@loki100: The matter of Naples and its culture, like that of Sicily in our history, is definitely one I want to explore, both inside the narrative and without, in one of my Annotation sections after this Act is concluded.
Originally, when I was brainstorming the narrative and what I wanted to do with the story, I was aiming to align it to the seven deadly sins and cardinal virtues with each Act, and the theme for the first Act was Gluttony, much as the next one was Greed. It's still an underlying theme, as it progresses through the deadly sins as Italy descends into bloodshed and the Catholic Church reaches its second nadir, but there is also the hope of the virtues for a sort of "resurrection" story. I'm only 100 years into the game at this point, so what that will entail is hard to say, and I rid myself of the thematic device mainly so I wouldn't be too restricted in telling the story, but its good to see that a part of it remains.
@Werther: Nothing wrong with fun, as CK2 is a fun game, and lends itself well to the style, but I also feel it lends itself to this sort of narrative style as well. Glad that you enjoyed it, and as requested, more maps. I love/hate making them, and could use the practice for certain. Just over those two I found myself getting better.
@RGB: The issue of length is one I sometimes struggle with as I fear that the denseness of the narrative will intimidate the readers on the forum. At the same time, it's that depth of detail that I feel is my greatest strength, and though I'm trying to pare it down just a bit, I think in that last chapter, as long as it was, I've found my golden mean of content and pacing. In the original draft, it was actually about half again as long, but I took out that third and have arranged it to go in the next chapter, and will be using fluid time a bit more so I can keep the narrative well-paced and "downtime" some of the less pressing plots and family issues.
Also, your comment on bringing Italy alive is the best compliment I've ever had on my writing. I know I have a far ways to go yet, but this exercise has been immensely therapeutic and educational for me, and we're just getting started.