(Naples 1799–1874)
The arrival of Pope Pius IX. in Naples, signed, dated Svt Fergola pinx.1850., with a seal of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies on the reverse, oil on canvas, 101 x 127 cm, framed, (GG)

Provenance:
Private Collection Italy.

We are grateful to Prof. Fernando Mazzocca for confirming the authenticity on basis of a photograph.

The present lot, painted in 1850, depicts Pope Pius IX’s visit to Naples on his return to Rome. A rebellion by Italian nationalists and the murder of the Prime Minister in 1848 forced him into exile, which led to the creation of modern Italy. Once the Roman Republic had been proclaimed on 9 February 1849, he moved to Portici. He waited several months until the French had re-conquered Rome, returning to the city on 12 April 1850. However, he did not have the Papal States to rule over and was confined to the Vatican. Pius became Pope in 1846, at a time of revolutionary fervour in Europe. He was the last Pope to rule over the Papal States, which covered much of modern-day Italy.

The present lot shows Pope Pius IX blessing the crowd, gathered on Piazza del Plebiscito, from the balcony of the Royal Palace of Naples. This event occurred in September 1849 when the Pope arrived in Naples from Portici.

Salvatore Fergola was often asked to commemorate government endeavours such as the inauguration of the first railway in Italy, the Naples-Portici line (National Museum of San Martino, Naples), or events such as the present lot.

A similar subject was also painted by Pasquale Mattej (1813-1879). The painting is Catalogued and illustrated in:
I colori di Napoli, Nuove acquisizioni di paesaggi per la Quadreria delle Provincia and Civiltà dell’Ottocento, p. 492, no. 17.85. There is also a mixed-technique piece on card by Achille Vespa, held in the Royal Palace of Caserta, which depicts the same subject.