Southern Italy is defined here as the southern section of the Italian Peninsula (below the Papal States) and the relatively large islands of Sicily and Sardinia. Sardinia’s political history is fairly simple during this period as it was ruled by Aragon and then by Spain. The chief governing body was the Sardinian Cortes, with a viceroy assigned to the island in 1487. With the Cortes convening only at 10-year intervals, the government was administered by feudal lords. Between 1432 and 1600 Sicily, as was Sardinia, was nominally ruled by Aragon and then Spain. The Sicilian viceregal government was installed early, in 1432, because the island was seen as an important stepping stone to the kingdom of Naples. Alfonso V of Aragon (Alfonso I, king of Naples, 1396-1458) jointly ruled both Sicily and Naples between 1443 and 1458, but the Angevin dynasty (from Anjou in France) claimed Sicily when he died in 1458, and the island was in dispute for much of the 16 th century. Naples itself had been ruled by the Angevins from 1266 until 1442, often in conflict with the powerful Neapolitan barons and other members of the nobility. The French ruled Naples briefly between 1495
Handbook to Life in Renaissance Europe
1.2 Portrait of Alfonso V. Neapolitan School, 15th century. (Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria/ Bridgeman Art Library)
And 1502, when the kingdom fell under Spanish administration that lasted until 1707.
World History
