Science Fair Project Encyclopedia
Although in the middle of the Kingdom of Naples, the town was an enclave of the Papal States from 1463 until captured by the French army in the Napoleonic Wars. After having been proclaimed King of Italy in 1805, Napoleon created Ponte Corvo a principality for his General Jean Baptiste Bernadotte. The principality was nominally sovereign, but the Prince did have to take an oath to the King. It was shortlived however, and in 1815 the town was ceded back to the Papal States. In 1860 it joined Benevento, the other southern Italian papal enclave, in being united with the new Kingdom of Italy.
The town was destroyed during World War II, and rebuilt in a modern style.
Princes of Ponte Corvo
- 1806-1810 : Jean Baptiste Julius Bernadotte (who returned the title upon becoming Crown Prince of Sweden)
- 1812-1815 : Lucien Murat (son of Joachim Murat, King of Naples)
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