La Costituzione del Regno di Sicilia del 1812 : tradizione, rinnovamento e conflitti politici

In this essay the author analyzes the political and institutional events of Sicily between 1812 and 1815 paying particular attention to the new historical considerations and reinterpretations on the sources of that period. The main topic of the essay is the Constitution of 1812 and its link with the European constitutional models. In this case the ruling class, especially the baronetcy and the Bourbon monarchy, chose the English model. From the analysis of the text approved by the Parliament it is possible to notice the contamination among the traditional institutions of the island and the European ones, such as Spanish and French institutions. So the author's reflection is about political conflicts: first of all the conflict between baronetcy and Bourbon monarchy about the adoption of the Constitution and then the conflict inside the Moderate and Democratic parties for its creation and application.

In this context, thanks to its own delegates in Sicily such as Bentick, England played an important rule supporting the Constitutional party and the industrial transformation process in opposition to the despotic institutional system of Napoleon. However, the weakness of the ruling class and the changes in Europe after the Congress of Vienna caused the decrease of the English presence in the Kingdom of the two Sicily. So that the Sicilian constitutional experience was doomed to failure. At the end of the process, Moderate Liberals tried to sell the idea of the Constitution of 1812 and the Sicilian independence as a myth that lasted until 1848. On the other hand, Democratics reclaimed some of the most innovative elements of the program, such as the abolition of feudalism and the local power reform, and they tried to find a moderate solution inside administrative monarchy. That caused new conflicts during the process that leaded to the Italian Unification. [Publisher's text].