and year inscribed in a wreath on the other (fig. 62). 

 Jhis re\crse tyjie, created by Nicole Cerbara, was 

 adapted also to the decimal coinage introduced by 

 Pius IX with the reform of 1866. Apparently only 

 considerations of utility |irevailed in the choice of 

 this rever.se. since the large l)Ut readable letters of 

 the inscription overcrowd the field and disrupt any 

 pleasant balance of composition. 



Despite \'oigt's conformity, the likeness of Pius IX 

 on the obverse differs greatly from portraits of this 

 pontiff by other artists. There is an expression of 

 nobility presented with a simplicity which only a 

 mastery of sculptural form can confer. The ini- 

 pa.ssivity of the Pope is merely surface. An air of 

 human kindness in a countenance of great dignity 

 permeates the simple features. Voigt was not a 

 sentimentalist; no impressionistic irreyularities disru|)t 



the harmony in his simple balance. .\ master of 

 form, he achieved a perfect interplay between simple 

 lines and unobtrusive plastic relief. His fame rests 

 upon a classic simplicity of composition and a sobriety 

 of form. 



After 1870 no coins were issued by the popes for 

 almost sixty years, until 1 930, when the striking of 

 coins — an expression of recognized worldly power — 

 was resumed as a result of the Concordat between the 

 Italian government and the Papacy. Since the 

 striking of the coins and medals of the Vatican is 

 done in a well-established collaboration with the 

 Italian government at the Roman mint, the section 

 devoted to this most recent phase in the minting 

 activity of the Vatican will be discussed in connection 

 with modern Italian coin engravers. 



NAPLES 



The southern Kingdom of Naples and .Sicily, an 

 ajjpanage of the Spanish Bourbons, was torn be- 

 tween the tyranny of their foreign-born kings and 

 the idealistic, impetuous population, which was 

 committed through the .secret fraternity of the Car- 

 bonari to fight for civic freedom and for national 

 aliirnialion. Set in motion f)y the ideals of the French 

 Revolution, surge after surge of patriotic aspirations 

 aro.se and then were smothered under the reactionary 

 policies of I'erdinand 1\'. His reign of 67 years on 

 the throne of Naples was a relentless, obstinate 

 battle to maintain his autocratic regime in the face 

 of time and events. Twice an exile during the 

 victorious wars of the French, he later increased his 

 efforts to rebuild his old power on the debris of the 

 Napoleonic regime. Willi llie support of foreign 

 Austrian troops he crushed the patriotic ujirising in 

 1820 and buried his prcvdous concessions tmder 

 endless [jolitical persecutions. 



His attitude toward the growing tide of nation- 

 alistic movements became a tradition in his family. 

 His son Francis I and his grandson Ferdinand II 

 met the national quest for reform with the point of a 

 bayonet. Neither understood the new and challenging 

 spirit, and instead of leading their comilry toward a 

 democratic monarchy, they ]5ersisted blindly in 

 maintaining their autocratic rule. Finallv defeated 



by time and the patriotic enthusiasm of their peoples, 

 the Bourbon dynasty ceased to reign in Naples in 

 1861, when this southern monarchy became an inte- 

 grated part of the united Kingdom of Italy. 



The coin designs of the Neapolitan mint offer a 

 good example of the decisive effect which a strong 

 personality can have on the development of an 

 institution. .'\t the Naples' mint the art of coin 

 engraving was bound for decades to mediocrity and 

 platitude because of the domineering spirit of its 

 chief engraver Domenico Perger.'*" Spiritual inertia 

 held him in the line of a tradition that had neither 

 glory nor distinction. The coins and medals which 

 he cut for Ferdinand I\' during the last decade of 

 the 18th century display an almost embarrassing 

 primiti\ism (fig. 64) when com[)ared to better 

 products of some of his contemporaries like Nicola 

 Morghen (fig. 6.t) or \'incenzo .Xveta.'*' Perger 

 seemed to entirely dominate the mint for years; 

 his initials d.p. appear on numerous coins until 1804 

 when the king, apparently tired of the monotony 

 ol' his coins, expressed the desire for a radical change 

 at his mint.'''- 



Luigi Diodati '^■' was appointed master of the mint 

 to replace .Antonio Planelli, .md imder his expert 

 direction ojjerations were com]5letely reorganized. 

 The svstem introduced bv Diodati was one of the 



"0 BDM, vol. 4, pp. 450-452, and vol. 8, p. 120. 



"' RicciARDi, Afedaglie delle. Due Sicilie, p. 16, medal 43. 



'« Prota and Mori n.i, liC.W (1926), pp. 3-25. 



'*' Diodati published a pamphlet about the organization of 

 the mint: Dello stato presfntf della motieta nel regno di Nnpoli o 

 delta necessita di iin alzamenlo. 



30 



BULLETIN 229: CONTRIBUTIONS FROM HIE MUSEUM OF HISTORY .AND TECHNOLOGY 



