Peace of Caltabellotta

31 August, 1302, was the date on which the War of the Sicilian Vespers, begun in 1282, can be said to have ended. The Peace of Caltabellotta was the formal treaty ending the struggle between the Houses of Anjou and Barcelona for the control of Sicily and the Mezzogiorno (the southern portion of Italy's mainland). The treaty separated the island of Sicily from the mainland, which came to be known as the Kingdom of Naples, still under the rule of Charles of Anjou. Frederick III was ruling Sicily. He was the third son of Peter of Aragon and succeeded his brother James on the throne. In effect, this treaty formalized an uneasy status quo. The treaty stipulated that Sicily, now called the Kingdom of Trinacria, would pass to the Angevins upon Frederick's death. Charles was obligated to pay tribute of 100,000 ounces of gold to Frederick, unless Pope Boniface VIII allowed Frederick to conquer either Sardinia or Cyprus. Frederick released Charles's son Phillip, Prince of Taranto, from imprisonment, and  he married Charles's daughter Eleanor. Five hundred years later in 1816 the Kingdom of Sicily merged with the Kingdom of Naples to form the Kingdom of Two Sicilies. Not until 1861 did Sicily become part of the Kingdom of Italy.
     Wishing the world, and all of you peace in 2016.