“The Legend of San Gennaro” a forgotten testimony by John Peter. Written in 800 in Naples in French and never translated, it arrives in bookstores in September for Stamperia del Valentino
For the I Cinquecento series by Stamperia del Valentino, in bookstores La Leggenda di san Gennaro (82 pages, 12 euros), a volume by John Peter never translated. Written in Naples in French in the second half of the nineteenth century, it had been completely forgotten and today, thanks to the curiosity and tenacity of the editor Paolo Izzo, it comes back to light as a testimony of particular cultural value.
The cult of San Gennaro, always in a precarious balance between the sacred and the profane, is analyzed here by the author in its late nineteenth-century declination. The point of observation, that of a convinced Protestant, does nothing but dimension in a historical context the various sources and the relative legends on the life and works of the mythical protector of the city of Naples. This dimension too - the reader will discover - is not exactly peaceful, given the historical and parochial disputes between the places where he lived, which have always tried to appropriate him. A fresh and tasty read on a subject that is anything but frivolous, which touches the deepest chords of popular conscience not only Neapolitan. Fascinating not only the pen, but also the point of view of an almost anonymous author who, instead, lived in Naples for 20 years and studied places and characters in depth, not least Francesco Mastriani.
John Peter (Jean-Charles) was a cultured and curious man, he collected his main writings in two volumes: Études napolitaines (1882) published in Naples and Lausanne, and Nouvelles ètudes napolitanes (1887) also in the process of being translated and soon to be published by Stamperia del Valentino. Coming from a family from Geneva, where he was born in 1833, Peter wrote a book on Padre Rocco and one on San Gennaro, remaining a Protestant pastor. In 1860 he was in Burgundy (Chalon-sur-Saone), then in Saint-Denis, in the heart of Paris, and in 1866 he arrived in Naples, where he was pastor of the French church until '86. In 1878 he published the pamphlet on the Dominican Padre Rocco (1700-1782), who Dumas defined as "more powerful in Naples than the Mayor, the Archbishop, and even the King". In 1884 Peter devoted himself to writing the text on the legend of San Gennaro, at the end of which he also introduced the reviews of the first collection.
The legend of San Gennaro – like his other Neapolitan writings – has remained unknown until now, having never been translated and published.
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After his stay in Naples, Peter returned to Geneva, where he published Fleurs d'herbier and Petites chroniques genevoises. He died in 1901.
The volume can be purchased on all industry platforms and on the publisher's website: www.stamperiadelvalentino.it
The publishing house
Publisher since 2002, Paolo Izzo, alter-ego of Stamperia del Valentino, manages the editorial choices of his “creature” with extreme rigor. The result is a high-profile catalogue both in the field of Neapolitan culture and in that of humanistic, esoteric and historical production. Stamperia del Valentino wants to bring cultured, folkloristic and literary Naples back to the public’s attention. For this purpose, it selects works aimed at the curious cultured as well as the scholar, with an eye to the originality and completeness of the proposed themes.
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