The forgotten crown

The ancient presence of the ducal coronet on the top of the Neapolitan heraldic shield is widely documented by the coats of arms on monuments of different ages and it's proved that it decorated the city blazon over the centuries as a mark of dignity.
 
After the fall of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, the badge of honour unexpectedly disappeared from the coat-of arms and was replaced by a turreted crown.

 
An examination of the deliberations of the town council in 1870 reveals no trace of a decision in this regard. The only clue to a dating of the change is given by a letter kept in the Town Council's Historical Archive.

This document - an estimate sent by the engraver Luigi Alfano to the Mayor of Naples - begins: "Sir (...) your patriotic viewpoint has brought about a just change in the coat-of-arms of the Town Hall, replacing the crown of despotism with the tower, which represents the independence of a free people...". Alfano continues by proposing the terms and the costs for updating the stamps of the town council.

The document is not dated, but the oldest of the annotations in the margin indicates that the letter was sent to the Town Council on 21 February 1866.

The date indicate that the replacement was almost certainly decided during Rodrigo Nolli's period as mayor and it is plausible to think that it was motivated by an incorrect iconographic interpretation. This was an error which resulted in no account being taken of the great privilege.

All the forms were brought immediately up to date and the new municipal emblem dominated the heading of all papers and registers; however, no modification was made to the plaseter coat-of-arms that can be seen today on the internal façade just before you reach the main stairway in Palazzo San Giacomo, an this is the only thing left in the building indicating the antique heraldic concession.

A few years later, things changed yet gain. In 1870 the Herald's College of the Kingdom of Italy imposed criteria of representation of the municipal crown and decreed the end of the symbolic elaboration introduced by Nolli and imposed the turreted crown that surmounts the coat-of-arms today.