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Copyright © 1997 - 2003 by Louis S. Alfano
All rights reserved.
The arms above are shown to illustrate that arms were the property of a
person rather than of a government.
During the reign of the Habsburg kings, the same person was King of Spain, King of
Naples, and King of Sicily. He thus wore three crowns, one for each country, but bore
but one coat-of-arms, that of the Head of the House of Habsburg. The Head of the House of
Habsburg is also the Grand Master of the Most Illustrious Order of the
Golden Fleece, so the collar of that Order adorns the Habsburg arms.
Ultimately, the crown of Naples came to be associated with the unified Kingdom of the Two
Sicilies, thus, under the House of Bourbon (or Borbon, or Borbone), the Bourbon arms
surmounted by the crown of Naples was the arms of the King of the Two Sicilies. The Head of
the House of Bourbon is also the Grand Master of the Constantinian Order of Saint
George, so the collar of that Order adorns the Bourbon arms.
This is a map of the Kingdom of Naples, circa
1640.
It shows the approximate boundaries of the then existing provinces of the Kingdom.
Abruzzo Citra (AC) occupies about the same location as the
present province of Chieti, in the Abruzzo Region.
Abruzzo Ultra (AU) occupies about the same location as the present
provinces of L'Aquila, Pescara and Teramo, in the Abruzzo Region.
Terra di Bari (BR) occupies about the same location as the present province of Bari in the Puglia Region.
Basilicata (BS) occupies about the same location as the present
provinces of Matera and Potenza, which constitute the current Basilicata Region.
Calabria Citra (CC) occupies about the same location as the present
province of Cosenza in the Calabria Region.
Calabria Ultra (CU) occupies about the same location as the present
provinces of Catanzaro, Crotone, Reggio Calabria and Vibo Valentia in the Calabria Region.
Capitanata (CP) occupies most of the present province of Foggia in the Puglia Region.
Terra di Lavoro (L) occupies about the same location as the
present provinces of Caserta and Napoli in the Campania Region and the present provinces of
Frosinone and Latina in the Lazio Region.
Contado di Molise (M) occupies about the same location as part of
the present province of Campobasso and all of the present province of Isernia in the Molise
Region.
Terra di Otranto (O) occupies about the same location as the
present provinces of Brindisi, Lecce and Taranto in the Puglia Region.
Principato Citra (PC) occupies about the same location as the
present province of Salerno in the Campania Region.
Principato Ultra (PU) occupies about the same location as the
present provinces of Avellino and Benevento in the Campania Region.
