WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.740 Welcome to today's deep dive. If you've ever 00:00:02.740 --> 00:00:05.040 wondered how certain institutions managed to 00:00:05.040 --> 00:00:07.599 survive the most chaotic upheavals in human history, 00:00:07.799 --> 00:00:11.519 well, you are in for a really fascinating ride 00:00:11.519 --> 00:00:13.919 today. Oh, absolutely. Because we are taking 00:00:13.919 --> 00:00:16.339 you on a journey through the incredibly turbulent 00:00:16.339 --> 00:00:19.519 238 -year history of the Nunziatella Military 00:00:19.519 --> 00:00:22.000 School. Which is located in Naples, Italy. Right. 00:00:22.300 --> 00:00:24.339 And this isn't just a military academy. It is 00:00:24.339 --> 00:00:27.059 this surviving monument to human resilience. 00:00:27.519 --> 00:00:31.019 We've got a great stack of sources today, primarily 00:00:31.019 --> 00:00:34.100 a very comprehensive Wikipedia article detailing 00:00:34.100 --> 00:00:36.600 the school's entire evolution. Right, from its 00:00:36.600 --> 00:00:39.460 founding all the way back in 1787 right up to 00:00:39.460 --> 00:00:41.560 the present day. And it's dense. I mean, looking 00:00:41.560 --> 00:00:43.520 at the timeline of Europe over the last two and 00:00:43.520 --> 00:00:45.259 a half centuries, it's essentially a highlight 00:00:45.259 --> 00:00:47.530 reel of chaos. It really is. But what really 00:00:47.530 --> 00:00:50.549 struck me, the true aha moment here for you as 00:00:50.549 --> 00:00:52.929 we get into this, is that this one single place 00:00:52.929 --> 00:00:55.750 has outlasted absolute monarchs. It has survived 00:00:55.750 --> 00:00:58.969 violent revolutions, fascist regimes, world wars, 00:00:59.009 --> 00:01:01.630 and through all of that, it has produced both 00:01:01.630 --> 00:01:03.969 top tier military generals, and wait for it, 00:01:03.990 --> 00:01:06.829 an Oscar winning Disney animator. Which is such 00:01:06.829 --> 00:01:09.390 a wild combination. Right. Okay, let's unpack 00:01:09.390 --> 00:01:12.090 this. Because looking at this timeline, how does 00:01:12.090 --> 00:01:15.569 a single school even begin to build that kind 00:01:15.569 --> 00:01:18.079 of legacy? Well, it really begins with a desire 00:01:18.079 --> 00:01:20.980 for independence. So if we go back to the 1700s, 00:01:20.980 --> 00:01:23.700 Charles of Bourbon was the king of Naples. Okay. 00:01:23.780 --> 00:01:26.700 And he had this very specific strategic problem. 00:01:26.879 --> 00:01:29.140 He wanted to free the kingdom of Naples from 00:01:29.140 --> 00:01:32.739 Spanish subjection. Because at the time, his 00:01:32.739 --> 00:01:36.200 father, Philip V of Spain, and his mother, Elisabetta 00:01:36.200 --> 00:01:39.319 Farnese, they exerted just a massive amount of 00:01:39.319 --> 00:01:42.000 political and military influence over his region. 00:01:42.180 --> 00:01:44.540 So he was basically a king who didn't fully control 00:01:44.540 --> 00:01:47.200 his own kingdom. Exactly. And Charles realized 00:01:47.200 --> 00:01:50.000 that to have a truly independent kingdom, you 00:01:50.000 --> 00:01:52.099 need an independent, highly trained military 00:01:52.099 --> 00:01:54.319 ruling class. I mean, you simply cannot rely 00:01:54.319 --> 00:01:56.739 on outside forces to protect your sovereignty. 00:01:57.040 --> 00:01:59.200 So if you're the king and you realize you can't 00:01:59.200 --> 00:02:01.359 rely on outside forces, how do you actually build 00:02:01.359 --> 00:02:03.760 a homegrown military class from scratch? Because 00:02:03.760 --> 00:02:06.159 did he just set up a standard boot camp and start 00:02:06.159 --> 00:02:09.080 handing out muskets? Not at all. And that is 00:02:09.080 --> 00:02:10.800 where the story takes a really progressive turn. 00:02:11.000 --> 00:02:14.240 He needed genuine leaders, right? Not just soldiers. 00:02:14.419 --> 00:02:16.759 So the task eventually fell to a young lieutenant 00:02:16.759 --> 00:02:19.080 in the military engineering corps named Giuseppe 00:02:19.080 --> 00:02:22.500 Parisi. Parisi. Yeah. And the government essentially 00:02:22.500 --> 00:02:25.240 sent Parisi on this massive research trip across 00:02:25.240 --> 00:02:27.860 Europe to study how other countries were training 00:02:27.860 --> 00:02:30.919 their officers. He was actually so brilliant 00:02:30.919 --> 00:02:32.759 that he caught the attention of the emperor in 00:02:32.759 --> 00:02:35.900 Austria. Really? Yeah. The emperor actively tried 00:02:35.900 --> 00:02:38.659 to recruit him. But Parisi returned to Naples 00:02:38.659 --> 00:02:42.460 in 1785 with an entirely radical idea for a new 00:02:42.460 --> 00:02:44.680 academy. Radical in what way? Because military 00:02:44.680 --> 00:02:47.860 academies usually just focus on, you know, military 00:02:47.860 --> 00:02:49.780 things, tactics, drilling, physical endurance. 00:02:50.039 --> 00:02:52.659 Exactly. But Parisi argued that military training 00:02:52.659 --> 00:02:54.939 absolutely must be interconnected with civilian 00:02:54.939 --> 00:02:57.520 education. He didn't just want to build a machine 00:02:57.520 --> 00:03:00.199 of war. His whole philosophy was that the goal 00:03:00.199 --> 00:03:02.879 wasn't just to make excellent officers, but to 00:03:02.879 --> 00:03:05.740 make good citizens. What's fascinating here is 00:03:05.740 --> 00:03:08.300 how that dual philosophy essentially birthed 00:03:08.300 --> 00:03:11.340 the school's enduring motto, which is, I prepare 00:03:11.340 --> 00:03:14.520 for life and weapons. I prepare for life and 00:03:14.520 --> 00:03:16.680 weapons. I love that. It's brilliant. Parisi 00:03:16.680 --> 00:03:19.139 understood that a military leader needs to understand 00:03:19.139 --> 00:03:21.909 the society they are defending. You can't just 00:03:21.909 --> 00:03:23.729 teach tactics and artillery. You have to teach 00:03:23.729 --> 00:03:27.289 philosophy, mathematics, literature. Right. So 00:03:27.289 --> 00:03:29.770 when the Nunciatella officially opened its doors 00:03:29.770 --> 00:03:33.330 on November 18th, 1787, at the site of a former 00:03:33.330 --> 00:03:36.389 Jesuit novitiate in Naples, the royal decree 00:03:36.389 --> 00:03:39.509 explicitly stated that the school should firm 00:03:39.509 --> 00:03:42.389 up philosophical reasoning in young people. Wow. 00:03:42.530 --> 00:03:45.250 And train them in the social and political system. 00:03:45.629 --> 00:03:47.389 I want to pause on that because I think there 00:03:47.389 --> 00:03:49.370 is a huge takeaway in that for you listening 00:03:49.370 --> 00:03:51.990 to this right now. Think about your own education 00:03:51.990 --> 00:03:55.629 or your career. Usually we are taught to hyper 00:03:55.629 --> 00:03:57.629 -specialize. Oh, totally. If you're an engineer, 00:03:57.770 --> 00:03:59.810 you just do math. If you're a writer, you just 00:03:59.810 --> 00:04:02.810 do words. But what Parisi realized back in 1787 00:04:02.810 --> 00:04:06.129 is something we often forget today. To be truly 00:04:06.129 --> 00:04:08.009 excellent at your job, you have to understand 00:04:08.009 --> 00:04:10.009 the broader context of the world you live in. 00:04:10.110 --> 00:04:13.090 You need both life and weapons. It was incredibly 00:04:13.090 --> 00:04:17.949 progressive for the late 18th century. introducing 00:04:17.949 --> 00:04:20.850 that kind of broad philosophical education to 00:04:20.850 --> 00:04:23.310 young men who are also being trained in advanced 00:04:23.310 --> 00:04:26.649 warfare, it created a highly combustible environment. 00:04:27.089 --> 00:04:30.069 Oh, I can imagine. Teaching highly trained military 00:04:30.069 --> 00:04:32.990 cadets about philosophy and politics during the 00:04:32.990 --> 00:04:35.629 late 18th century. That sounds like a recipe 00:04:35.629 --> 00:04:38.709 for rebellion. It really was. And here's where 00:04:38.709 --> 00:04:41.569 it gets really interesting. Just over a decade 00:04:41.569 --> 00:04:43.810 after the school opened, the French Revolution 00:04:43.810 --> 00:04:47.110 was sending shockwaves across Europe. Now, looking 00:04:47.110 --> 00:04:48.689 at the sources from this era, it's fascinating 00:04:48.689 --> 00:04:50.750 to see how the school became a battleground for 00:04:50.750 --> 00:04:53.370 the political extremes of the time. Right. The 00:04:53.370 --> 00:04:55.850 sources just neutrally document this intense 00:04:55.850 --> 00:04:57.970 tug of war between the right wing monarchists 00:04:57.970 --> 00:05:00.149 and the left wing Republicans. And regardless 00:05:00.149 --> 00:05:02.009 of where you stand politically today, the sources 00:05:02.009 --> 00:05:04.449 make it clear that just seeing how these teenagers 00:05:04.449 --> 00:05:06.449 were caught in the middle of these massive historical 00:05:06.449 --> 00:05:09.910 movements is wild. It really is. The historical 00:05:09.910 --> 00:05:13.949 facts show us a deeply divided institution. By 00:05:13.949 --> 00:05:16.670 the late 1790s, some of the professors at the 00:05:16.670 --> 00:05:19.310 Nunziatella, specifically the math teacher Carlo 00:05:19.310 --> 00:05:22.310 Lauberg and the chemistry teacher Annabelle Giordano, 00:05:22.490 --> 00:05:25.329 were actively spreading Jacobin ideas among the 00:05:25.329 --> 00:05:28.089 cadets. Just for a quick refresher, when we say 00:05:28.089 --> 00:05:30.689 Jacobin ideas, we're essentially talking about 00:05:30.689 --> 00:05:34.449 the radical, anti -monarchy, pro -republic sentiments 00:05:34.449 --> 00:05:37.029 that were fueling the French Revolution, right? 00:05:37.170 --> 00:05:39.670 Exactly. They were teaching these kids to question 00:05:39.670 --> 00:05:42.730 absolute... which is ironic considering an absolute 00:05:42.730 --> 00:05:45.209 monarch built the school. Right. So when the 00:05:45.209 --> 00:05:47.430 French Republican armies pushed the Bourbon troops 00:05:47.430 --> 00:05:50.829 back to Naples in 1798, the Bourbon King Ferdinand 00:05:50.829 --> 00:05:53.709 actually fled to Sicily. And the local royalist 00:05:53.709 --> 00:05:55.829 population in Naples, a fiercely loyal group 00:05:55.829 --> 00:05:58.410 known as the Lazari, they staged an armed resistance 00:05:58.410 --> 00:06:00.350 against the French to defend the crown. Wait, 00:06:00.389 --> 00:06:02.509 so the king flees, the local loyalists are fighting 00:06:02.509 --> 00:06:04.399 in the streets to protect the monarchy. What 00:06:04.399 --> 00:06:06.579 did the military students do? Well, this is the 00:06:06.579 --> 00:06:09.600 double -edged sword of Parisi's curriculum. The 00:06:09.600 --> 00:06:11.839 students at the Nunciatella had thoroughly absorbed 00:06:11.839 --> 00:06:14.120 those revolutionary ideas from their math and 00:06:14.120 --> 00:06:16.480 chemistry teachers. Right. So they actually sided 00:06:16.480 --> 00:06:19.100 with the Republican revolutionaries. You're kidding. 00:06:19.279 --> 00:06:22.459 No. Under the command of a captain, these teenage 00:06:22.459 --> 00:06:25.199 cadets even repelled an assault by the loyalist 00:06:25.199 --> 00:06:28.019 Lazari, who were trying to break into the school. 00:06:28.459 --> 00:06:31.339 That is mind -blowing. The very school established 00:06:31.339 --> 00:06:34.600 by the Bourbon King to protect the monarchy was 00:06:34.600 --> 00:06:37.339 suddenly defending the newly proclaimed Neapolitan 00:06:37.339 --> 00:06:40.980 Republic. The students were literally using the 00:06:40.980 --> 00:06:44.160 military tactics the king paid for to fight the 00:06:44.160 --> 00:06:46.980 king's supporters. Yeah. And some of their former 00:06:46.980 --> 00:06:49.399 teachers, like Lomberg, even ended up leading 00:06:49.399 --> 00:06:51.639 that new Republican government. Now, of course, 00:06:51.639 --> 00:06:54.120 that republic was very short -lived. Sure. The 00:06:54.120 --> 00:06:56.740 king eventually returned, the monarchy was restored, 00:06:57.019 --> 00:06:59.459 and the school was nearly suppressed as punishment. 00:06:59.680 --> 00:07:02.800 But that rebellious, fiercely independent streak 00:07:02.800 --> 00:07:06.000 in the student body, that did not go away. Clearly 00:07:06.000 --> 00:07:09.410 not. Because if we jump forward to the 1848 riots, 00:07:09.589 --> 00:07:12.529 we see it happen again. There's this incredible 00:07:12.529 --> 00:07:16.170 anecdote in the sources about a literature professor 00:07:16.170 --> 00:07:19.230 named Francesco de Sanctis. Oh, this is a great 00:07:19.230 --> 00:07:21.389 story. The sources mentioned that at first the 00:07:21.389 --> 00:07:23.769 military students just laughed at him, which 00:07:23.769 --> 00:07:26.550 makes sense. You have a bunch of tough, disciplined 00:07:26.550 --> 00:07:29.990 military cadets and in walks this academic guy 00:07:29.990 --> 00:07:32.930 trying to teach them grammar and poetry. Right. 00:07:32.990 --> 00:07:35.819 He seemed completely out of place. But De Sanctis 00:07:35.819 --> 00:07:37.819 possessed an incredible talent for teaching. 00:07:38.040 --> 00:07:40.660 He didn't just teach dry grammar. He exposed 00:07:40.660 --> 00:07:42.779 them to the great literary and philosophical 00:07:42.779 --> 00:07:45.319 works of Europe. Which inherently contained liberal 00:07:45.319 --> 00:07:47.660 and nationalistic ideas about freedom and self 00:07:47.660 --> 00:07:50.379 -determination. Exactly. He eventually won them 00:07:50.379 --> 00:07:52.879 over so completely that cadets from other classes 00:07:52.879 --> 00:07:55.500 would actually sneak into his room just to hear 00:07:55.500 --> 00:07:57.579 his lectures. Wait, military cadets skipping 00:07:57.579 --> 00:07:59.519 their own classes to sneak into a literature 00:07:59.519 --> 00:08:02.240 lecture? That is the mark of a legendary teacher. 00:08:02.680 --> 00:08:06.860 Truly. And his influence was profound. When the 00:08:06.860 --> 00:08:09.860 revolutionary movements of 1848 broke out a period 00:08:09.860 --> 00:08:12.079 often called the Spring of Nations across Europe, 00:08:12.480 --> 00:08:14.939 De Sanctis took part in the uprisings against 00:08:14.939 --> 00:08:18.180 the Bourbon monarchy. And several of his fiercely 00:08:18.180 --> 00:08:21.079 loyal students actually followed their literature 00:08:21.079 --> 00:08:24.220 professor out of the classroom and straight into 00:08:24.220 --> 00:08:27.079 the revolt. A literature professor leading military 00:08:27.079 --> 00:08:30.079 cadets into a street revolution. I mean, can't 00:08:30.079 --> 00:08:32.500 write a better movie script than that. But it 00:08:32.500 --> 00:08:34.860 cost him dearly, didn't it? It did. The revolt 00:08:34.860 --> 00:08:37.320 failed and De Sanctis ended up in a castle prison 00:08:37.320 --> 00:08:39.759 for three years. Wow. And the Burden King at 00:08:39.759 --> 00:08:42.299 the time, Ferdinand II, realized he had a massive 00:08:42.299 --> 00:08:45.100 problem on his hands. Keeping hundreds of stubborn, 00:08:45.240 --> 00:08:47.440 politically active teenagers right in the middle 00:08:47.440 --> 00:08:49.659 of the capital city was a major security risk. 00:08:49.899 --> 00:08:52.980 So what did he do? In 1855, he exiled the entire 00:08:52.980 --> 00:08:56.179 school. He physically moved the Nunziatella out 00:08:56.179 --> 00:08:59.100 of Naples to a town called Maddaloni. just to 00:08:59.100 --> 00:09:00.639 quarantine them and keep them away from liberal 00:09:00.639 --> 00:09:03.259 propaganda in the city. Wait, his solution to 00:09:03.259 --> 00:09:05.220 political unrest was just to move the teenagers 00:09:05.220 --> 00:09:07.360 to a different town? Did he really think that 00:09:07.360 --> 00:09:09.000 would work? Yeah. Can't really quarantine ideas. 00:09:09.120 --> 00:09:11.679 Oh, you can't. And they hated it there. When 00:09:11.679 --> 00:09:14.200 Ferdinand died, his successor, King Francis II, 00:09:14.399 --> 00:09:16.659 was finally persuaded to let the school return 00:09:16.659 --> 00:09:20.200 to their historic home in Naples in 1859. And 00:09:20.200 --> 00:09:22.419 the students were ecstatic. Oh, they planned 00:09:22.419 --> 00:09:25.899 massive, jubilant celebrations, banquets, and 00:09:25.899 --> 00:09:27.899 Thanksgiving masses for their scheduled return. 00:09:28.080 --> 00:09:31.899 And this detail from the source material is just 00:09:31.899 --> 00:09:35.480 perfectly comical. It highlights the sheer stubbornness 00:09:35.480 --> 00:09:38.399 of youth and honestly, the pettiness of absolute 00:09:38.399 --> 00:09:40.679 monarchs. He really does. The young King Francis 00:09:40.679 --> 00:09:43.379 II was so annoyed by the news of these massive, 00:09:43.419 --> 00:09:46.559 joyful celebrations that he actually sent a telegram 00:09:46.559 --> 00:09:50.100 late in the afternoon on September 6th, delaying 00:09:50.100 --> 00:09:52.340 their return by a single day, purely out of spite. 00:09:52.539 --> 00:09:54.399 Yep. He ordered them to spend the seventh on 00:09:54.399 --> 00:09:56.519 the road and return to the city quietly the next 00:09:56.519 --> 00:09:58.850 day without any celebrations at all. It is a 00:09:58.850 --> 00:10:01.830 slightly comical historical footnote, yes, but 00:10:01.830 --> 00:10:05.070 it immediately precedes a deeply tragic era for 00:10:05.070 --> 00:10:07.490 the school. Just a year later, the kingdom of 00:10:07.490 --> 00:10:09.289 the two Sicilies, which was the sovereign state 00:10:09.289 --> 00:10:11.730 that encompassed Naples and Sicily, was invaded 00:10:11.730 --> 00:10:14.169 during a push for Italian unification. Right. 00:10:14.269 --> 00:10:18.750 The events of 1860 and 1861 completely tore the 00:10:18.750 --> 00:10:21.070 institution apart. Because Italian unification 00:10:21.070 --> 00:10:24.309 wasn't just a peaceful treaty. It was a grueling, 00:10:24.309 --> 00:10:27.409 violent process. Yeah. And looking at the sources. 00:10:27.799 --> 00:10:30.299 This is what happens when civil wars erupt. They 00:10:30.299 --> 00:10:33.399 fracture the very bedrock of a society's institutions. 00:10:33.779 --> 00:10:35.340 Yeah. It really was brother against brother. 00:10:35.539 --> 00:10:39.179 Exactly. We see Nunciatella alumni fighting on 00:10:39.179 --> 00:10:41.360 both sides of this conflict. You have officers 00:10:41.360 --> 00:10:43.320 who train in the exact same classrooms, running 00:10:43.320 --> 00:10:45.899 the exact same drills, now leading opposing armies. 00:10:46.120 --> 00:10:48.379 That's rough. A prime example from the sources 00:10:48.379 --> 00:10:50.960 is the Bourbon commander Ferdinando Beneventano 00:10:50.960 --> 00:10:53.659 del Bosco. He was fiercely fighting to defend 00:10:53.659 --> 00:10:56.200 the old kingdom against his own fellow Nunciatella 00:10:56.200 --> 00:10:59.500 alumnus. the Savoy general Enrico Cosenz, who 00:10:59.500 --> 00:11:02.460 was fighting to unify Italy. It's heavy. But 00:11:02.460 --> 00:11:05.059 what really stops you in your tracks when reading 00:11:05.059 --> 00:11:08.059 these sources are the specific details about 00:11:08.059 --> 00:11:10.220 the teenage cadets who were still enrolled at 00:11:10.220 --> 00:11:12.700 the school during all of this. When the Bourbon 00:11:12.700 --> 00:11:15.179 King fled Naples as the unification forces advanced, 00:11:15.559 --> 00:11:17.419 the commander of the school immediately switched 00:11:17.419 --> 00:11:20.139 to the new side, the Garibaldi side, and demanded 00:11:20.139 --> 00:11:22.840 that all the current cadets swear loyalty to 00:11:22.840 --> 00:11:24.980 the new regime. And this is where that concept 00:11:24.980 --> 00:11:27.620 of honor and duty becomes so complicated. Many 00:11:27.620 --> 00:11:30.500 of these young cadets refused. They felt so deeply 00:11:30.500 --> 00:11:32.419 tied to the oath they had originally taken to 00:11:32.419 --> 00:11:34.620 the king of Naples that they chose to flee the 00:11:34.620 --> 00:11:37.220 school entirely. They made their way to join 00:11:37.220 --> 00:11:39.500 the retreating Bourbon forces at the siege of 00:11:39.500 --> 00:11:42.659 Gaeta, which was the monarchy's last major stronghold. 00:11:42.799 --> 00:11:45.539 And when we look at the historical records, their 00:11:45.539 --> 00:11:48.039 ages are just staggering. We are talking about 00:11:48.039 --> 00:11:50.799 literal children. I mean, middle school and high 00:11:50.799 --> 00:11:54.139 school aged kids fleeing to a war zone. The sources 00:11:54.139 --> 00:11:57.019 mentioned two brothers, Antonio and Eduardo Rossi. 00:11:57.039 --> 00:11:59.480 They were 16 and 14 years old. Then there was 00:11:59.480 --> 00:12:01.539 Alfonso Scottie Douglas. He was only 11 years 00:12:01.539 --> 00:12:05.059 old. Wait, 11? Yes. An 11 -year -old child following 00:12:05.059 --> 00:12:07.179 his father to work on the fortress engineering 00:12:07.179 --> 00:12:10.700 under heavy bombardment. That is just heartbreaking. 00:12:11.440 --> 00:12:13.500 And then there's the story of Carlo Giordano. 00:12:13.659 --> 00:12:16.860 He was just 17, and he had been orphaned only 00:12:16.860 --> 00:12:19.279 a few months prior when his father, who was a 00:12:19.279 --> 00:12:22.580 general, passed away. Carlo fled the Nunziatella 00:12:22.580 --> 00:12:26.019 in October of 1860, made it to the siege of Gaeta, 00:12:26.120 --> 00:12:29.720 and served as an artillery servant. The sources 00:12:29.720 --> 00:12:32.220 document that he was tragically killed in a massive 00:12:32.220 --> 00:12:34.659 explosion at his battery while the negotiations 00:12:34.659 --> 00:12:37.059 for the surrender were already underway. It is 00:12:37.059 --> 00:12:39.600 a profound reminder of the human cost behind 00:12:39.600 --> 00:12:41.980 these sweeping historical events. These weren't 00:12:41.980 --> 00:12:44.340 just names on a treaty. They were students. Yeah. 00:12:44.559 --> 00:12:46.960 Following the unification of Italy, the newly 00:12:46.960 --> 00:12:49.299 formed national government looked at the Ninziatella 00:12:49.299 --> 00:12:52.039 with a great deal of distrust. It was seen as 00:12:52.039 --> 00:12:54.860 a dangerous relic of the old regime, and they 00:12:54.860 --> 00:12:57.080 actually downgraded it from a full academy to 00:12:57.080 --> 00:12:59.379 a preparatory military college. But the sheer 00:12:59.379 --> 00:13:01.559 quality of the education, the life and weapons 00:13:01.559 --> 00:13:03.679 philosophy, and the resilience of its traditions 00:13:03.679 --> 00:13:07.230 allowed it to survive. Yes. It went on to train 00:13:07.230 --> 00:13:09.289 some of the highest -ranking officers of the 00:13:09.289 --> 00:13:12.029 new Italian kingdom, and even train the designated 00:13:12.029 --> 00:13:14.730 heir to the throne, the future king Vittorio 00:13:14.730 --> 00:13:17.990 Emanuele III. So they survived the unification, 00:13:18.330 --> 00:13:20.909 they rebuilt their reputation, and then almost 00:13:20.909 --> 00:13:23.190 immediately they were thrust right into the meat 00:13:23.190 --> 00:13:25.720 grinder of the First World War. Yes, and the 00:13:25.720 --> 00:13:28.580 toll was devastating. When you walk into the 00:13:28.580 --> 00:13:31.080 entrance hall of the school today, there is a 00:13:31.080 --> 00:13:34.399 very poignant memorial known as Il Maso, which 00:13:34.399 --> 00:13:37.799 translates to the boulder. Right. It's an actual 00:13:37.799 --> 00:13:40.220 bloody rock that was brought down from the Venetian 00:13:40.220 --> 00:13:43.019 Alps, meant to commemorate the 120 former cadets 00:13:43.019 --> 00:13:45.759 who died in that specific conflict. And there 00:13:45.759 --> 00:13:48.399 is one story attached to that boulder that really 00:13:48.399 --> 00:13:50.759 embodies the intense brotherhood of this school. 00:13:51.279 --> 00:13:53.460 The sources detail the story of a cadet named 00:13:53.460 --> 00:13:56.580 Alessandro de Mondaco. He was a cadet sergeant 00:13:56.580 --> 00:13:58.879 at the school during the war. He received news 00:13:58.879 --> 00:14:00.659 that his father had been killed at the front. 00:14:01.100 --> 00:14:03.340 Instead of withdrawing, he immediately rushed 00:14:03.340 --> 00:14:06.059 to finish his exams, got his baccalaureate, and 00:14:06.059 --> 00:14:08.519 voluntarily left for the war to avenge his father. 00:14:09.019 --> 00:14:11.279 Two months later, he was killed in combat in 00:14:11.279 --> 00:14:13.899 the Alps. The emotional weight of that loss is 00:14:13.899 --> 00:14:15.659 captured in a tradition that followed, which 00:14:15.659 --> 00:14:18.419 is incredibly moving. During the consecration 00:14:18.419 --> 00:14:21.039 ceremony of that monument, a roll call of the 00:14:21.039 --> 00:14:23.519 fallen was read aloud. For each name called, 00:14:23.740 --> 00:14:26.059 a joint group of cadets would answer present. 00:14:26.379 --> 00:14:29.039 But when they called Alessandro de Mandato's 00:14:29.039 --> 00:14:31.220 name, his mother was actually in attendance. 00:14:31.919 --> 00:14:34.659 She was so overcome with grief from losing both 00:14:34.659 --> 00:14:37.120 her husband and her young son that she physically 00:14:37.120 --> 00:14:40.759 couldn't speak. In that total silence, a young 00:14:40.759 --> 00:14:43.000 cadet stepped forward from the ranks and answered 00:14:43.000 --> 00:14:46.230 for her. To this day, when modern cadets pass 00:14:46.230 --> 00:14:48.929 that boulder in the hallway, they offer a military 00:14:48.929 --> 00:14:51.909 salute. It is deeply ingrained in the school's 00:14:51.909 --> 00:14:54.279 culture. that the level of respect that transcends 00:14:54.279 --> 00:14:57.059 generations. And as the timeline moves forward 00:14:57.059 --> 00:15:00.019 into the 1920s and 30s, we hit the fascist era 00:15:00.019 --> 00:15:02.860 in Italy. Now, again, just looking purely at 00:15:02.860 --> 00:15:04.539 the historical facts presented in the source 00:15:04.539 --> 00:15:07.820 material, the regime at the time heavily militarized 00:15:07.820 --> 00:15:10.740 Italian society. Yes. So naturally, they placed 00:15:10.740 --> 00:15:12.740 a massive amount of focus on prestigious military 00:15:12.740 --> 00:15:15.840 schools like the Nunziatella to align with their 00:15:15.840 --> 00:15:18.899 expansionist goals. Right. The sources impartially 00:15:18.899 --> 00:15:21.960 report on how strictly the regime demanded total 00:15:21.960 --> 00:15:25.059 loyalty and ideological conformity from the institutions 00:15:25.059 --> 00:15:28.220 they controlled. For instance, in 1925, there 00:15:28.220 --> 00:15:30.340 was a literature and philosophy professor at 00:15:30.340 --> 00:15:33.279 the school named Floriano del Sicolo. And what 00:15:33.279 --> 00:15:54.309 happened to him? Right. Because suddenly. The 00:15:54.309 --> 00:15:57.669 war is over. And the newly formed post -war Italian 00:15:57.669 --> 00:16:00.629 democracy is looking at this school that has 00:16:00.629 --> 00:16:03.250 incredibly strong ties to the recently abolished 00:16:03.250 --> 00:16:06.029 monarchy and strong ties to the defeated fascist 00:16:06.029 --> 00:16:07.870 regime. Exactly. They almost abolished the school 00:16:07.870 --> 00:16:10.070 entirely. They downgraded it. They literally 00:16:10.070 --> 00:16:12.929 took away the students' uniforms and stuck them 00:16:12.929 --> 00:16:15.070 in confined spaces while the main historical 00:16:15.070 --> 00:16:17.590 building was occupied by British troops. It really 00:16:17.590 --> 00:16:20.269 looked like the end of the line. It did. But 00:16:20.269 --> 00:16:23.100 this is where the alumni network steps in. The 00:16:23.100 --> 00:16:26.000 former students, the professors, they revolted 00:16:26.000 --> 00:16:28.460 against the closure. They launched this massive 00:16:28.460 --> 00:16:30.679 public protest. There's this incredibly dramatic 00:16:30.679 --> 00:16:32.960 moment in the sources where the commander of 00:16:32.960 --> 00:16:35.440 the school, Oliviero Prunus, actually demands 00:16:35.440 --> 00:16:38.039 an audience with King Umberto II right before 00:16:38.039 --> 00:16:40.740 the monarchy is officially abolished. Prunus 00:16:40.740 --> 00:16:43.179 is standing there fighting for the school's life, 00:16:43.299 --> 00:16:46.500 and he shouts at the king, Majesty, the nunciatella 00:16:46.500 --> 00:16:49.320 must live. And it worked. The school was saved. 00:16:49.960 --> 00:16:51.700 If we connect this to the bigger picture, the 00:16:51.700 --> 00:16:54.159 survival of the Nunziatella post -World War II 00:16:54.159 --> 00:16:56.620 is a direct testament to the core philosophy 00:16:56.620 --> 00:16:59.120 Giuseppe Parisi instituted centuries earlier. 00:16:59.519 --> 00:17:01.980 Because the school wasn't just producing soldiers 00:17:01.980 --> 00:17:04.240 who only knew how to take orders. It was producing 00:17:04.240 --> 00:17:07.900 highly educated citizens. It produced intellectuals, 00:17:07.900 --> 00:17:10.019 lawyers, doctors, and influential politicians. 00:17:10.420 --> 00:17:13.980 And that vast, diverse alumni network rallied 00:17:13.980 --> 00:17:16.339 together across political lines to save their 00:17:16.339 --> 00:17:19.140 alma mater. Which brings us to today. The modern 00:17:19.140 --> 00:17:21.480 Red Manor, as the school is affectionately called 00:17:21.480 --> 00:17:23.920 because of its distinctive red walls. And the 00:17:23.920 --> 00:17:26.420 curriculum today is absolutely fascinating. It 00:17:26.420 --> 00:17:28.920 really is. It operates essentially as an elite 00:17:28.920 --> 00:17:31.440 civilian high school that is seamlessly mixed 00:17:31.440 --> 00:17:35.140 with intense hands -on military training. Exactly. 00:17:35.589 --> 00:17:37.930 You've got 16 -year -olds sitting in a 16th century 00:17:37.930 --> 00:17:40.289 building studying classical Latin and Greek literature. 00:17:40.549 --> 00:17:42.930 And then in the afternoon, they're heading to 00:17:42.930 --> 00:17:46.170 a firing range to run tactical drills with Beretta 00:17:46.170 --> 00:17:50.009 AR -7090 assault rifles. It's an incredible juxtaposition. 00:17:50.150 --> 00:17:51.869 But because of that dual focus preparing for 00:17:51.869 --> 00:17:54.670 life and weapons, they produce this wild variety 00:17:54.670 --> 00:17:57.650 of alumni. Yes, they produce the chiefs of staff 00:17:57.650 --> 00:17:59.789 of the Italian military, but they also produce 00:17:59.789 --> 00:18:02.509 people like Stefano Dubé. The Disney animator. 00:18:02.529 --> 00:18:04.710 Yes. He's a former cadet who went on to become 00:18:04.710 --> 00:18:06.630 an incredibly successful animator, and he actually 00:18:06.630 --> 00:18:09.170 won Academy Awards for his work on the Disney 00:18:09.170 --> 00:18:12.890 movies Frozen and Big Hero 6. A guy who marched 00:18:12.890 --> 00:18:15.349 in formation with an assault rifle helped design 00:18:15.349 --> 00:18:18.329 Baymax. That is the Parisi philosophy in action. 00:18:18.589 --> 00:18:21.210 It perfectly encapsulates the modern identity 00:18:21.210 --> 00:18:24.759 of the school. It is an institution. deeply rooted 00:18:24.759 --> 00:18:27.660 in a rigid tradition, but incredibly adaptable 00:18:27.660 --> 00:18:30.140 to the modern world. And of course, those traditions 00:18:30.140 --> 00:18:32.599 often border on the eccentric, which is exactly 00:18:32.599 --> 00:18:34.720 what you would expect from hundreds of teenagers 00:18:34.720 --> 00:18:37.279 living together in an ancient building. Oh, the 00:18:37.279 --> 00:18:38.940 quirks are the best part. You have the intense 00:18:38.940 --> 00:18:40.980 military discipline, but then you have things 00:18:40.980 --> 00:18:43.160 like the legend of the ghost of St. Crispin. 00:18:43.180 --> 00:18:46.480 Right. The story goes that a young cadet, supposedly 00:18:46.480 --> 00:18:49.019 the son of a general, tragically died at the 00:18:49.019 --> 00:18:51.660 school on the night of St. Crispin. So today, 00:18:52.119 --> 00:18:54.319 Centuries later, the modern cadets honor his 00:18:54.319 --> 00:18:57.500 memory by absolutely refusing to ever occupy 00:18:57.500 --> 00:18:59.980 the first bed in the school's infirmary. It just 00:18:59.980 --> 00:19:02.839 stays empty. No matter how crowded it gets, that 00:19:02.839 --> 00:19:05.220 bed is for the ghost. It's a wonderful piece 00:19:05.220 --> 00:19:07.980 of institutional folklore. And then you have 00:19:07.980 --> 00:19:10.279 the class mottos, which show off that distinct 00:19:10.279 --> 00:19:12.880 blend of classical education and teenage rebellion. 00:19:13.240 --> 00:19:15.519 Right. Because the school is divided into classical 00:19:15.519 --> 00:19:19.460 and scientific high school tracks, each specific 00:19:19.460 --> 00:19:22.740 section gets to choose its own motto. Some are 00:19:22.740 --> 00:19:25.920 deeply historical and profound, like Sturm und 00:19:25.920 --> 00:19:28.380 Drang for one of the science classes. But then 00:19:28.380 --> 00:19:30.940 another science class recently decided to change 00:19:30.940 --> 00:19:33.880 their historical motto, which used to be a beautiful, 00:19:34.000 --> 00:19:37.000 poetic line from Dante's Divine Comedy. And what 00:19:37.000 --> 00:19:39.039 did they change it to? They changed it to the 00:19:39.039 --> 00:19:41.680 song We Are the Champions by the band Queen. 00:19:41.920 --> 00:19:44.559 Which is wonderfully subversive and exactly what 00:19:44.559 --> 00:19:46.240 you would expect from high school students, even 00:19:46.240 --> 00:19:48.880 those in a strict military academy. They are 00:19:48.880 --> 00:19:51.140 still kids at the end of the day. So what does 00:19:51.140 --> 00:19:53.640 this all mean? We've gone from the Bourbon Kings 00:19:53.640 --> 00:19:56.460 trying to secure their borders to kids fighting 00:19:56.460 --> 00:20:00.480 in 19th century sieges to modern teenagers quoting 00:20:00.480 --> 00:20:03.319 Freddie Mercury and animating Disney princesses. 00:20:03.380 --> 00:20:05.859 I think the Nunciatella serves as a living laboratory 00:20:05.859 --> 00:20:08.880 of human history. Its true legacy isn't really 00:20:08.880 --> 00:20:11.440 found in the specific wars its alumni fought, 00:20:11.599 --> 00:20:14.160 because as we've seen today, they often fought 00:20:14.160 --> 00:20:16.440 on opposite sides of those wars. That's very 00:20:16.440 --> 00:20:18.960 true. The true legacy is in the philosophy of 00:20:18.960 --> 00:20:21.950 the education itself. Giuseppe Parisi's brilliant 00:20:21.950 --> 00:20:25.269 insight in 1787 was that balancing the humanities, 00:20:25.329 --> 00:20:27.349 literature, philosophy, science with rigorous 00:20:27.349 --> 00:20:30.630 discipline creates a well -rounded citizen. They 00:20:30.630 --> 00:20:33.369 truly understand both life and weapons. They 00:20:33.369 --> 00:20:35.109 understand what they are defending, not just 00:20:35.109 --> 00:20:37.250 how to defend it. And I think there's a huge 00:20:37.250 --> 00:20:39.849 practical takeaway in that for you listening 00:20:39.849 --> 00:20:42.950 right now. Consider the value of intentionally 00:20:42.950 --> 00:20:45.769 learning things completely outside your immediate 00:20:45.769 --> 00:20:48.210 profession. If you are a software engineer, read 00:20:48.210 --> 00:20:51.470 poetry. are an artist, study economics. Absolutely. 00:20:51.730 --> 00:20:54.490 There is immense power and resilience in being 00:20:54.490 --> 00:20:57.029 well -rounded. Just like a cadet studying both 00:20:57.029 --> 00:20:59.069 artillery trajectories and the writings of Dante, 00:20:59.289 --> 00:21:02.630 you become adaptable. You become capable of surviving 00:21:02.630 --> 00:21:04.809 the shifts in your own industry or your own life. 00:21:04.970 --> 00:21:07.049 This raises an important question, and it's something 00:21:07.049 --> 00:21:09.230 I'd like to leave you with today to mull over 00:21:09.230 --> 00:21:13.490 on your own. If a single institution can seamlessly 00:21:13.490 --> 00:21:16.829 adapt its identity across absolute monarchies, 00:21:16.910 --> 00:21:20.049 revolutionary republics, fascist regimes, and 00:21:20.049 --> 00:21:22.730 a modern democracy without ever losing its core 00:21:22.730 --> 00:21:25.130 sense of brotherhood, what does that say about 00:21:25.130 --> 00:21:27.490 the true nature of human tradition versus political 00:21:27.490 --> 00:21:30.329 ideology? That is a phenomenal thought to end 00:21:30.329 --> 00:21:32.890 on. Tradition outlasting the turbulence. Thank 00:21:32.890 --> 00:21:34.730 you so much for joining us on this deep dive 00:21:34.730 --> 00:21:36.789 into the source material. We absolutely loved 00:21:36.789 --> 00:21:39.390 unpacking this story for you, and we'll see you 00:21:39.390 --> 00:21:39.750 next time.