Surviving Trastamara Kingdom of Naples

The independent kingdom of Naples - ruled by a bastard sideline of the house of Trastamara - was annexed directly by the Aragonese crown in the early years of the 16th century, and remained in personal union with Spain until the Treaties of Utrecht, Rastatt and Baden removed them.

What would've happened if Naples had not been annexed, even if it had remained connected to the Habsburgs like Portugal at the same time-period?
 
Obviously this is going to require Ferrante, duke of Calabria to marry someone of an age to bear him kids (and Germaine de Foix by that time was on her third husband, and her last pregnancy was the "Infanta" Isabel, a bastard daughter she had with Karl V, doesn't fit the bill), so which lady would make an acceptable Neapolitan queen? Ippolita Sforza, the older sister of the queen of Poland was considered while he was duke of Apulia, but she's dead, and Bona's mom was angling for Ferdinand of Austria for her if she couldn't marry her to il Moro's eldest son, anyway.
 
I actually am stumped about how to go about it because for one the Neapolitan institution actually still existed despite sharing a King with Aragon, Castile, Sicily, et.al., and for another I don't know how feasible Naples could survive on its own when the whole point of Aragon was a vast Mediterranean Thallasocracy, a Carthage of sorts of the Renaissance Age, of which Naples (was a key component of.)
 
I'd be interested to hear the ideas of people on the forum, but sadly know very little about that part of the world myself, so have nothing to contribute. I hope you get some decent replies.
 
I don't think Naples rands on its own, first, and I think having a Trastamara Naples remain independent seems even less likely. I have to second the sentiment about Naples' place in the Aragonese system. Naples cannot stand alone once it has been an Aragonese possession, the crown will find a way to get it back.
 
Obviously this is going to require Ferrante, duke of Calabria to marry someone of an age to bear him kids (and Germaine de Foix by that time was on her third husband, and her last pregnancy was the "Infanta" Isabel, a bastard daughter she had with Karl V, doesn't fit the bill), so which lady would make an acceptable Neapolitan queen? Ippolita Sforza, the older sister of the queen of Poland was considered while he was duke of Apulia, but she's dead, and Bona's mom was angling for Ferdinand of Austria for her if she couldn't marry her to il Moro's eldest son, anyway.

What about the Pope not granting any dispensation for a future marriage with Catherine of Aragon?
 
Well, an extra surviving Catholic royal house that's on par with the Habsburgs, even though they may be kings in name only, could help counteract the inbreeding ever so slightly.

As to the Aragonese thalassocracy, what if when Karl V inherits everything, he allows Ferrante to serve as his viceroy in southern Italy? After all, was the Aragonese thalassocracy still so important by 1516 as in 1501?
 
I've got to admit that in several TLs where Miguel de la Paz survives, Naples and Sicily are allowed to remain independent, which makes me wonder if the thalassocracy idea was as important after Ferdinand of Aragon dies. So, what if post-1516, Naples is restored to the duke of Calabria due to the fact that the new king of Spain is eager to make nice with the French, and thus gets them off one of his borders?
 
Top