Charles I of Anjou (1266-85), the France King’s brother defeated Manfredi. He was the illegitimate son of the emperor Frederick II of Swabia. He became King of Sicily with official ordination of the Pope and absolute master of Naples and Sicily. He was a real despot and under his government Palermo, the splendid Norman and Swabian capital, fell into an inexorable decay. The entire Sicily followed the same destiny, abandoned to baron’s agricultural anarchism.

The Angevin dominion did not last too long: the embezzlement of French conquerors, the transfer of the capital to Naples, the burden imposed by the feudal landlords caused the so called “Sicilian Vespers” insurrection.
It began at the Vesper hour on March 30th, 1282, on Monday after Easter, in front of the church of Santo Spirito (Holy Spirit) in Palermo. The insurrection spread rapidly in the whole Sicily.
The war, to which Peter of Aragon took part, as he was bound through his wife to the Swabian House, went along for over twenty years and the peace treaty was finally signed in Caltabellotta in 1302. Thus, Sicily passed in the hands of the Crown of Aragon.

Giuseppe Verdi, the great Italian composer of the XIX century was inspired by this heroic event in the history of Sicily for his lyrical opera “Les Vêpres Siciliennes”, the Sicilian Vespers. The original version was actually wrote in French and made its debut at Opéra de Paris on June 13th, 1855, but it was censored in Italy. This opera was frequently performed, particularly in its Italian version, and was in this drama set up at “La Scala”, the famous Opera theatre in Milan, that Maria Callas had her last public exhibition.
Once more a pen dedicated to a great theme of the Italian history and to one of its most beautiful lands.

The green nuances of the ebonite, the ancient material used for the first fountain pens, recall the green of the sea waves crashing towards the beaches and cliffs of the wonderful island of Sicily. Its earth burned by the sun, the orange-trees smell and its past rich of history.
The black ebonite, for its classic version. Suggests the black colour of the shawl worn once by Sicilian women.

The precious and finely refined sterling silver details, are enlightened by delicate rose gold reflections, like a sunset behind the ruins of ancient temples of “Magna Graecia” as the Romans called the Greek colony.

Vespri Siciliani in its fountain pen version with cartridge/converter filling system has a steel nib which offers a high quality trait for every handwriting style. A roller ball version is also available in both colours.