Jerusalem for a short period until it eventually fell to the Arabs. Charles I of Anjou had expelled the Hohenstaufen from the island of Sicily in 1265/6. In the succession to their claims, Charles I bought the title "king of Jerusalem" in 1277. The House of Anjou later contributed a number of elected kings of Hungary. When Anjou was expelled from Sicily in 1282 they still kept the coats of arms of Jerusalem and Hungary until they were also expelled from Naples in 1442. The House of Aragón succeeded them and took over these coats of arms. King Ferdinand of Aragón (the Catholic) left Naples and Sicily together with the associated coats of arms to his grandson Emperor Charles V.



Doppia, n. d., Naples. (double scudo)     Ø 27mm, 6,71g.   Pannuti-Riccio 5a ; Friedberg 831
CAROLVS·V·ROM·IMPE·   //   MAGNA·OPERA·DOMNI·   "Marvellous are the works of the Lord"
Rev.:   a woman (Peace?) walking left, holding a cornucopiae and setting alight a book and a pile of arms
The reverse of the coin remembers a series of revolts in Naples and their happy conclusion:
Viceroy Don Pedro Alvarez de Toledo governed the country since 1532 with a competent though stern hand. He did away with feudal structures, modernized the city and brought her fortifications up to date. However, this had resulted in heavy taxation. When he intended to introduce the Spanish Inquisition in 1547, the gentry revolted because the Inquisition was regularly accompanied by expropriations. The revolt was quelled by force, yet protests continued. In the end, Naples sent a delegation with a donation(*) to the emperor and in the Edict of 23 October 1547 Charles V pledged to never allow The Office of the Holy Inquisition to be introduced, thus confirming the promise given by King Ferdinand the Catholic (1504-1516) when Naples fell under Spanish rule in 1504.
On Charles V's visit to Naples in 1535/6, the gentry urged him in vain to dismiss Don Pedro - the emperor valued the viceroy's competence. Under his reign, Naples became the second largest city in Europe and obtained fortifications that could stand up to Turkish assaults. Yet Naples was greatly relieved, when the emperor finally sent Don Pedro to Siena in 1552.

(*)   Pannuti-Riccio mentions a "donation" of 100.000 ducats, other sources mention a higher sum. The same amount is also said to have been payed to Ferdinand the Catholic for the same purpose.



Mezzo trionfo d’oro, n. d., Messina.     Ø 18mm, 1,72g.   Spahr p.119, no.4
Charles's youthful bust
+ ◦CAROLVS ◦ IMPE •   //   • REX : SICILIE •



2 Tari, 1555, Messina.     Ø 26mm, 5,74g.   Spahr p.142, no.252
Charles's bust with beard
Obv.:   +•CAROLVS•IMPERATOR•     crowned bust
The 'central dot' under the ear is obviously not part of the picture.
Rev.:   +REX+SICILIAE+1555+     crowned Sicilian eagle   C M
This eagle resembles the eagle which Emperor Frederic II of Hohenstaufen used on his famous Augustale.


Lit.:
M. Pannuti - V. Riccio,   Le Monete di Napoli - dalla caduta dell'impero Romano alla chiusura della zecca. Lugano 1984.
R. Spahr,   Le Monete Siciliane dagli Aragonesi ai Borboni (1282-1836), Basel-Graz 1982.



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