Lou Mendola's guest appearances

Lou Mendola

The Italian American Podcast

Christopher Columbus

Lidia Bastianich

Mike Vecchione

Carole Radziwill

Adriana Trigiani

Lisa Scottoline

Pat Harrison

Joe Russo

Andrea Doria

Tony Reali

Mike Piazza

Christopher Castellani

Dan Yaccarino

Kathy McCabe

Dianne Hales

OwlTail

Francesco II

On December 11, 2020, Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe, the outgoing Archbishop of Naples, Italy, announced that he was opening a case on the beatification of King Francesco II of the Two Sicilies.  If approved, the Vatican will begin an investigation into the “heroic virtues” of the King, which is the first step towards canonization;  His Majesty will then be proclaimed a Servant of God and join his mother, Blessed Maria Cristina of Savoy (1812-1836), on the path to sainthood. The last monarch of an ancient kingdom, which was for 730 years the independent nation of Southern Italy and the Island of Sicily, Francesco II is not well-known to most people, outside of a small circle. Coming to his throne at just 23 years of age, and almost immediately faced with the invasion of his nation by Giuseppe Garibaldi and his famed “Thousand," the man who Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa described as “a seminarian dressed up as a general” is now being discovered for the first time by many historians and many Southern Italians. Now, through this episode, the 87 percent of the Italian American community with roots in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies will get the chance to learn his story. In order to get a more complete picture of this fascinating monarch, we’re sitting down with historian and friend Lou Mendola, author of the recent book “The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies 1734-1861," who shares his encyclopedic knowledge about a man who sacrificed a throne for the safety of his people, who left behind his personal wealth for the benefit of his subjects, and whose often-overlooked life reads like the story of a true saint. We’ll dig into the processes of beatification and canonization, the differences between the two, and why the man known as "Re Franceschiello" is worthy of the title, one he probably would have held in much higher regard than even that of king. It’s a story you’ll have to hear to believe, and one that might make you look at Italian and Italian American history with a whole new appreciation for the last King of the Two Sicilies. For more on the Cause of Beatification of Good King Francesco II, visit the Fondazione Francesco II Delle Due Sicilie at www.fondazionefrancescosecondodelleduesicilie.it This episode is sponsored by Mediaset Italia.--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/italianamerican/support

On December 11, 2020, Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe, the outgoing Archbishop of Naples, Italy, announced that he was opening a case on the beatification of King Francesco II of the Two Sicilies.  If approved, the Vatican will begin an investigation into the “heroic virtues” of the King, which is the first step towards canonization;  His Majesty will then be proclaimed a Servant of God and join his mother, Blessed Maria Cristina of Savoy (1812-1836), on the path to sainthood. The last monarch of an ancient kingdom, which was for 730 years the independent nation of Southern Italy and the Island of Sicily, Francesco II is not well-known to most people, outside of a small circle. Coming to his throne at just 23 years of age, and almost immediately faced with the invasion of his nation by Giuseppe Garibaldi and his famed “Thousand," the man who Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa described as “a seminarian dressed up as a general” is now being discovered for the first time by many historians and many Southern Italians. Now, through this episode, the 87 percent of the Italian American community with roots in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies will get the chance to learn his story. In order to get a more complete picture of this fascinating monarch, we’re sitting down with historian and friend Lou Mendola, author of the recent book “The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies 1734-1861," who shares his encyclopedic knowledge about a man who sacrificed a throne for the safety of his people, who left behind his personal wealth for the benefit of his subjects, and whose often-overlooked life reads like the story of a true saint. We’ll dig into the processes of beatification and canonization, the differences between the two, and why the man known as "Re Franceschiello" is worthy of the title, one he probably would have held in much higher regard than even that of king. It’s a story you’ll have to hear to believe, and one that might make you look at Italian and Italian American history with a whole new appreciation for the last King of the Two Sicilies. For more on the Cause of Beatification of Good King Francesco II, visit the Fondazione Francesco II Delle Due Sicilie at <a href="http://www.fondazionefrancescosecondodelleduesicilie.it/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">www.fondazionefrancescosecondodelleduesicilie.it</a> This episode is sponsored by <a href="https://www.att.com/directv/international/italian/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Mediaset Italia</a>.--- Support this podcast: <a href="https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/italianamerican/support" rel="payment nofollow" target="_blank">https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/italianamerican/support</a>

IAP 171: The King Who Would Be a Saint: Francesco II, King of the Two Sicilies, with Special Guest Lou Mendola

Almost 900 years ago, there existed a land where peoples of all cultures, creeds and colors lent their talents to the building of a nation at the forefront of science, art and civic life.  It was a kingdom in the sun… an island at the center of the world.  That nation was the Norman Kingdom of Sicily, and in this week’s episode, renowned historian and medievalist Lou Mendola joins us from Sicily’s ancient capital of Palermo to explore what we today can learn from the island’s unique multi-cultural legacy. A native of Rochester, New York, and resident of Palermo for many decades, Lou is one of the world’s foremost Sicilian medievalists and one of only a handful of scholars whose works on the history of Southern Italy and Sicily have been published in English. His books have broken new ground not only as resources for scholars but also as benchmarks in outlining a Sicilian identity rooted in the Middle Ages. Over the last three decades, Lou has been consulted by the Almanach de Gotha, the History Channel, The New York Times, the BBC, the Vatican's Prefecture of the Pontifical Household, the Sovereign Military Order of Malta and the heads of several European royal dynasties. Lou joins Pat and John to explore how Norman Sicily was truly the “New York City” of its time as a melting pot of several distinct cultures and religions who all remarkably learned to live together and influence each other to create a distinct Sicilian culture. They’ll also discuss how Sicilian and Southern Italian history in general were influenced by the various peoples, polities and empires who passed through their territorial borders, and how Sicily served as an peacemaker and prototype in an era of ethnic and religious conflict. We’ll discuss the Kingdom’s rise and fall in stature from the 1300s through the Risorgimento, when the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies was united into the Kingdom of Italy, and the thousand-year-old nation ceased to exist. And most relevantly, we’ll examine about how studying Sicily’s multi-cultural heritage might just offer insights on how a variety of cultures can co-exist in a shared and productive society, and how the Arab influence on Sicily served in the development of what we know as Sicilian language, cuisine and culture. Finally, we’ll get a sneak peek at Lou’s forthcoming book, The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, which is set to be the first English-language study of the kingdom since the 1960s, and promises to give readers a plethora of little-known facts that even touch on Italian American culture! Now, more than ever, the best of our history deserves examination, so join us as we venture back in time to explore Sicily and her multi-cultural legacy! For more about Lou Mendola or to order his books, visit www.mendola.com or www.bestofsicily.com.--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/italianamerican/support

Almost 900 years ago, there existed a land where peoples of all cultures, creeds and colors lent their talents to the building of a nation at the forefront of science, art and civic life.  It was a kingdom in the sun… an island at the center of the world.  That nation was the Norman Kingdom of Sicily, and in this week’s episode, renowned historian and medievalist Lou Mendola joins us from Sicily’s ancient capital of Palermo to explore what we today can learn from the island’s unique multi-cultural legacy. A native of Rochester, New York, and resident of Palermo for many decades, Lou is one of the world’s foremost Sicilian medievalists and one of only a handful of scholars whose works on the history of Southern Italy and Sicily have been published in English. His books have broken new ground not only as resources for scholars but also as benchmarks in outlining a Sicilian identity rooted in the Middle Ages. Over the last three decades, Lou has been consulted by the Almanach de Gotha, the History Channel, The New York Times, the BBC, the Vatican's Prefecture of the Pontifical Household, the Sovereign Military Order of Malta and the heads of several European royal dynasties. Lou joins Pat and John to explore how Norman Sicily was truly the “New York City” of its time as a melting pot of several distinct cultures and religions who all remarkably learned to live together and influence each other to create a distinct Sicilian culture. They’ll also discuss how Sicilian and Southern Italian history in general were influenced by the various peoples, polities and empires who passed through their territorial borders, and how Sicily served as an peacemaker and prototype in an era of ethnic and religious conflict. We’ll discuss the Kingdom’s rise and fall in stature from the 1300s through the Risorgimento, when the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies was united into the Kingdom of Italy, and the thousand-year-old nation ceased to exist. And most relevantly, we’ll examine about how studying Sicily’s multi-cultural heritage might just offer insights on how a variety of cultures can co-exist in a shared and productive society, and how the Arab influence on Sicily served in the development of what we know as Sicilian language, cuisine and culture. Finally, we’ll get a sneak peek at Lou’s forthcoming book, The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, which is set to be the first English-language study of the kingdom since the 1960s, and promises to give readers a plethora of little-known facts that even touch on Italian American culture! Now, more than ever, the best of our history deserves examination, so join us as we venture back in time to explore Sicily and her multi-cultural legacy! For more about Lou Mendola or to order his books, visit <a href="http://www.mendola.com/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">www.mendola.com</a> or <a href="http://www.bestofsicily.com/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">www.bestofsicily.com.</a>--- Support this podcast: <a href="https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/italianamerican/support" rel="payment nofollow" target="_blank">https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/italianamerican/support</a>

IAP 147: Sicily: A Multi-Cultural Legacy with Special Guest Lou Mendola