Culture - Secrets of the Palazzo - anecdotes and curiosities - The postcard of the Heroic Municipal Guards

ancient postcard portraying the Municipal Guards of Naples

On 2nd September, when the City Council decided to set up the unit, the official name chosen was Municipal Guards Corps of the City of Naples.

Their job involved guard and civil police duties but they would also come to the rescue in the event of serious natural disasters outside the city confines.

There is a rare, antique postcard which demonstrates this. The card is a simple rectangle, yellowed with age, which talks with unmitigated pride of the huge commitment and even the ultimate sacrifice made by the Municipal Guards of Naples.

The postcard shows us the Corps' gala uniform and flag and three pictures which show the civil police working after tragic events which occurred during the last quarter of the XIX century.

The 1872 eruption

During the night of 26 April, Vesuvius unleashed its destructive powers once again. Huge explosions provided the soundtrack to an impressive spectacle of rivers of lava which quickly flowed down to Massa, San Sebastiano, Camaldoli di Torre del Greco and then to Resina and Portici.

The Municipal Guards of Naples formed part of the shoreline defence and worked alongside sections of the army and Royal Carabinieri forces to transport refugees to safety. They also made a generous contribution to the work of clearing main communication routes of the stones and ash which had been blown on to them by the wind during the eruption and which had reached as far as Constantinople. The only Municipal Guards Barracks in the city provided lodging for 56 refugees.

On the postcard we can see Vesuvius erupting and the month and date when it happened.

The 1883 earthquake

The earthquake on the evening of 28 July had its epicentre in the little town of Casamicciola on the island of Ischia. The tremor lasted about 15 seconds and completely destroyed the town killing 1700 people and injuring another 400. The effects of this violent earthquake could be felt in Naples and the city immediately sent rescue teams which included the Municipal Guards.

On the left side of the card it shows the moment when help arrives against a background scene of destruction. The massive damage caused by the earthquake has left its mark on the local dialect so that even today when people want to describe a real mess they use the phrase: "Me pare Casamicciola" (it reminds me of Casamicciola).

: gold medal for services to public health,1884

The 1884 Cholera outbreak

The first cases were confirmed in May but it was during the summer that the real outbreak came. More than three thousand deaths were certified in the first 10 days of September alone. Volunteers flocked in from all over Italy and they were forced to work in very difficult conditions in the crowded unsanitary areas in the heart of the city with their dark, smelly basements.
The Mayor and parliamentarian Nicola Amore, applied constant pressure to Central government which led to a law being passed to "disembowel" the unhealthy areas of the city and ultimately meant that the old heart of the city was "re-sanitised".

The courage and commitment shown by the Municipal Guards in bringing aid to the population were recognised and rewarded. The Corps was awarded the gold medal for services to public health. This award is celebrated on the postcard in the bottom right-hand corner with a picture of the front of the medal with its profile of Umberto I and the writing "Cholera 1884 - Gold Medal".

the official stamp of the Corps with the Savoia coat of arms in the middle and the writing: "UMBERTO I° RE D'ITALIA / CORPO DELLE GUARDIE MUNICIPALI DI NAPOLI" round it ("Umberto I King of Naples / Municipal Guards Corps of Naples").

Victims of duty

On the left-hand side of the postcard is a scroll with the names of the Guards who lost their lives in the call of duty: Mussolino Vincenzo, Gaeta Francesco, Lubrano Emanuele, Della Pia Filippo, Scarpelli Francesco, Adabbo Michele, Petrocci Francesco, Grimaldi Alfonso, Musi Attilio, Vargas Luigi, Lupis Francesco, Caccia (...).

In a corner, on the back of the card, is the official stamp of the Corps with the Savoia coat of arms in the middle and the writing: "UMBERTO I° RE D'ITALIA / CORPO DELLE GUARDIE MUNICIPALI DI NAPOLI" round it ("Umberto I King of Naples / Municipal Guards Corps of Naples").

Aspects of the postcard, the latest date on the picture side and the reference on the stamp to King Umberto I (who died in July 1900) mean that the postcard can be dated to the last few years of XIX century.