El regreso de los Borbones. Reelaboraciones mitográficas y perspectivas políticas en el Mezzogiorno italiano

In Southern Italy, nostalgia for the ancient kingdom of the Two Sicilies is a major phenomenon. This article explores various elements of the history of this neo-Bourbon universe. It demonstrates how this construction was dependent on an imagined narrative of a «lost cause», which consisted, in turn, of a late twentieth century re-elabora-tion or mixture of the three axes argument. This consisted of the following characteristics: (1) The Two Sicilies discourse was produced in the war for unification and subsequently conveyed by historical novels and televised fiction. (2) The War of Bourbon Brigandage became interpreted as a possible ante-litteram class struggle. (3) The genocide and victim paradigms became applied to the history of nineteenth century Southern Italy.