Un'impresa a improbabilità infinita: Napoli e la prima nave a vapore del Mediterraneo

This article investigates the history of the first steamship of the Mediterranean, the Ferdinando I, built in Naples in 1818. In particular, after outlining the conditions of merchant navy in Restoration Mezzogiorno, it focuses on the French entrepreneur holder of the patent for steam navigation in the Two Sicilies (Pierre Andriel), on the limited partnership set up for the purpose, and on the role played by the Neapolitan government. From the analysis emerge the adventurer character of the promoter, the disengagement of the shareholders and the substantial unconcern of the Neapolitan government. Those elements, while making all the more remarkable Ferdinando I's good performance, prevented a pioneering enterprise to consolidate and transform itself into a factor of modernization.