When the invitation from Minister De Luyss of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Second French Empire was conveyed to the capital of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, Palermo, via the channel of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies's envoy to France, the then Prime Minister of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, Gennaro Spinelli, quickly proceeded to the Royal Palace of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.
At this time, in the Royal Palace of the Two Sicilies, two individuals were engaged in secret talks around a table in a room within the palace; their chairs were not adjacent; each sat on one side of the table, with space remaining on both sides. Although it was only a quarter past four in the afternoon, the room was already dark, with only feeble light filtering through the windows, and a wind lamp made of mutton tallow hung from the ceiling to illuminate the entire room.
