Nella bocca del cittadino : dialoghi, catechismi e repertori culturali della tradizione nella Napoli in rivoluzione del 1820-21

In the mouth of the citizen: dialogues, catechisms and traditional cultural repertoirs in Naples during the Revolution of 1820-21. This article aims to study the processes of political acculturation in Naples during the Revolution of 1820-21 through the analysis of some dialogues published to propagate the principles of the Cadiz Constitution adopted in the Kingdom of Two Sicilies. During the constitutional months, thanks to the freedom of the press, different rhetorical strategies were adopted by writers that attempted to guarantee a political education to a large audience and to involve street performers (“Rinaldo singers”) in their pedagog- ical project. All the dialogues testify an effort aimed to educate the population of the Kingdom in order to steer it among the new political rights, stabilize the constitutional monarchy and ensure a broad consensus.