The Race to Write a History of Naples

There was no love lost between rival Neapolitan authors and publishers Domenico Antonio Parrino (1642-c.1716) and Antonio Bulifon (1649-1707). Their rivalry had many sides: firstly, they competed for the privilege of publishing the local Gazzette, the only newspaper in Naples sanctioned by the Spanish authorities, which since 1684 had been in Parrino’s hands. With the Gazzette came also the exclusive on almanacs and calendars and the economic advantage of being able to advertise other upcoming publications. But more than the economic advantages, holding the privilege for the Gazzette meant status and political influence. The pair were also in competition for the publication and distribution of the newly established genre of the travel guide; and they went head-to-head in trying to be the first to publish a history of the city of Naples covering their own time, during which it was under Spanish rule. The commercial success of other histories of the city demonstrated public interest in the subject, and both publishers were determined to be the first to capitalise on it.

Across the course of their lifelong rivalry, Bulifon often referred to Parrino as a ‘letterato pezzentone’ (poor letterman) and ‘editore di dodicesimi’ (publisher of books in 12°) – a reference to his tendency to publish books in a smaller format, implying that they were cheap and of lesser quality. Parrino, for his part, was probably the one to come up with the nickname Buffone (fool) for Bulifon, a play on his name.

The race between the two began in 1688. Antonio Bulifon had been working on his history, Cronicamerone, for quite some time, and had been hinting about its upcoming publication in letters and prefaces to other works. Parrino, intent on sabotage, wrote to the Spanish viceroy in charge of the city on 26 January 1688 asking for an exclusive privilege on a contemporary history of Naples, citing the hard work and substantial financial investment that he had already made in his own upcoming publication. This was granted, even though the book was not yet ready for publication. Even more unusually, while privileges were typically granted to protect the text of a book, Parrino’s covered its subject matter – that is, a history of the Spanish Vicerealm of Naples, which began in 1504.

In 1690 Bulifon published the first volume of his Cronicamerone, covering the history of Naples from the birth of Jesus to the death of Carlo I Angiò (1285), and Parrino promptly appealed – first on 13 March and then again on 26 June. When the case was brought to court in August, despite the unusual nature of the privilege, the ruling was made in favour of Parrino. No one was allowed to write on the same subject as him and, moreover, Bulifon was explicitly forbidden from continuing his work to completion:

Antonio Bulifon should be allowed to print his Book entitled Giornale Historico delle cose memorabili del Regno di Napoli until the time when the Book of Dominici Antonio Parrino, entitled Teatro Eroico, e Politico de’ Governni de’ Sig. Vicerè di questo Regno, begins alone, that is, until the beginning of the Dominion and Government of King Ferdinand, known as the Catholic and not otherwise.

It was a hard blow. Bulifon could have continued to publish volumes of the Cronicamerone up until the date specified by the privilege, but rather than having what he perceived to be his magnum opus directed and influenced by the will of his bitter rival, he decided to leave it at only the first volume.

Parrino, happy in his victory, continued gathering funds and finally published the first volume of the Teatro Eroico in 1692, and two further volumes in the following years. And to avoid any risk of more competition, or maybe just to further rile Bulifon, he included a copy of the 1688 privilege in the first volume.

Parrino was able to secure his victory thanks to the relationships he had forged with key government officials, particularly those bureaucrats responsible for granting privileges, that he built over many years while he and his business partner Camillo Cavallo had held the privilege to print and publish the Gazzette; every government office was entitled to a free copy.

Thus it is not surprising that when the political climate shifted, Parrino and Bulifon’s positions drastically changed. The Spanish War of Succession greatly impacted the Neapolitan vicerealm and saw the two businessmen on opposite sides: Parrino maintained his loyalty to the Habsburg family and lent his support to the archduke Charles VI, while Bulifon, a Frenchman, aligned himself to the Bourbon Philip V, presumably due to a sense of loyalty to his country of origin.

Bulifon’s gamble was rewarded when Philip V was crowned king of Spain in 1700. Parrino lost his privilege for the Gazzette, despite his contract still being in act, and it was given to Bulifon. Not only that, but Bulifon paid just a fraction of what his rival was charged. When Parrino and Cavallo had their privilege renewed in 1693, which was supposed to last ten years, it had cost them 810 ducats per year, but when it was transferred to Bulifon in 1700 he was only charged 300 ducats.

Victory was bittersweet, however. Bulifon proved unpopular and his edition of the Gazzette was heavily criticised for its excessive servility and partiality towards the current Bourbon rulers, to the point that, according to an anonymous manuscript chronicle of the time, several rhymes against him were printed and spread throughout the city. The rhymes called him a ‘buffone’ and criticised anyone who could be so foolish as to believe the French:

Of all the tales that Buffone prints
every news is a story
every word a fiction and not a fact
… those who believe the French are foolish
they are always false
and everyone knows it.

Despite the fact that both Parrino and Bulifon managed, at different points in time, to win a battle against the other, the war was ultimately won by Parrino. Bulifon retired, leaving his printing press to his son Nicola, and when Austrian forces entered Naples in 1707 the privilege for the Gazzette was restored to Parrino. Chronicles of the time recorded that Parrino then incited a mob to march against Nicola Bulifon’s shop and torch it.

Thus, on the smouldering ashes of what once was one of the most renowned and prolific publishing houses in Naples, Parrino achieved complete and total victory over his life-long rival.

Laura Incollingo is postdoctoral research assistant on the ‘Communicating the Law in Europe, 1500-1750’ project at the University of St Andrews.