In the 19th century understanding of the aurora borealis was enriched by new scientific and artistic perspectives, marking a growing awareness of the connection between solar activity and terrestrial atmospheric phenomena. In Naples observations of the aurora multiplied, giving rise to accounts that interweave scientific rigor, aesthetic sensitivity, and social participation.
A landmark episode was the aurora of 1848, observed from the Capodimonte Observatory and portrayed by Salvatore Fergola, a painter of the Posillipo School. Fergola created two versions of the phenomenon, documenting the different phases with intense colors and rays of light overlooking the countryside northwest of the observatory. In the second painting, a small votive shrine and a group of people gathered in prayer testify to the emotional reaction to the event. Commander Mario Patrelli, director of the Royal Navy Observatory, offered a technical description, contributing to the recording of the event.
Scientific outreach joined the popular narrative through the voices of Ernesto Capocci and Annibale de Gasparis, who described the aurora in local newspapers. Capocci described "a crimson zone" that extended 180° across the horizon, with transparent shadows that allowed the stars to be glimpsed. Capocci urged Neapolitans to interpret the phenomenon with scientific curiosity, without resorting to superstition.
His reflections received international resonance: in the Comptes Rendus de l’Académie des Sciences, he was praised for his poetic sensitivity, although there were reservations about his hypothesis that moonlight during eclipses could derive from terrestrial auroras. In the Monthly Notices, his theory on the common origin of auroras, meteorites, and comets was discussed by Thomas Galloway, who appreciated its originality while emphasizing the need for experimental confirmation.
Neapolitan satire greeted the event with comic flair: in the magazine L'Arlecchino, the aurora became a theatrical and political allegory, featuring celestial merchants, red republics, and burning puddings. In contrast, the clerical response was severe: the magazine Verità e Libertà accused Capocci of having characterized the popular reaction to the aurora of 1737 as "superstitious consternation," defending the role of the clergy and criticizing the astronomer for failing to provide reassuring explanations.
Interest in the "Sun-Earth connection" was consolidated thanks to the studies of Angelo Secchi, who in his book Le Soleil hypothesized continuous magnetoelectric influences between the Sun and the Earth. On September 1, 1859, Richard Carrington observed a strong solar flare, associated with auroras visible even at low latitudes and global telegraph failures. Secchi observed the phenomenon from Rome, while no sightings were recorded in Naples on that date. However, on October 12, 1859, Patrelli documented an aurora borealis from the Royal Naval Observatory, visible for 43 minutes. These episodes demonstrate how, in the 19th century, Naples was an active participant in a network for the observation and interpretation of celestial phenomena, where art, science, and society converged in the splendor of the sky.

___Clementina Sasso