Do you know the feast of the ‘nzegna?

By Simona Vitagliano
What distinguishes Naples and the Neapolitans in the world, of course, are the traditions, from the most classic to the most particular, typical of small villages or villages in the province, sometimes even extinct.

Among these, we find a custom that has been much loved by Neapolitan citizens, but that has not been renewed since the 50s: the Festa della ‘Nzegna, also appeared in the film “La Baia di Napoli”, dated 1960, with Clarke Gable, Sophia Loren and Vittorio De Sica.

In the video, an original testimony proposed by the Luce archive, in September 1931.

A party that comes from a Sicilian cult?

Ferdinando Carlo Maria di Borbone (Ferdinand II) was king of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies from 1830 to 1859; just in this period (but we also think earlier, because there are testimonies related to Ferdinand I, as we will see later) was born the Feast of ‘Nzegna, celebrated in honor of Our Lady of the church of Santa Maria della Catena, located in ancient center of Naples, at Borgo Santa Lucia.

The religious structure, in turn, was founded by the inhabitants of the district in 1576, in honor of the Madonna Catena, in fact, the protagonist of a miracle told among the Sicilian legends: according to the myth, three condemned to death without just cause (because he says, in fact, that they were innocent) were chained in the church of Santa Maria del Porto in Palermo and were saved thanks to the intervention of the Virgin Mary who, literally, broke the chains of prisoners and made them free.

Our church also houses the tomb of Admiral Francesco Caracciolo.

The party was dedicated to an altarpiece (in fact, that of the miracle of the Virgin) but, unfortunately, today has been lost. But how was it done? Let’s try to reconstruct the basic steps.

The maritime matrix

The Festa della ‘Nzegna was the most important in Naples, after that of Piedigrotta.

It seems that the name was inspired by the colored signs (flags) that were used to decorate the boats involved in the festivities, referring, of course, to the term pronounced in Neapolitan; the place where the traditional rituals took place was, as mentioned, the Borgo Santa Lucia, near the Castel dell’Ovo, where lived those who, for this reason, were called the “luciani” or “lucianini”: it was, mostly, fishermen with their families.

The “lucianini” can be said to be quite well known, because they provided the Bourbon fleet with a large number of excellent sailors, as well as powerful rowers for the royal spear (they were among the best divers in the Mediterranean).
Initially, the day designated for the celebrations was August 10th, just in San Lorenzo.

For this event the “Luciani” wore a new suit (white wool shirt and a pair of fustian trousers), with the classic red cap (recalling the Bourbon colors) and wandering around the city together with a group of scugnizzi and a ” pazzariello “that captained everything.
The morning provided for the meeting in front of the church to thank the Madonna, while, later, the procession continued in Borgo Santa Lucia, towards Castel dell’Ovo and beyond, arriving at Piazza Plebiscito, enlivened by music, songs and dances.

The peculiarity of these festivities concerns the fact that, behind the “pazzariello”, a false court was crowded, together with two real double faces of King Ferdinand II and Queen Maria Carolina, also ready to imitate the regal modus of greeting the people from the carriage. The event had such a comic reach that, it seems, the royals used to disguise themselves as peoples and go down the streets, participating in the party, in their own way, disguising themselves and reversing roles for a day.
The Molo Beverello was the point where the end of the parade was planned: here a group of boats adorned with flags and colorful signs, as previously mentioned, took off, once boarded the “Luciani” and, of course, the fake royal procession.

The purifying and propitiatory rite provided that, once the (fake) royal couple had moved on a platform set up in the water, to watch the “games”, fishermen and sailors were thrown into the sea, to be, of course, fished out. During the ritual prayers were recited to the sea and they wondered thanks to the Madonna della Catena.

At the time of King Lazzarone, Ferdinando I, who loved to mingle with the people and frequent the scugnizzi, it seems that the “luciani” were proud of the royal presence at the party: even, it seems that the king enjoyed himself very much to make fun of sailors thrown into sea.

After the Unification of Italy, the party changed the date of destination and we came to choose July 15, the day when, more than anything else, a masquerade was made in which an old man was dressed by Ferdinando I and a commoner by Maria Carolina , going around the city, always in a lively and colorful, on a carriage followed by fake courtiers and generals. It was a way to continue, after all, to demonstrate the loyalty of the people to the Bourbons.

The fundamental problem arose from the fact that, on that same day, another important event was celebrated for the Neapolitans, the Festa del Carmine, with the burning of the Carmine bell tower, in fact, created metaphorically through flames and fireworks. artifice, in memory of the uprising by Masaniello; a party that has been held continuously since 1647. Furthermore, during the last Festa della ‘Nzegna, in 1952, there seems to have been a serious accident that led to its repeal. In 1953 there was a single, last kind of costume party, also reached by illustrious names and VIPs of the show, but we can say that this recurrence has become extinct at that precise moment.

A second theory,

however, there is a second theory that would concern the origins of this tradition so nostalgic to remember.Representing a service produced by the Astra Cinematografica, in September 1952, you can hear a speaker speak and say: “The last Sunday of August is particularly dear to the Neapolitan people. On that date we recall the miraculous discovery, which occurred in 1759 in the waters of Santa Lucia, of a perfectly preserved Madonnina and every year two commoners become King Nasone and Maria Carolina for the occasion. Escorted by a festive procession of people and by grotesque Bourbon soldiers, the royal couple goes to Saint Lucia to repeat the humble gesture of King Ferdinand who threw himself into the sea to venerate the mother of God. “The reporter, in fact, he was referring to the discovery of a painting of the Madonna in the sea inside a chained chest. In this new type of scenario, the word “nzegna” derives from the Neapolitan pronunciation of “teach”, meaning “teaching to swim” and referring to the unfortunate poor who are launched, obviously for fun, at sea. But there are many theories on the etymology of this obscure word.

‘A nzegna ne chiammava folla ‘e gente!

D’uommene e nenne friccecava ‘o mare.

Sott’ ‘o sole, cu amice e cu pariente, tu quanto te spassave, a summuzzare!

‘O furastiero, nun sapenno niente,

si se fermava a riva pe’ guardare,

se sentea piglia pèsole: e ched’è?

Mm’ ‘o cardavo a mmare appriezzo a me!

E che vedive, Uà ! Striile e resate,

e chillo ca n’aveva calatune!

Doppo: «Signò, scusate e perdunate! E festa, e nun s’affènneno nisciune”¦».

Chiù de na vota nce se so’ truvate

‘aRiggina e’ ‘o Rre, sott’ ‘e Burbune”¦

E ‘o Rre, ca tuttuquante nce sapeva,

quanta belle resate se faceva!

– Ferdinando Russo, poet and composer, 1910 –