Money in Sicily and Southern Italy

The history of money in Renaissance Sicily and Southern Italy unfolded between two different but interconnected monetary areas: the Kingdom of Naples, which included what is now southern Italy with the exclusion of the island of Sicily, and the Kingdom of Sicily. In contrast, Sardinia played a relatively minor role. After centuries of uninterrupted production, between the early fourteenth and the mid-fifteenth centuries both kingdoms virtually abandoned the minting of gold coins. Under the Angevin crown, Naples mainly issued the popular silver carlini, also known as gigliati or later robertini, and billon denari gherardini. In the Kingdom of Sicily, the Aragonese rulers adopted a new and stable silver grosso named pierreale and billon denari. Owing to a severe silver shortage, the production of full silver coins declined in both kingdoms in the late fourteenth century, and fractions such as Neapolitan quarter-carlini or celle and Sicilian half- and quarter-pierreali became the dominant denominations. In 1442, Sicily, Sardinia, and Southern Italy came under the rule of Alfonso the Magnanimous (1416–58), although the unification did not survive his reign. Alfonso resumed gold coinage in the form of alfonsini or ducatoni in Naples, along with heavier silver coins such as carlini and the new reali. It was his brother John (II) of Aragon (1458–79) who succeeded him in Sicily and issued gold reali at Messina, marking the rebirth of gold coinage in the island. After years of “irregular” coinages issued in provincial mints by the supporters of John of Anjou (Duke of Calabria), King Ferdinand I, also known as Ferrante (1458–94), introduced both the first realistic portraiture on Renaissance coinage and a copper coin called cavallo [“horse”], thus equaling V enice in one of the most important innovations in the transition to modern coinage. During the Italian Wars, Aragonese and French kings alternated in ruling Naples and its kingdom, each with their own coins. In 1504, Ferdinand the Catholic re-united Sicily, Southern Italy, and Sardinia under his rule, but kept their coinages separate. Royal portraits, including that of his wife Isabella of Castile, became popular on Neapolitan and Sicilian specimens. These were also a hallmark of the Habsburg coinages of Charles V (1516–56) and his successors Philip II (1554–98), who ruled over the kingdoms of Naples, Sicily, and Sardinia. At the end of the sixteenth century, the mint of Messina ceased activity for about twenty years. It only resumed the production of silver and copper coins in 1608, under King Philip III (1598–1621), who tried unsuccessfully to introduce water-powered machines to speed up the minting process. The analysis of the now famous 1466 regulation of the mint of Messina, issued by King John (II) in an attempt to fully reorganize it, offers a wealth of technical details on the complex organizational system in place in those territories. To make their coins more recognizable, rulers adopted distinctive images and texts that were easily attributable to them, a direct expression of their political power and identity.