The Dukedom of Bronte ( ("Duchy of Bronte")) was a dukedom with the title Duke of Bronte (), referring to the town of Bronte in the province of Catania, Sicily. It was granted on 10 October 1799 at PalermoSee text of letters patent to the British Royal Navy officer Horatio Nelson by King Ferdinand III of Sicily, in gratitude for Nelson having saved the kingdom of Sicily from conquest by Revolutionary French forces under Napoleon. This was largely achieved by Nelson's victory at the Battle of the Nile (1798), which extinguished French naval power in the Mediterranean, but also by his having evacuated the royal family from their palace in Naples to the safety of Palermo in Sicily. It carried the right to sit in parliament within the military branch."col diritto di sedere in Parlamento nel braccio militare", Benedetto Radice, Memorie storiche di Bronte (Historical memories of Bronte), Vols 1&2, Bronte 1928, 1936, p.206 The dukedom does not descend according to fixed rules but is transferable by the holder to whomsoever he or she desires, strangers included. Accompanying it was a grant of a estate, centered on the ancient monastery of Maniace, five miles north of Bronte, which Nelson ordered to be restored and embellished as his residence – thenceforth called Castello di Maniace. He appointed as his resident administrator (or governor) Johann Andreas Graeffer (d. 1802), an English-trained German landscape gardener who had recently created the English Garden at the Royal Palace of Caserta in Naples. Nelson never set foot on his estate, as he was killed in action six years later at the Battle of Trafalgar.
Choice of title
The Admiral was offered by King Ferdinand a choice of one of three dukedoms with an accompanying estate – Bisacquino, Partinico or Bronte. The king wrote in a note to his minister: The estate of Bronte is the most suitable for the purpose, but the revenue is insufficient, and must be not less than 6,000 ounces, not more than 8,000, thus if there are other adjoining estates to make up the difference these must be annexed, giving the equivalent sums to the proprietors, and creating the feudal form and character with title of duke which in England sounds better than the others.Questa terra di Bronte è la più adatta al caso; ma non sofficiente la rendita (allora il reddito di Bronte era calcolato in onze 5500), che dovrebbe essere non meno di onze 6000, nè più di 8000, dunque se ci siano altre terre confinanti per fare un tal pieno, ci si dovrebbero annessare (sic), dando l'equivalente agli attuali possessori, dandosegli la forma e carattere feudale col titolo di Duca che in Inghilterra suona meglio che gli altri
It is suggested that Nelson chose Bronte for several reasons, including the Greek origin of the name (meaning "thunder", an allusion to Mount Etna, the main crater of which is a mere 15 km to the east), the majesty of the volcano itself, the healthiness and fertility of the soil, the verses of the Palermo poet Giovanni Meli, and the ease of pronunciationIl nome "Bronte" era bello, persino gli inglesi lo potevano pronunciare con facilità of the word for an Englishman. But most likely because having lost an eye in battle in 1794, he was able to identify himself with the Cyclops (mythical giant one-eyed creatures, makers of the thunderbolts of Zeus, god of war, and assistants of the smith-god Hephaestus), whose forge was supposed to be underneath Mount Etna. He signed his will as "Nelson Bronte", and the initials "NB"Also the initials "PQMF" appear on the four pillars of the entrance railings, symbolising Nelson's heraldic motto Palman Qui Meruit Ferat appear on the wrought-iron entrance gates at Castello di Maniace (which are also the initials of his foe Napoleon Bonaparte).
Ducal powers The grant, of perpetual duration and comprising about of land, included extensive feudal rights, the same as had been held from the 15th century by the previous overlord, the Ospedale Grande e Nuovo in Palermo, including: "the City of Bronte" (population 9,500In quell'anno Bronte contava una popolazione di circa 9.500 abitanti) "with all its tenures and districts, together with its fiefdoms, marches, fortifications, vassal citizens, revenues of the vassals, censuses, services, bondage and gabelles".«… in perpetuo la terra (quasi 25.000 ettari (elsewhere stated as 15,000) e la stessa città di Bronte, … con tutte le sue tenute e i distretti, insieme ai feudi, alle marche, alle fortificazioni, ai cittadini vassalli, ai redditi dei vassalli, ai censi, ai servizi, alle servitù, alle gabelle …» The dukedom also included the power of mero et mixto imperio, the sole power of the exercise of justice,Benedetto Radice both civil and criminal, including capital punishment.Jus Necis Royal letters patent anzi in segno di particolare benevolenza concediamo ed elargiamo in perpetuo all’illustre Orazio Nelson e ai suoi eredi, discendenti legittimi della sua persona, il mero e misto imperio e il diritto di vita e di morte sugli abitanti della terra e del comune di Bronte The title later became part of the nobility of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.
Local opposition
Aside from having been granted by a king from the Spanish royal family considered foreign and abhorrent"L'aborrito Ferdinando I" (così lo definisce lo storico brontese Benedetto Radice) by many Sicilians, the new dukedom was not popular with a powerful faction of the local population who had felt oppressed for centuries by the feudal power of the Hospital of Palermo, the previous overlord of Bronte, from which they believed they had just recently obtained freedom, after finally winning a legal battle lasting many centuries. The king compensated the Hospital of Palermo (with an annuity of 71,500 lireIl "munifico" Borbone salvò l'Ospedale (commutando il reddito che ricavava da Bronte in un assegno annuo di 71.500 lire a carico dello Stato)) but ignored the free status claimed by the Brontese, who thus felt themselves subjected once again to a harsh feudal government, this time by a foreigner. Two parties thus arose in the local population, the ducale, supportive of the duchy, and the comunista, supportive of an independent Commune of Bronte. Many indeed were highly sympathetic to the ideals of the French Revolution, and felt that Nelson had "smothered with bloodshed the Neapolitan Republic" and confounded their dream to live in a new society where feudalism would be extinguished. The Brontese historian Benedetto Radice wrote in 1928: "Thus Bronte, due to the fairytale of its name, got the honour of a duchy and was confirmed in the misfortune of vaselage, just like a dog on which its master places around its neck a fine collar of silver or gold",Così Bronte per la favola del nome ebbe l'onore della Ducea e confermata la sventura del vassallaggio, appunto come il cane a cui il padrone mette al collo una bella catena di argento o di oro and "The evils which afflict Bronte are twofold: Etna and the Duchy"due sono i più grandi mali che affliggono Bronte: l'Etna e la Ducea.
Much to the approval of his mistress Lady Hamilton (wife of the British Ambassador to Naples) and of the king, Nelson had executed Admiral Prince Francesco Caracciolo (1752–1799), hero of the Neapolitan revolution, by hanging him from the rigging of his ship after a summary trial. This act was never forgotten by this Brontese faction, which after 1940 when the Hood family had been expelled from Sicily during World War II, and their duchy confiscated by Mussolini, built with state assistance a model "peasants' village"borgo contadino in the park of Castello di Maniace, at a cost of over 4 million lire, which they called "Borgo Francesco Caracciolo". It was never completed due to the Allied landing in 1943, and in 1964 was razed to the ground by the 6th Duke after a special UK-Italy war damages commission in 1956 adjudged the Duke the legitimate owner of the duchy and of the Borgo.Nel 1956 una speciale commissione di conciliazione italo-britannica, istituita per occuparsi dei danni di guerra, stabilì che il duca Nelson-Bridport era il proprietario legittimo della Ducea e che lo stesso "Borgo Caracciolo" gli apparteneva.
Although the dukes brought considerable improvements to the area, including in irrigation and agriculture, this opposed faction never accepted the English presence at Bronte, and the protracted and costly legal dispute continued unabated until 1981 when the Hood family, ultimate heirs of Admiral Lord Nelson, sold the entire estate and the house with all its contents, excepting the small ducal cemetery, to the Council of Bronte. The former ducal residence is now a museum open to the public, known locally as Castello dei Nelson, "Castle of the Nelsons" , containing memorabilia of the Admiral and portraits of the Hood family.
Palazzo Ducale, Bronte Until 1935, the dukes had a town house in Bronte, five miles south of the Castello, for use when on business in that town. Known as the Palazzo Ducale, it had 35 rooms with a walled garden to the rear, and was situated on Corso Umberto, the facade being opposite Piazza Cappuccini, site of the Cappuccine Convent, the rear being bounded by the via Madonna Riparo (now via Roma) and the via Nelson (now via A. Spedalieri). It was built by Bryant Barret (d.1818),Career of Bryant Barret one of the dukedom's land agents during the early period when the Castello was uninhabitable and the dukes were absentee landlords.Bronte, Alexander Nelson Hood, 5th Duke of, The Duchy of Bronte: a memorandum written for his family in 1924: Abbiamo un casermone a Bronte, chiamato Palazzo ducale – un elefante bianco, costruito da un amministratore, Mr Barret credo, come residenza sua e della sua famiglia, non essendo Maniace abitabile, a quei tempi Most has since been demolished but a few sections, including that of the main entrance, survive, namely the residence of the late Professor Paparo, the former Santangelo printing works, the houses Mineo, Parisi etc, as far as the former Cinema Roma. The large and imposing cellar today houses the Deluchiana municipal library.Nelson's home in Bronte, The Nelson Palace The 5th Duke considered it a white elephantelefante bianco, Bronte, 5th Duke of, The Duchy of Bronte: a memorandum written for his family in 1924 and stayed there only once, namely on the first night of his first visit to the dukedom aged 14 in 1868.Bronte, 5th Duke of, The Duchy of Bronte: a memorandum written for his family in 1924: la mia prima visita è del 1868. La comitiva allora dormì al Palazzo di Bronte (la prima ed unica volta che ho dormito lì)
There was also a small summer residence built by the estate's land agent William Thovez (1819–1871),Career of Thovez now known as Casa Otaiti (so named because it was surrounded by "wigwams" of peasants' straw-thatched huts, reminding the 5th Duke of Tahiti in the PacificLucy Riall, Under the Volcano, p.176), situated to the north-east of the Castello at higher altitude to escape malaria, on the way up to the Nebrodi MountainsBronte, 5th Duke of, The Duchy of Bronte: a memorandum written for his family in 1924 and about half-way to the (later) Obelisco di Nelson. This was done on the order of the 2nd Duke, who was concerned about his health and had urged him to drain and canalize the swampy areas around the Castello.il Duca si preoccupa per la salute di Barret ed in particolare delle conseguenze dell’aria malsana di Maniace specie d’estate e gli consiglia di cambiare luogo di abitazione o di curare il drenaggio delle acque in modo da evitare acque stagnanti facendo costruire nuovi canali di scolo e ordinando la pulizia degli antichi dreni probabilmente ostruiti
Villa Falconara in Taormina
Descent
Horatio Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte, 1st Viscount Nelson (1758–1805)