In the spirit of Monty Python, "And Now for Something Completely Different."
I have an addiction to antiquarian books from the 1600s-1800s. I now own so many books from the 1700s that I have no place to put them. Finding out that my cousin Carmine Modestino wrote books in Italy in the 1800s about Lord Byron and Torquato Tasso sent me down a rabbit hole of getting original copies of my cousin’s books, starting to translate his books into English, and buying original volumes of those poets of which he wrote. Now, I’m contemplating writing a book about Carmine Modestino and his life in Italy in the 1800s. Over the next decade, in my spare time (there is clearly sarcasm in using this phrase), I just might do this (translate his books into English and write a book about him).
My great-grandfather Antonio Modestino was born in Bonito, Avellino, Campania, Italy, in 1887 to parents Salvatore Modestino and Maria Grazia Coviello. Prior to living in Bonito, the family was from Paternopoli (formerly known as Paterno). All the Modestinos living in Bonito and Paternopoli are from the very same family originating in Paternopoli.
My ancestor, Carmine Modestino (1802-1872), was born in Paternopoli, Avellino, Campania, Italy, to parents Pasquale Modestino (Il Magnifico Modestino Don Pasquale) and Teresa Mastrominico. [Il Magnifico means The Magnificent, which was a title given to powerful and wealthy landowners. Don was a title given to those of higher social status, wealth, and distinction, such as Noblemen.] Carmine's family-owned Palazzo Modestino (a palace) and Villa Modestino (used as a hunting lodge) in Paternopoli. Images are below.
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Within the Palazzo and the Villa, there was the coat of arms used by either the family or a specific family member. This remains unclear. A description given to me by a family member in Italy of the coat of arms was the following, "Three gold stars, over three green mountains, on a blue background (shield)... the gold crown at the top has five balls, which I think should be white pearls, not gold." Images are below. Notably, the coat of arms for the comune of Paternopoli has the same three mountains.
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Carmine Modestino completed his studies in Naples, first at the Collegio di S.Carlo alle Mortelle and then at the Faculty of Law, where he graduated in 1822 and became a renowned lawyer in Naples. Although the family lived in Naples, they often returned to Paternopoli to visit relatives or to spend vacation time in the family villa, also known as Casino di San Nicola, which Carmine built. While being an active lawyer involved in politics, he continued to be an active learner and wrote many publications in newspapers and books. Between 1825 and 1836, he published several writings both in newspapers and on his own, which mainly dealt with characteristic places in the Neapolitan area and in the South (Southern Italy) in general. He collaborated with Pasquale Stanislao Mancini, Lorenzo Riola, and others in writing "Le Ore Solitarie" (The Lonely Hours), "Il Laceno" (Laceno is an Italian hamlet in the comune of Bagnoli Irpino, Province of Avellino, Campania), and on his own wrote a book about the life of the poet Torquanto Tasso and another book on an analysis of Lord Byron's poem "The Giaour" (Turkish for the infidel). Two of his books about the poets Lord Byron and Tasso are below.
Carmine Modestino was a member of several academies and a member of the La Reale Società Economica di Principato Ultra (The Royal Economic Society of the Ultra Principality), where he read several treatises, including: "On Public Works from the Normans to Ferdinand II," which aroused many emotions in those present. Archeology was also a great passion of his, and he was able to demonstrate his intellect in exciting works.
In the political realm, he was the initiator of various movements exerting pressure for the granting of the "Constitution" and, in 1825, was under special surveillance of the police as an anti-government activist. In 1837, with the appointment conferred on him by the King, he became a member of the Società Economica Provinciale (Economic Society Provincial), representing Paternopoli, his homeland. Having obtained the "Constitution", in 1848, in the elections held on 18 April, he was a candidate for the office of deputy in the constituency of Sant'Angelo dei Lombardi, not being elected as candidates were limited to high-income males. Due to protests and street riots from the perceived illegitimacy of the election, the King suspended the "Constitution" and called for new elections. As a result, Carmine Modestino was elected Deputy of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. [Deputy meant he was an elected representative to the parliament.] Carmine Modestino died in Naples in 1872. His nephew Carmine Alessandro Modestino mirrored his uncle's career in law and politics, and in 1892 he was elected Deputy to the government of the Kingdom of Italy for the third time. In Paternopoli, in 1890, the ancient street Via Taverne was renamed after his illustrious son, lawyer Carmine Modestino.
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