Rothschild banking family of Naples

Neapolitan banking family

The Rothschild banking family of Naples was the Neapolitan branch of the Rothschild family. It was founded by Carl Mayer von Rothschild (1788–1855), who was sent to the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies from Frankfurt in 1821. Endogamy within the family was an essential part of the Rothschild strategy in order to ensure control of their wealth remained in the family's hands. Through their collaborative efforts, the Rothschilds rose to prominence in a variety of banking endeavors including loans, government bonds, and trading in bullion. Their financing afforded investment opportunities and during the 19th century, they became major stakeholders in large scale mining and rail transport ventures that were fundamental to the rapidly expanding industrial economies of Europe. By 1820, N M Rothschild & Sons bank was already operating successfully in London, England, de Rothschild Frères in Paris, and S M von Rothschild in Vienna, Austria where Salomon Mayer von Rothschild became a powerful ally of Austria's Prince Klemens Metternich. In March 1821, in support of King Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies, the Austrian army entered the Sicilian Kingdom and occupied Naples. This event opened the door to the Rothschild interests and Carl von Rothschild was sent to Naples where he established C M de Rothschild & Figli to operate as a satellite office to the Rothschild banking family of Germany headquarters in Frankfurt am Main.

In 1822, the five Rothschild brothers at the head of the family's banks in various parts of Europe were each granted the hereditary title of Freiherr (baron) in the Austrian nobility by Emperor Francis I of Austria (formerly Francis II, the last Holy Roman Emperor). As a result, some members of the Rothschild family used the nobiliary particle de or von before their surname to acknowledge the grant of nobility.

The end of the Naples branch began when revolution broke out and Giuseppe Garibaldi captured Naples on September 7, 1860, and set up a provisional government. Because of the family's close political connections with Austria and France, Adolphe Carl von Rothschild was caught in a delicate position. He chose to take temporary sanctuary in Gaeta with the Bourbon king Francis II of the Two Sicilies but the Rothschild houses in London, Paris, and Vienna were not prepared to financially support the deposed king. With the ensuing unification of Italy and the mounting tension between Adolf and the rest of the family, after forty two years in business, the Naples house closed in 1863. Mathilde Hannah von Rothschild (1832–1924) of the Austrian branch of the family, who married Wilhelm Carl von Rothschild of Naples/Frankfurt, founded and endowed the Carl von Rothschild Public Library as a public institution. In 1901, at the time of the closure of the Rothschilds' Frankfurt office, family discussions took place concerning the disposition of the records of the Naples house. Alphonse James de Rothschild opposed the idea of preserving the documents in the Rothschild Library in Frankfurt and eventually it was agreed that all the Naples office records be destroyed. The brothers Mayer Carl and Wilhelm Carl von Rothschild had only daughters (ten in total) and with the 1935 deaths of Emma Louisa de Rothschild (daughter of Mayer Carl) and Adelheid de Rothschild (daughter of Wilhelm Carl), the Neapolitan branch went extinct in the male line. All branches of the Rothschild banking family are famous for their art collections and a number for their palatial estates. Because the Naples branch was run by just two family members, father Carl Mayer von Rothschild, and son Adolphe, the only great property they occupied there was the Villa Pignatelli at Riviera di Chiaia with a spectacular view of Mount Vesuvius, acquired in 1841.