Most of our pop stars and movie stars are unanimously called “queens”, and by doing so we definitely signify that we love them. God save our beloved pop queens that bring joy and hope into our lives just by being the incredible artists they are. Even in our everyday life, we are used to calling each other “queen” when we want to express our admiration for a lifestyle that is dignified by a powerful presence, bold action in helping others, or words that last in our memory when pronounced in difficult times.
A queen is a life for the others, a body that symbolizes quiet elegance of manners, an always welcoming smile especially in hard times, a courageous voice always on the side of the weakest, the poorest, those who are stuck in forced silence. A queen is justice and friendship even if you’ve never met her and you can only dream of telling her your admiration. No one actually tells her directly, but she knows she is loved, and she never deceives her people. Every pop queen knows “her people”, loves them, lives to give them hope for a fairer world where beauty and justice go together. Being a queen is a hard job, and that’s why it implies such an incredible amount of love.
Our pop queens are extremely talented. They can sing, dance, they are also the most accomplished movie stars. Caroline Bingley would be delighted to make their acquaintance indeed. They perfectly match her description of accomplishment as she depicts it for Elizabeth Bennet: “no one can be really esteemed accomplished who does not greatly surpass what is usually met with. A woman must have a thorough knowledge of music, singing, drawing, dancing, and the modern languages, to deserve the word; and, besides all this, she must possess a certain something in her air and manner of walking, the tone of her voice, her address and expressions, or the word will be but half deserved. ” Time has passed since these words made their first readers smile. We still smile at them because it is one of our shibboleths in Jane Austen’s fans’ community. The word “accomplished” has slightly moved from its initial broad meaning, but still, being accomplished is powerful and our pop queens are definitely worth the attribute.
I have been visiting the exhibition “Queens: Weaving Culture and Diplomacy Between Naples and Europe” at the Royal Palace of Caserta last week, and I have been impressed by the sense it confers to the word “queen”. One might think it is a plain display of how “poor” queens of distant ages were portrayed, forced as they were to marry for political schemes and family alliances. On the contrary, I’ve been mesmerized by the way the exhibition tells the story of bold, brilliant, well read, well educated, refined, gentle, beautiful inside-out Queens of Naples who played key parts in European history since 1692, the birth date of Elisabetta Farnese, Princess of Parma and Piacenza, and mother to Charles of Bourbon.
To those who are now wondering why I am so fond of Southern Italy’s Royal History I shall say that I was born in the South of Italy, I love its history, and all its cultures and traditions. I cherish southern sounds in my voice. Notwithstanding all the criticisms that people, especially from the North of Italy, may speak of South Italian people, I will always proudly recall the history of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, whose origins date back to the Middle Ages, when the Kingdom of Sicily was the crib of the Mediterranean Sea, a land of dialogue between cultures and religions where Italian poetry was born. Keeping the South Italian history alive is to me a way to resist against discrimination towards South Italian people. They are my people, they are big-hearted, hard workers, the best in the world at partying, and I am proud of them.