Umanisti vescovi nel Regno di Napoli tra Pio II e Ferrante d’Aragona. Il rilancio della cultura classica e dell’antico locale nelle città

Pope Pius II, the Sienese Enea Silvio Piccolomini, appointed several learned humanists bishops of dioceses of the Kingdom of Naples. The years of his pontificate (1458-1464) mostly coincide with those of the War of the Neapolitan Succession (1460-1465): since Pius was among the most determined allies of Ferrante of Aragon, these humanists played a rel- evant role in strengthening the pontifical authority in their dioceses, in sup- porting King Ferrante against his enemies, and in contributing to the pontif- ical and Aragonese propaganda through their writings. In this way, they also contributed to spreading humanism and antiquarianism in even the most remote areas of the Kingdom of Naples, letting grow a local interest in the memories of the ancient past. In the paper, the activities of these bishops- humanists are discussed, especially as regards the most prominent of them, namely Niccolò Perotti, Francesco Patrizi, Bartolomeo de Scalis, and Gio- vanni Antonio Campano.