Joanna left Naples for Sicily with her mother and their entourage before the French occupation that year, and did not return until October, with a Venetian ship from Messina.
Her mother's disappointment over the succession failure earned her the sobriquet "The Sad Queen" because of her sorrow on behalf of her daughter.
Frederick granted the cities and lands of Sorrento, Massa and Vico to Joanna in an attempt to pacify her and her mother's discontent.
Joanna was a renowned beauty, and her new position under the protection of the king of Aragon also made her attractive on the dynastic marriage market, and she received several proposals.
Lacking a portrait of Joanna, Henry sent ambassadors to Naples in 1505 to report on the physical qualities of the prospective bride.
[1] The 1761 book lists "Articles" in sequential Roman numerals, each "Article" followed by an "Answer" - sought by Henry dealt with all aspects of Joanna's appearance: the color of her hair, the condition of her teeth, the size and shape of her nose, the complexion of her skin, whether she had hair on her upper lip.
The ambassadors told the king that Joanna's breasts "be somewhat great & fully, and in as much as that they were trussed somewhat high after the manner of (the) country, which causes her Grace for to seem much the fuller and her neck to be the shorter."
The ambassador's report on Joanna's appearance was satisfactory, but the marriage negotiations failed for political and financial reasons.
Joanna settled with her mother, her half sister Beatrice and Isabella of Aragon, Duchess of Milan with their own household in the Castel Capuano in Naples.