Skip to main content
Login
  1. Home
  2. Pietro Giannone. Autobiography. The Tragedy of a Historian and the Inquisition
  3. Chapter Five: 1723-1724: Naples
Open Book Publishers

Chapter Five: 1723-1724: Naples

  • Thérèse Ridley (translator)
  • Thérèse Ridley (contributions by)
Chapter of: Pietro Giannone. Autobiography. The Tragedy of a Historian and the Inquisition: Translated with commentary by Thérèse Ridley
  • Export Metadata
  • Metadata
  • Locations
  • Contributors

Export Metadata

Metadata
TitleChapter Five: 1723-1724
SubtitleNaples
ContributorThérèse Ridley (translator)
Thérèse Ridley (contributions by)
DOIhttps://doi.org/10.11647/OBP.0483.05
Landing pagehttps://www.openbookpublishers.com/books/10.11647/obp.0483/chapters/10.11647/obp.0483.05
Licensehttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
CopyrightThérèse Ridley
PublisherOpen Book Publishers
Published on2026-04-09
Long abstract

Chapter Five (1723-1724) narrates the sequel to the publication of the Civil History until G.’s enforced departure from Naples, and arrival in Vienna. The History instantly excited envy and calumny. G. was denounced from the city’s pulpits, the printer was excommunicated, and G. was accused of denying the annual ‘miracle’ of St Januarius. Even Argento turned against him. G. thus left Naples at the end of April 1723, to go to Vienna. All the way through Italy he was in the gravest danger from his enemies. He reached Vienna in early June, to find that he also had been excommunicated. His first contact there was Pio Garelli, imperial physician and librarian, who arranged for a copy of the Civil History to be presented to Charles VI. G. also gave copies to all leading figures in Vienna. He joined the literary salon of Francesco Riccardi, one of his leading defenders. The History meanwhile was examined by the Holy Office in Rome, which banned it, but it was becoming known all over Europe. G’.s excommunication was revoked in October. Shortly after, G. was introduced to Charles, who received him favourably. G. also received much courtesy from Prince Euegene, and cleverly managed to gain the favour of Marquis Rialp, secretary of state. He was finally granted a small pension by Charles, although he was, despite his repeated requests, granted no employment.

Print length88 pages
LanguageEnglish (Original)
THEMA
  • DNBH1
  • DSBD
  • NHD
  • QDTS
  • QRAM2
BISAC
  • BIO006000
  • HIS020000
  • PHI016000
  • LIT004200
  • REL084000
  • POL004000
Keywords
  • Pietro Giannone
  • autobiography
  • Italian historian
  • Religious persecution
  • Inquisition
  • Church and state
Locations
Landing PageFull text URLPlatform
PDFhttps://www.openbookpublishers.com/books/10.11647/obp.0483/chapters/10.11647/obp.0483.05Landing pagehttps://books.openbookpublishers.com/10.11647/obp.0483.05.pdfFull text URL
HTMLhttps://www.openbookpublishers.com/books/10.11647/obp.0483/chapters/10.11647/obp.0483.05Landing pagehttp://books.openbookpublishers.com/10.11647/obp.0483/ch-5a.xhtmlFull text URLPublisher Website
Contributors

Thérèse Ridley

(translator)

Therese Ridley completed her Honours degree at both the University of Melbourne and Monash University (Melbourne). She studied History (with the doyen of the Melbourne School), German, Chinese and Japanese, having studied French at high school. She acquired Italian by spending many years in Italy, accompanying her husband (a specialist in Roman History and the History of Rome) on his study leave every fourth year, and for the past twenty years spending every November in Rome, an annual research trip. She spends all her time in the Vatican Library. She is also the translator from German of Friedrich Münzer, Rӧmische Adelsparteien Adelsfamilien, a classic study, originally 1920, listed in every bibliography on Roman politics, but never subsequently referred to. This was instantly published by the oldest American University Press, Johns Hopkins, in 1999. Reviews stated that “Therese Ridley’s remarkable translation of the book and her re-editing of Münzer’s bibliography at last give the English-speaking world access to Münzer’s intellectual legacy” : Ronald Weber, History, reviews of new books 28 (2000). This translation has, in fact, now superseded the original German in references. For the past twenty years Therese Ridley has devoted herself to the life and works of Pietro Giannone, reading and translating his enormous bibliography. She has traced him the length and breadth of Italy. She is well known, of course, to the doyen of Giannone studies, Professor Giuseppe Ricuperati of Torino.

Thérèse Ridley

(contributions by)

Therese Ridley completed her Honours degree at both the University of Melbourne and Monash University (Melbourne). She studied History (with the doyen of the Melbourne School), German, Chinese and Japanese, having studied French at high school. She acquired Italian by spending many years in Italy, accompanying her husband (a specialist in Roman History and the History of Rome) on his study leave every fourth year, and for the past twenty years spending every November in Rome, an annual research trip. She spends all her time in the Vatican Library. She is also the translator from German of Friedrich Münzer, Rӧmische Adelsparteien Adelsfamilien, a classic study, originally 1920, listed in every bibliography on Roman politics, but never subsequently referred to. This was instantly published by the oldest American University Press, Johns Hopkins, in 1999. Reviews stated that “Therese Ridley’s remarkable translation of the book and her re-editing of Münzer’s bibliography at last give the English-speaking world access to Münzer’s intellectual legacy” : Ronald Weber, History, reviews of new books 28 (2000). This translation has, in fact, now superseded the original German in references. For the past twenty years Therese Ridley has devoted herself to the life and works of Pietro Giannone, reading and translating his enormous bibliography. She has traced him the length and breadth of Italy. She is well known, of course, to the doyen of Giannone studies, Professor Giuseppe Ricuperati of Torino.

Export Metadata

UK registered social enterprise and Community Interest Company (CIC).

Company registration 14549556

Metadata

  • By book
  • By publisher
  • GraphQL API
  • Export API

Resources

  • Downloads
  • Videos
  • Merch
  • Presentations
  • Service status

Contact

  • Email
  • Bluesky
  • Mastodon
  • Github

Copyright © 2026 Thoth Open Metadata. Except where otherwise noted, content on this site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.