In January 1642, Louis of Portugal, nephew of Antonio, pretender to the Lusitanian throne in 1580, fled Naples, where he was in the service of the Spanish monarchy, arrived in Rome and professed his loyalty to John IV of Braganza, who had just a few months before been acclaimed as the new ruler of the Portuguese kingdom. A few days later, his wife, the Neapolitan Anna Maria Capece Galeota, joined her husband in Rome with their children, causing a stir by her daring choice to abandon her family and her homeland to follow her husband. Chronicles of the city of Naples, genealogical histories, contemporary and later memoirs mention this episode, but omit the complex and controversial affair of the marriage between Anna Maria and Luigi, celebrated at night, secretly, in 1631 and vainly opposed by her father, Giovanni Battista, the viceregal authorities and the King of Spain, Philip IV. The episode, almost unknown, emerges from the documentation of the Council of Italy and the Council of State in Madrid, called upon to express an opinion on the matter on several occasions in the 1630s. The paper focuses on the contrasts that arose within the Capece Galeota family, made explicit in the words of two memos sent to the sovereign by Giovanni Battista, who was harsh towards his daughter Anna Maria and his son Pier Giovanni, one of the architects, apparently against his will, of his sister’s marriage.
Nel gennaio del 1642, Luigi del Portogallo, nipote di Antonio, pretendente al trono lusitano nel 1580, fuggì da Napoli, dove si trovava al servizio della monarchia spagnola, arrivò a Roma e professò la sua lealtà a Giovanni IV di Braganza, da pochi mesi acclamato nuovo sovrano del regno portoghese. Alcuni giorni dopo, sua moglie, la dama napoletana Anna Maria Capece Galeota, raggiunse il marito a Roma insieme ai figli, destando scalpore per la scelta audace di abbandonare la famiglia e la propria patria per seguire il marito. Cronache della città di Napoli, storie genealogiche, memorie coeve e successive menzionano questo episodio, ma omettono la complessa e controversa vicenda del matrimonio, celebrato nottetempo, in segreto, nel 1631, tra Anna Maria e Luigi, e invano contrastato dal padre di lei, Giovanni Battista, dall’autorità vicereale e dal re di Spagna, Filippo IV. L’episodio, pressoché sconosciuto, emerge dalla documentazione del Consiglio d’Italia e del Consiglio di Stato a Madrid, chiamati a esprimersi in merito in diverse occasioni negli anni Trenta del Seicento. L’intervento si focalizza, in particolare, sui contrasti nati in seno alla famiglia Capece Galeota, resi espliciti nelle parole di due memoriali inviati al sovrano da Giovanni Battista, duro nei confronti della figlia Anna Maria e del figlio maggiore, Pier Giovanni, uno degli artefici, apparentemente contro la sua volontà, delle nozze della sorella.
«Questo desubidiente per me è peggio che morto». L'affaire Capece nella Napoli di inizio Seicento
Davide Balestra
2024-01-01
Abstract
In January 1642, Louis of Portugal, nephew of Antonio, pretender to the Lusitanian throne in 1580, fled Naples, where he was in the service of the Spanish monarchy, arrived in Rome and professed his loyalty to John IV of Braganza, who had just a few months before been acclaimed as the new ruler of the Portuguese kingdom. A few days later, his wife, the Neapolitan Anna Maria Capece Galeota, joined her husband in Rome with their children, causing a stir by her daring choice to abandon her family and her homeland to follow her husband. Chronicles of the city of Naples, genealogical histories, contemporary and later memoirs mention this episode, but omit the complex and controversial affair of the marriage between Anna Maria and Luigi, celebrated at night, secretly, in 1631 and vainly opposed by her father, Giovanni Battista, the viceregal authorities and the King of Spain, Philip IV. The episode, almost unknown, emerges from the documentation of the Council of Italy and the Council of State in Madrid, called upon to express an opinion on the matter on several occasions in the 1630s. The paper focuses on the contrasts that arose within the Capece Galeota family, made explicit in the words of two memos sent to the sovereign by Giovanni Battista, who was harsh towards his daughter Anna Maria and his son Pier Giovanni, one of the architects, apparently against his will, of his sister’s marriage.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
