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| Ferdinando
IV di Borbone |
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When he was born, on January 12, 1751, the third
son of Charles III and Maria Amelia of Saxony, he was already considered
the most likely heir to the throne. As a matter of fact, his father,
Charles, was likely to become king of Spain, since his eldest brother
Louis had died when he was only 17, in 1724, and his other brother,
Ferdinand VI, who succeeded Philip V in 1746, had a delicate health
and had not had children yet. When, in 1769, Ferdinand VI died and
Charles became King of Spain, Naples was left with an 8-year-old king,
left by his parents and put under the care of a Counsel of Regency,
supposed to take care of the king, of his education and of government.
The major exponents of this Counsel were: Domenico Cattaneo, prince
of St. Nicandro, and the marquis Bernardo Tanucci.
In 1769, once he turned 18, Ferdinand IV married Maria Carolina of
Asburgo, daughter of Teresa of Austria and sister of Mary Antoinette
of France (the one who will be guillotined). The public opinion and
historiography later, have treated this monarch as a slacker, a reformer,
a reactionary, a bloodthirsty individual. It is true that the King
preferred to dedicate himself to lovers and court happenings, rather
than reigning. Three nicknames were used to describe him: Slacker
King, for his indolence, Boar King, for his bad manners, and Big Nose
King, for the dimension of his profile.
The young Queen took the reins of policy and influenced her
husbands’ decisions.
On the other side, both sovereigns are
lov ers of
culture and, during their long
reign, all forms of arts were promoted:
many artists from Europe were invited by the
Queen at court at the Royal Palace of Caserta.
The fields Ferdinand IV dearly loved were essentially three: public
works, the relationship with the Church,
and the interesting project of San Leucio Colony, an innovative idea
for both the manufacture development and for the
innovative social legislation within the community.
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Virtual tour in San Leucio |
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