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Areas II in 787 he received the ambassadors of CharlemagneKing of the Franks, claiming the autonomy of his dominion over Salerno, Benevento and the South of Italy.
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In 787 the ambassadors of Charlemagne, who has just defeated the Longobard King Desiderio, come to Salerno to ask
Arechi II submission to the future emperor of Holy Roman Empire.
Arechi and Carlo are cognated: they married two sisters daughters of Wish, Adelperga lives in Salerno with her husband, and Ermengarda (as Manzoni will call it in his tragedy Adelchi, but in reality he does not know his name), which was repudiated by his husband, who then invaded the Kingdom of Italy and put an end to the Lombard rule in the Padana plain.
Areas He is Prince of Benevento, but moved his residence to Salerno and here he built a large palace, where he receives, with the attitude of a sovereign, ambassadors. The Palace occupies a large area that reaches the sea: it is a large and decorated building, a real palace. In the Palatine Chapel, dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul, Arechi awaits the ambassadors seated in throne, in the full majesty of a sovereign. The message he wants to give to his visitors is clear: every agreement will be between peers, recognizing Charles a predominance, but preserving full authority and autonomy.
Arechi, on a throne of gold and rich in the signs and symbols of royalty, does not give up his power. Thus it will be, Langobardia Minor, the area south of Rome, will be autonomous from Charlemagne and then from its empire, will preserve autonomy and equality. It is an act that will have consequences on future history lasting: the Mezzogiorno of Italy takes its own dimension that separates it from the rest of Italy, and makes it autonomous.
With his gesture of dignity and equality, Arechi puts the foundations of a process that will last a thousand years; on that day of 787, the foundation of an autonomy that will mark the future history.
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