Commander Kelly at Museo Napleonico Rome, Italy |
"Dans le monde il n’y a qu’une alternative : commander ou obéir. On prétend que, pour bien savoir commander, il a fallu d’abord bien savoir obéir. Quelle erreur ! Je n’ai jamais obéi, moi, j’ai toujours commandé." (Napoléon Bonaparte)
"In the world there is only one alternative: command or obey. It is contended that, to know command, one must first learn to obey. What a mistake! I never obeyed, me, I always commanded." (Napoleon Bonaparte)
On the banks of the Tiber across from the Castel Sant'Angelo you will find the Museo Napoleonico -- one of the foremost museums in the world devoted to Napoleon I, the Emperor of the French. You will find the link here...http://en.museonapoleonico.it/.
As the bicentennial of the battle of Waterloo in 2015 looms before us, Napoleon Bonaparte continues to fascinate the public. More books have been written about Napoleon than any other person in human history with the exception of Jesus Christ.
Napoleon I He sold us the Midwest |
To the French, Napoleon was their moment of maximum glory. To the Corsicans, he was their favorite son and...a traitor. To Americans, Napoleon remains relevant (see earlier post Napoleon...Relevant Today, 5/20/12) if only because the Louisiana Purchase from Napoleonic France by President Jefferson accounts for 23% of all current US territory including ALL of the states of Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Oklahoma as well as parts of Minnesota, North and South Dakota, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, New Mexico, Northern Texas and Louisiana. To Europeans, Napoleon's legacy endures principally in the dream of a unified and centralized European Union and currency. To the Russians, he was a proto-Hitler who invaded their nation and burned the holy city of Moscow. To the British, he will always remain the tyrannical ogre who despised their "nation of shopkeepers," threatened their island home with invasion and then starvation, only to be defeated by their greatest martial heroes -- Nelson and Wellington.
Napoleon in coronation dress Museo Napoleonico, Rome |
Napoleon I, 1769 - 1821 |
Pope Pius VII (1800-1823) being arrested by French troops in Rome |
Pauline Bonaparte 1780 - 1825 By Joseph Kinson |
A model of Pauline's breast |
Napoleon's brother Lucien was considered the "Rebel" of the family (see earlier post Napoleon and the Rebel, 10/24/12). Lucien the Republican politician helped Napoleon advance to power and Napoleon never forgave the debt. You can find a portrait of Lucien, who lived for a time in Florence, here as well.
Lucien Bonaparte 1775 - 1840, by F.X. Fabre |
Zenaide and Carlotta Bonaparte, by by J. L. David
Commander Kelly says, "When in Rome, visit the Museo Napleonico and Vive Napoleon!"
Special Thanks to Matteo Pierattini and all the staff of the Palazzo Tornabuonni (http://www.palazzotornabuoni.com/en/default.asp) in Florence. |
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2 comments:
France has more need of me than I have need of France.
Napoleon Bonaparte
So I guess it makes sense that the Italians celebrate him with a museum!
I recommend Herbert Von Karajan's recording of symphs 4&5; Berlin Philharmonic, Deutsche Grammophon.
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