Princess Luisa of Naples and Sicily
| Luisa of Naples and Sicily | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
_von_Neapel-Sizilien_(1773-1802),_Gemahlin_von_Ferdinand_III._von_Toskana,_an_einem_Tisch_sitzend,_Kniest%C3%BCck.jpg) Portrait by Joseph Dorffmeister, 1797 | |||||
| Grand Duchess consort of Tuscany | |||||
| Tenure | 15 August 1790 – 21 March 1801 | ||||
| Born | 27 July 1773 Royal Palace of Naples, Naples | ||||
| Died | 19 September 1802 (aged 29) Hofburg Palace, Vienna, Archduchy of Austria, Holy Roman Empire | ||||
| Burial | |||||
| Spouse | |||||
| Issue Detail | |||||
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| House | Bourbon-Two Sicilies | ||||
| Father | Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies | ||||
| Mother | Maria Carolina of Austria | ||||
 Coat of arms of Luisa Maria as Grand Duchess of Tuscany | |||||
Luisa Maria of Naples and Sicily (Luisa Maria Amalia Teresa; 27 July 1773 – 19 September 1802) was Grand Duchess of Tuscany as the wife of Ferdinand III, Grand Duke of Tuscany. She was born a princess of Naples and Sicily as a daughter born to Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies and Maria Carolina of Austria.
After eleven years of marriage, Luisa and her husband, Ferdinand, were unwillingly forced into exile upon the Treaty of Aranjuez in 1801. The couple soon fled to Vienna, Austria, where they would stay for nearly a year until Ferdinand compensated with the Electorate of Salzburg, giving him titles and land. Luisa, however, died aged 29, before her husband re-ascended the throne.
Life
Childhood (1773–1790)
Luisa Maria Amalia Teresa was born on 27 July 1773, at the Royal Palace of Naples. Her parents were Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies and his wife, Maria Carolina of Austria.[1][2] This made her a granddaughter of Empress Maria Theresa. Luisa was one of eighteen children, seven of whom survived into adulthood. She was often called Maria Luisa.[1]
Appearance
In 1790 prominent French painter Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun was commissioned to paint portraits of Maria Carolina’s four eldest children—one of them being Maria Luisa.[3] Though, whilst painting Luisa, Le Brun was reluctant to finish it due to Luisa’s features. Le Brun detailed the encounter in her memoirs, recalling:[4]
". . . [Luisa] was extremely ugly and pulled such faces that I was most reluctant to finish her portrait."
Marriage (1790–1802)
On 15 August 1790, Maria Luisa married her cousin Ferdinand, Grand Duke of Tuscany,[5][6] by proxy.[7] The in person ceremony took place in Vienne on September 19th.[7] Her husband ruled the Grand Duchy of Tuscany until 1790, but was forced into exile due to the Treaty of Aranjuez, in which he was to, by Napoleon, make way for the Kingdom of Etruria.[8]
The couple both went into exile and lived in Vienna, the capital of the Austrian Empire, which was ruled by Archduke Ferdinand's elder brother, Emperor Francis II. Soon, Ferdinand was compensated by being given the secularized lands of the Archbishop of Salzburg as Grand-Duke of Salzburg.[8][9]
Death
On 19 September 1802, upon a somewhat complicated childbirth, Maria Luisa died giving birth to a stillborn son at the Hofburg, in Vienna. She is currently buried in the Imperial Crypt in Vienna with her stillborn son.[10]
Aftermath
Her husband outlived her by 23 years, he himself dying in 1824. Before his death, however, he had his Tuscan title reassumed—in 1814—after the title was held by Elisa Bonaparte.[11] Ferdinand also remarried in 1821 to Princess Maria Ferdinanda of Saxony, though this marriage remained childless.
Children
Luisa and Ferdinand had six children:[7]
- Archduchess Carolina Ferdinanda Teresa (2 August 1793 – 5 January 1802); died in childhood.
- Archduke Francesco Leopoldo (15 December 1794 – 18 May 1800); died in childhood.
- Leopold II, Grand Duke of Tuscany (3 October 1797 – 29 January 1870); became Grand Duke of Tuscany, marrying Maria Anna of Saxony and Princess Maria Antonia of the Two Sicilies. Had issue.
- Archduchess Maria Luisa Giuseppa (30 August 1799 – 15 June 1857); was born disabled and had a severe deformity.[citation needed] Due to this, she was affectionately called "the little hunchback" by the people of Florence. Never married, nor had issue.
- Archduchess Maria Theresa (21 March 1801 – 12 January 1855); became queen of Sardinia upon marriage to Charles Albert. Had issue.
- Stillborn son* (19 September 1802)
Ancestry
| Ancestors of Princess Luisa of Naples and Sicily[12] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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References
- ^ a b "DNB, Katalog der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek". portal.dnb.de. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
- ^ "Marìa luisa di borbone granduchessa di toscana - Enciclopedia". Treccani (in Italian). Retrieved 5 October 2025.
- ^ Baillio, Joseph (1982). Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun : 1755 - 1842. Kimbell Art Museum. OCLC 1078711969.
- ^ Vigée-Lebrun, Louise-Elisabeth (1903). Memoirs of Madame Vigée Lebrun. Doubleday, Page & Company.
- ^ Fulford, Tim (28 June 2021). The Life of Nelson, by Robert Southey. Routledge. pp. note, 619. ISBN 978-0-429-68231-5.
- ^ "Luisa Maria Amalia di Borbone-Napoli by ? (Galleria degli Uffizi - Firenze, Toscana, Italy) | Grand Ladies | gogm". www.gogmsite.net. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
- ^ a b c "BLKÖ:Habsburg, Ludovica Amalia Theresia – Wikisource". de.wikisource.org (in German). Retrieved 5 October 2025.
- ^ a b Pirro, Deirdre (19 July 2019). "The short-lived Kingdom of Etruria". The Florentine. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
- ^ The New International Encyclopaedia. Dodd, Mead. 1905.
- ^ "bourbon-sicilie". www.royaltyguide.nl. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
- ^ "Elisa Bonaparte Baciocchi, Napoleon's Capable Sister". Shannon Selin. 8 January 2021. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
- ^ Genealogie ascendante jusqu'au quatrieme degre inclusivement de tous les Rois et Princes de maisons souveraines de l'Europe actuellement vivans [Genealogy up to the fourth degree inclusive of all the Kings and Princes of sovereign houses of Europe currently living] (in French). Bourdeaux: Frederic Guillaume Birnstiel. 1768. pp. 1, 9.
External links
Media related to Princess Luisa of Naples and Sicily at Wikimedia Commons
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