WOMEN OF NAPLES
Marianna De Crescenzo
In the mid-nineteenth century, a tired crowd of individuals of all sorts crowded through the alleys of Naples, wandering around and industriating as best they could, droves of those without permanent jobs wandering around, trying to make ends meet. It was the people who ate bread, salted fish or perhaps meat, only when left to the rich and often rotting; the plebs who drank polluted water or adulterated wine. These were men and women who lived from day to day, trying to avoid smallpox and cholera, yet on the streets, in taverns and markets, they became receptive to the announcement of redemption and freedom of the patriots. This small population, often forgotten in the official narrative, was in reality the essential protagonist of the events that led to the Unification of Italy, and Sangiovannara was one of its most authentic and charismatic interpreters. Marianna de Crescenzo was born on 13 April 1817 in via Pignasecca 23. His family belonged to the fishing –but also early industrial – neighborhood of San Giovanni a Teduccio and for this reason it became known as Sangiovannara. Marianna became a beacon of hope and a tireless animator of the Risorgimento ferment, distinguishing herself already during the constitutional movement of 1848 when she led numerous popular demonstrations with the tricolor sash on her chest. Widow of a Bourbon soldier, Gennaro Gioia, and remarried Luigi Montella, Marianna ran a tavern in Pignasecca. This inn became a veritable den of the Liberals and a focal point of the conspiracy. All it took was one signal from him and the famous Via Toledo turned into a bedlam, with amazing women coming down from the alleys. In this way, he supported the projects of those plotting in the dark for the constitutional and Italian cause. Sangiovannara was a very efficient collaborator: ready to help deserters, to arrange meetings in secret and safe places, and to act as an intermediary for the communications of political prisoners. Between the summer and autumn of 1860, his figure became a real media celebrity for the international press. Of her, the Parisian newspaper l'Illustration wrote: “Marianna has a great nobility of physiognomy. It passes from the voluptuous languor of the lazy Neapolitan, to the dark energy of the conspirator. He alternates the young woman's smile with the growl of the hungry wolf. His complexion lights up or bruises, his blood chills or boils”. Like an oracle, or rather, as a providential figure for the population of the neighborhood, Sangiovannara "distributes relief and gives news, clarifies doubts, explains the situation, makes the map of the day to popular movements, indicates his role to the people, tells them details his interests and the reasons why it is better for him to leave the Bourbons and follow the lords: a gentleman king ‘and Garibaldi". Sangiovannara enthusiastically adhered to Garibaldi'sism and was very active in welcoming the general. The chronicles describe her in the front row among the cheering people to welcome Garibaldi's entry into the city on 7 September 1860, wearing, as usual, a shawl wrapped over her shoulders and a dagger on her belt. It was carried in triumph by its fellow citizens and effectively paved the way for Garibaldi's entry. Furthermore, she led the celebrations following the arrival of the hero of two worlds in Naples and it was she who accompanied him on his visit to the Madonna of Piedigrotta. The media of the time described her as a strong, spirited and laconic woman, who wore dark clothes without any elegance and wore two revolvers and a dagger around her waist, evidenced by photographs, lithographic portraits and reports of the time. His figure evoked a virilizing representation of the warrior Amazon, which sounded disturbing to the male imagination of the time. For her contribution to the liberal and national cause, Marianna saw Garibaldi's government recognize a pension of 12 ducats a month for having been "in times of dark tyranny" an "imitable example of civil courage and perseverance in advocating the cause of freedom". Marianna De Crescenzo died in Naples on 19 May 1869, in a house at number 22 of the Grottone di Palazzo, now Via Gennaro Serra. Exalted by democratic writers and condemned by Bourbon ones, his biography remained shrouded in mystery for a long time. Mythologized in the period of the unification of Italy, she then slipped into oblivion, but her figure remains a vibrant symbol of female and popular participation in the Italian Risorgimento.
Pignasecca
Pignasecca winds through the beating heart of Naples, between the veracity of Spaccanapoli and the elegance of Via Toledo. This picturesque name identifies a very central area of the city close to the current Piazza Salvo D'Acquisto, once known as Largo della Carità. It is not just an obligatory crossroads for those heading from Montesanto towards the centre, but a real cross-section of the city, one of the most crowded and colorful neighbourhoods, where stalls, fishmongers and tall buildings offer coolness even on the most sultry. Its peculiar vitality is imbued with a history that has its roots in centuries-old legends and traditions: the name "Pignasecca" itself is shrouded in a veil of mystery and folklore, bringing to mind stories featuring Neapolitans and...mischievous magpies! Its toponym has its roots back in the 16th century, when the area stood outside the city walls and was made up of vegetable gardens, which the Neapolitans called "Biancomangia". All this until the Municipality, at the behest of Don Pedro de Toledo, expropriated the fields to build Via Toledo, with the aim of creating a direct communication route with the sea. Only one pine tree survived that decision –in dialect "pigna” - which, however, gradually dried up, generating the name “Pignasecca”. According to a second version of the legend, however, the magpies who populated the forest of “Biancomangiare” stealthily entered the homes of the Neapolitans, stealing any object that came within their reach and transporting their loot over the tall pines of the forest. And so, by observing the objects accumulated on the branches of the trees, the curious Neapolitans could give vent to the gossip that often involved bishops, perpetuals and men of honor. Apparently the situation became somewhat unmanageable and annoying, to the point that the bishop of the city, after having suffered the theft of a ring, decided to issue a bull of excommunication to the magpie thieves which was nailed to the highest pine tree in the woods as a warning for the mischievous birds. Three days after the issuing of the bull the trees of the forest of “Biancomangiare” began mysteriously to dry up one after the other and the mischievous magpies flew away, abandoning that place which had now become arid. Whatever the true origin of the name, even before becoming the noisy and colorful market we know today, Pignasecca was a significant area for transit and trade. Neapolitan women, since ancient times, have played a fundamental role in the life and economy of this neighborhood. It was they, the "putecare" (shopkeepers) and street vendors, who populated the streets, offering land products, fresh seafood, spices and local delicacies. Their presence was not only commercial, but also social: Pignasecca, in fact, was a place of meeting, exchanging chatter, traditions and recipes handed down from generation to generation. Among the women who have most marked the history of this area there is undoubtedly Garibaldi's Marianna De Crescenzo, born (despite her nickname “Sangiuvannara”) in via Pignasecca 23. Even today, among the alleys of the neighborhood, you can perceive the echo of these stories. The voices of the sellers, the scents of Neapolitan gastronomy and the unmistakable energy of the Neapolitans make transit through Pignasecca a unique sensorial experience with its peculiar colours, scents and sounds. Walking in this corner of the city it is possible to admire a suggestive cross-section of Naples that survives intact over the years despite the changes.
