of the Belgians, was a guest of Carl Freiherr von Rothschild at his villa in Naples. In 1829, Carl was appointed consul-general of Sicily at Frankfurt and in January 1832 the Jewish banker was given a ribbon and star of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George at a ceremony with the new Roman Catholic Pope, Gregory XVI. Reports that Rothschild was permitted to kiss the Pope's hand, rather than his foot, as was customary at the time, led to controversy in the Catholic world that the Pope was selling Rome out to "a Jew." Carl von Rothschild maintained homes in Frankfurt am Main and in Naples. In 1837 he built the Villa Günthersburg on a large country property outside Frankfurt am Main owned by his father at what is now Günthersburg Park. In 1841, he bought the Villa Pignatelli at Riviera di Chiaia with a spectacular view of the Sea and Vesuvio Volcano. The family lived there until 1860. Two years after his wife Adelheid (née Hertz) died in 1853, and one year after their son Anselm Alexander Carl died at the age of eighteen, Carl Freiherr von Rothschild died in Naples, "sad and morose". One seventh of his estate went to his daughter Charlotte with the rest divided equally between his three surviving sons. Adolf Carl took over the business in Naples from his father and Mayer Carl and Wilhelm Carl succeeded their childless uncle Amschel in Frankfurt, even though Carl Mayer had wished his son Mayer Carl would succeed him in Naples. In 1861, the Rotschild bank closed in Naples, and the bank's assets were transferred to Frankfurt. In popular culture In the 1934 movie The House of Rothschild, Carl Mayer von Rothschild is played by Noel Madison. References Bibliography The Rothschilds; a Family Portrait by Frederic Morton. Atheneum Publishers (1962) (1998 reprint) The Rothschilds, a Family of Fortune by Virginia Cowles. Alfred A. Knopf (1973) Rothschild: The Wealth and Power of a Dynasty by Derek Wilson. Scribner, London (1988) House of Rothschild : Money's Prophets: 1798-1848 by Niall Ferguson. Viking Press (1998) The House of Rothschild (vol. 2) : The World's Banker: 1849-1999 by Niall Ferguson. Diane Publishing Co. (1999) External links 1788 births 1855 deaths Businesspeople from Naples Carl Mayer German art collectors 19th-century art collectors German bankers 18th-century German Jews 19th-century Neapolitan people Italian art collectors Italian bankers 19th-century German businesspeople 19th-century Italian