Tra Francesi, Spagnoli e Austriaci. Uso della storia e lotta politica a Napoli (1680-1707)

In 1701, after the death of the heirless Charles II, the War of the Spanish Succession started by the opposing Philip of Anjou, grandson of Louis XIV and Charles of Habsburg, Archduke, son of Leopold I Emperor. Concurrently to the clash on battlefields, a heated conflict was being fought alongside treaties, memories, boards that defended the reasons and legitimacy of the two candidates. In the Kingdom of Naples, since the eighties of the seventeenth century, the fate of the Monarchy began to be discussed. History played an important role regarding this topic; not only the fact of legitimize the positions of the different candidates, but also about building a 'national' identity to justify the claims of those who were considering the independence for the Kingdom of Naples. Recourse to the past came overwhelmingly among public debate, creating and fostering “vulgate”and historiographical cliches allocated to become extraordinary political propaganda methods.