The French Conquest of Southern Italy in 1799 as Reported by the Il Monitore Napoletano Newspaper

With the arrival of French troops in southern Italy in 1799 and the establishment of the Parthenopean Republic, a political press was born in Naples. Among the huge number of spontaneously emerging newspapers, which often existed for only a few months or even weeks, the Il Monitore Napoletano publication stands out. This is the only Neapolitan newspaper of that era, which was published for almost the entire period of the Parthenopean Republic — from February 2 to June 8, 1799. The editor-in-chief and virtually the only person working on the preparation of publications was the Neapolitan journalist, a representative of the local enlightened elites, Eleonora de Fonseca Pimentel. In her newspaper, she published the main news of the Republic, decrees of the Provisional Government, letters addressed by residents of the regions to the new authorities, and also outlined her views on current socio-political events. The article examines the main topics covered in Il Monitore Napoletano and the specifics of how these topics were presented to readers. In particular, it examines such aspects as the arrival of French troops in Naples, the attitude of local residents towards the occupiers, the formation of the image of the enemy on the pages of the newspaper, the propaganda of republican values and the withdrawal of French troops from Southern Italy.