Princess Maria Antonia of the Two Sicilies

Life

Early years

Maria Antonia was born at the Royal Palace of Palermo on 19 December 1814, the daughter of King Francis I of the Two Sicilies and his wife Maria Isabella of Spain. The girl was given the baptismal name Maria Antonia in honor of her great-aunt Marie Antoinette, the murdered sister of her paternal grandmother, Maria Carolina of Austria. When she was born, the Neapolitan court had already moved to Sicily due to the Napoleonic troops that had invaded the continental part of the kingdom. A few months after her birth, the royal family was able to return to the capital and recover their dominions thanks to the Congress of Vienna.

She was particularly close to her brother Ferdinand II, who affectionately called her "Totò", as well as her sister-in-law Maria Cristina of Savoy, who arrived at the Bourbon court in 1832. Maria Antonia and Maria Cristina, two years older, formed a sincere and deep friendship, but had to separate in view of the princess's wedding. After Maria Antonia's departure, Maria Cristina wrote: «It was a great affliction for me to have to separate from my sister-in-law Antonietta who is so good and with whom she had already established an intimate friendship».

Betrothal and marriage with Leopold II

On 24 March 1832 Grand Duchess Maria Anna of Tuscany (born a princess of Saxony), died of tuberculosis, without having managed to give a male heir to her husband, Grand Duke Leopold II of Tuscany. After almost a year of widowhood, the Grand Duke decided to remarry and the choice fell on the beautiful Neapolitan princess Maria Antonia. The two were first cousins because King Francis I of the Two Sicilies (father of Maria Antonia) and Grand Duchess Luisa Maria of Tuscany (mother of Leopold II), were siblings.

Prince Don Tommaso Corsini, on 21 May 1833, went as ambassador to Naples to stipulate the marriage contract. On 23 May, in the presence of the Neapolitan court, the Prince expressly asked for the hand of the young Princess, making three speeches: the first two were directed to King Ferdinand II, the bride's brother, and to Maria Isabella, the Queen Mother. The third speech was instead directed to Maria Antonia:

«The virtues with which Your Royal Highness is adorned, and which are admired in Her combined with the particular qualities of nature that heaven has lavished on her, made her rightly chosen by the Grand Duke of Tuscany, my lord in His bride. After having obtained the consent of the august brother the King, of the august Queen Mother of Your Royal Highness for this union, I have the honor of presenting myself to Your Highness, as a faithful interpreter of the feelings that animate my Sovereign and the All Tuscans. His Imperial and Royal Highness the Grand Duke rightly believes that in this beautiful knot he will find the fulfillment of her happiness, and his beloved Subjects already recognize in Your Highness a beneficent and affectionate sovereign. Your Highness can be sure of finding in the Grand Duke a wise and tender Groom, full of all the most beautiful social and family qualities, and neither the Tuscans will recognize that respectful obedience, and that constant attachment, which they already had for the august Grand Duchess Maria Luisa, aunt of Your Royal Highness. The sweetness of the climate, the pleasantness of the pleasant and well-cultivated countryside, the education of the People, the love that is nourished there for the fine arts and for good studies, will make Your Highness happy with that peaceful and happy stay. And those fervent wishes which are addressed to Heaven by the two Royal Families and by the Peoples subject to them for such a desired union will be fulfilled and crowned with the happiest success».

Princess Maria Antonia, in turn replied:

Grand Duchess of Tuscany

On 8 June 1833, in the late afternoon, the grand ducal couple left Naples and boarded the frigate "La Sirena" for Livorno. The journey was peaceful and Leopold II remembered that: «Antoinetta opened her beautiful heart, she poured out every treasure of hers: she spoke of her youth, of her pain at the death of her dear father. I told her about my family, and about her new home. She, who knew that I had loved the other wife, told me I had a portrait of her, cherished memories of her». Leopold II and Maria Antonia landed in Livorno on 14 June, welcomed by the Dowager Grand Duchess Maria Ferdinanda, by the Archduchess Maria Luisa (sister of the Grand Duke) and by Leopold II's three daughters from his first marriage: Carolina, Augusta and Maximiliana. The following day the newlyweds and their entourage headed to Pisa where they stayed for a few days and took part in the specially organized festive events. On 20 June, Maria Antonia made her official entry into Florence, where she was welcomed in a festive atmosphere with great cheers.

The new Grand Duchess was much admired by the Florentines for her beauty, which is why Leopold II had asked her in marriage. In his memoirs, the Grand Duke described his beautiful and beloved bride thus: «On her face there was sweetness, intelligence [...]. Her sweet and sagacious eye, her serene forehead, a row of chosen pearls shining on her smile, her hair of golden splendor, her neck gently expanding over her shoulders, her arm, her hand of uncommon elegance, her every movement composed and dignified, appropriate words». Another factor that made Maria Antonia popular in the eyes of the Florentines was that she was an Italian princess and not a foreigner and the people hoped that she would soon give many heirs to Tuscany.

Initially Maria Antonia had some difficulty getting used to the "bourgeois" environment of Florence, so different from the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies: accustomed to a small and subordinate population and who often lived in poverty, the Grand Duchess did not understand why it was necessary give charity to well-dressed and clean people, such as those who formed the Florentine people. On one occasion the Grand Duchess, with her strong Neapolitan accent, complained that: «There are no poor people in Florence». In order to avoid creating a rift between Maria Antonia and the people, Leopold II took care to surround his wife with Florentine ladies; in particular, it was thanks to her first lady-in-waiting, Mrs. Adele Palagi, wife of the knight Palagi, colonel of the Grenadiers, that the Grand Duchess managed to integrate perfectly and love Florence as her second homeland, understanding her artistic and courteous side.

The prelude to 1848 and the Florentine Republic

In 1844 Leopold II approved a project which envisaged building a road connecting Piazza San Marco, Via degli Arazzieri and the San Paolo bastion of the Fortezza da Basso, with a new neighborhood dominated by a large square in the centre. The construction was entrusted to the engineer Flaminio Chiesi and already in 1845 the square was open to the public. Initially there were some problems of swampiness resolved in 1852: the square took on its definitive appearance in 1855. It was decided to name it Piazza Maria Antonia in honor of the Grand Duchess, but the Florentines had already taken to calling it Piazza di Barbano, from the name of the vegetable gardens that once stood there. Furthermore, by the 1850s, times had changed: the name of a Bourbon Grand Duchess, sister of the infamous "King Bomba", would never have been accepted.

In the same years, the Grand Duke carried out projects for the construction of two stations and two railways. In 1844 the first section of the Leopolda Railway was inaugurated, connecting Florence, Pisa and Livorno; in 1848 the section of the Florence-Prato line was opened, called the Maria Antonia Railway in honor of the Grand Duchess. In the same year the two related stations were also opened: the Maria Antonia Station first and then the Leopolda Station.

In 1847 Leopold II stood out for the liberal turn taken by his personal government: on 6 May freedom of the press was granted and on 4 September a Civic Guard was created. On 17 February 1848, a few days after his brother-in-law King Charles Albert of Sardinia, Leopold II granted to his realm a Constitution, which stood out from the others for granting full rights to citizens of all religions and on 18 March the first Tuscan constitutional government was born, presided over by Francesco Cempini. On the same day, Milan rose up against the Austrians, starting the Five Days of Milan. On 21 March, Leopold II aroused popular enthusiasm by deciding to send the few regular Tuscan troops, supported by volunteers, to fight in northern Italy alongside the Savoy troops against the Austrians; the Lorraine flag was replaced by the tricolor with the coat of arms of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine in the centre.

Towards the middle of the year, the expansionist attitudes of Charles Albert of Sardinia became clear and Leopold II decided to withdraw his troops. On 17 August the Grand Duke was forced to dismiss the moderate government of Cosimo Ridolfi and replace it with that of Gino Capponi. On 25 August riots broke out in Livorno led by the democrat Francesco Domenico Guerrazzi. In the wake of those events, Capponi resigned on 9 October. On 27 October Leopold II gave in to pressure and gave the post to the democrat Giuseppe Montanelli, who took Guerrazzi as Interior Minister, and inaugurated an ultra-democratic policy, or, in the political terminology of the time, aimed at union with the other Italian states and joint resumption of the war on Austria. Maria Antonia, meanwhile, with her family, had moved to Siena, from where on 4 November she sent a letter to her husband in which she informed him of her concerns:

The decade of preparation

The exile lasted until April, when after the defeat of Charles Albert at Novara, the Tuscan moderates overthrew the Guerrazzi government to avoid an Austrian invasion and recalled the Grand Duke, hoping that he would maintain the reforms. In this context lies the conservative influence of Maria Antonia, who despite her little feeling of friendship towards the Austrians, saw only in them the possible restoration of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine on the throne of Tuscany. From Naples, on 16 April 1849, Maria Antonia wrote to Leopold II, who was in Gaeta:

«My dear Leopoldo, this morning I received the news of the events in Tuscany when I received yours, I am pleased that they want you but you will think about it first to go because without troops nothing can be done and then return with Capponi and others who brought you to this point you will think about it because now is the time to have no mercy with many who don't deserve it who will be the first to humble you; if we had Neapolitans for a year so that the Swiss would come, but it seems to me that the best are the Germans even though I hate them, but to do the cleaning there is only them and you wouldn't have the hatred.»

Maria Antonia hoped that the Austrian intervention could restore her husband, without damaging his reputation, but this was not the case: lieutenant-field marshal d'Aspre descended from Parma with 18,000 men, took and sacked Livorno and then occupied Florence. The grand ducal family left Gaeta on 21 July and landed in Viareggio three days later. On 28 July the grand ducal family was finally able to return to Florence. Shortly after their return, the 11-year-old Archduchess Christina fell ill with typhoid fever and on 1 September she died; her last words were: «Mom, thank you for what you have done for me».

On 10 April 1850, Archduchess Isabella, eldest daughter of Leopold II and Maria Antonia, married her uncle, Prince Francis of the Two Sicilies, Count of Trapani, Maria Antonia's youngest brother. On 12 April there was a celebration for the first anniversary of the restoration of the Grand Duke and on 21 April for that of the Pope in Rome. The political action of the Grand Duke, under the intransigent push of the young Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria, resulted in a reactionary turn, although extremely mild compared to that of the other Italian kingdoms: on 25 April 1851 was signed a concordat, with who granted unlimited freedom and autonomy to the Church of Pius IX, in exchange for the formal recognition of the Tuscan succession in 1737 (an issue that had dragged on for 115 years); this further antagonized democratic and patriotic opinion. With a decree of 8 May 1852 he formally renounced the constitution of 17 February 1848, under continuous Austrian pressure. In 1857 he welcomed Pius IX, now radically hostile to the Risorgimento, on a visit to Florence.

The Florentine revolution of 1859

Following the Plombières Agreement between Napoleon III and Cavour, it was decided that France would help Piedmont militarily only if Austria attacked first. Cavour cleverly managed to have Austria declare war, rejecting an Austrian ultimatum of 23 April 1859. On 26 April, Emperor Franz Joseph declared war on King Victor Emmanuel II. Both sovereigns asked their Tuscan uncle to participate in the war, but Leopold II, who did not want to involve the army in a bloody clash, proclaimed neutrality; but by now the Grand Ducal government's days were numbered: in Florence the population did not hesitate to offend the Grand Duchess with vulgar insults as she passed by and the troops showed signs of insubordination. That same night, a meeting of the leaders of the various political groups in favor of Italian unification was held in Florence; many officers of the Tuscan army were also present. A large demonstration was arranged for the following day in all the principal cities, and a provisional junta was appointed. The revolution was ready to break out.

On the morning of 27 April 1859, a procession set off from Piazza Maria Antonia (later renamed Piazza dell'Indipendenza) towards Palazzo Vecchio, where the Italian tricolor was hoisted instead of the Lorraine flag. At the Pitti Palace it was decided that the Grand Duchess, the children, the Archduke Karl and the Dowager Grand Duchess would take refuge in the Forte Belvedere, while the Grand Duke and Crown Prince Ferdinand would remain at the palace. Grand Duke Leopold II, entrenched in Palazzo Pitti with his ministers, summoned Prince Neri Corsini, a liberal of the highest reputation not directly involved with the rebels, declaring that he was willing to form a new government and take sides against Austria-Hungary and grant a constitution; to calm things down he allowed the troops to raise the tricolour.

Prince Corsini went to the diplomatic headquarters of the Kingdom of Sardinia where the conspirator leaders were gathered, but returned to the Grand Duke with a deliberately unacceptable ultimatum, which also provided for the abdication of the sovereign. Leopold II understood the bad situation and prepared to leave Florence with his family, certainly wanting to avoid bloodshed and in any case not being able to count on the army, but refusing to abdicate.

At two in the afternoon, Leopold II and Ferdinand went up to Forte Belvedere to wait for the carriages to be ready for departure. When the Grand Duke informed his family of his immediate departure, Maria Antonia told him: «I fear that if we leave Florence, we will never return». Leopold II replied to her: «Do you perhaps expect me to dishonor myself with an abdication, which is imposed on me by my subjects?». The Grand Duchess then said to him: «Wise men must adapt to circumstances; listen to me, abdicate». After having also spoken with his son, the Grand Duke was ready for this last act, but Buoncompagni told the two officers sent to the Sardinian legation that it was too late.

The years of exile. Death

After her husband's death, Maria Antonia had a villa with park called "Villa Toscana" built in Gmunden, Upper Austria; the building was built between 1870 and 1877. Her youngest son Archduke Johann Salvator also took part in the design of the building. In addition, the Tuscan royal family had frequented Traunsee since 1866, taking up residence in Altmünster. On 30 January 1889 the imperial family was shocked by the Mayerling incident, in which Crown Prince Rudolf lost his life. Johann Salvator was particularly shocked by the death of his cousin (to whom he was linked by a sincere friendship and shared similar liberal opinions) and eight months later, on 16 October, decided to renounce his titles, rank and privileges; from that moment, he was a simple Austrian citizen called Johann Orth, the surname derived from the name of a castle he had owned, Schloss Orth. The Emperor stripped Johann of his Austrian nationality, and he headed for England; on 26 March 1890, together with his wife Ludmilla "Milli" Stubel (a dancer at the Vienna State Opera) he set sail for Argentina on the ship "Santa Margareta". After a stop in Buenos Aires, the ship set sail again in July 1890: it was the last time Johann, his wife and the crew were seen. The Emperor had the vessel searched without results and the former Archduke was declared missing. Maria Antonia always refused to mourn Johann Salvator, convinced that her son was still alive; some scammers even managed to extort money from her by providing false information.

Maria Antonia spent the last years of her life in anguish. In April 1893 she was invited by Duke Amerigo Antinori to visit his newly renovated palace in Florence; although she remained there for a few days, the Dowager Grand Duchess received demonstrations of affection not only from the old nobility, but also from the people of the neighborhood. On 16 April 1898 was born her first great-great-grandchild, Princess Maria Antonietta Leonia of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (daughter of Prince Ferdinand Pius, Duke of Castro, son of Princess Maria Antonietta of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, daughter of Archduchess Maria Isabella of Austria, Maria Antonia's eldest daughter); seven months later, on 7 November, Maria Antonia died at Schloss Orth in Gmunden aged 83. She was buried in the Capuchin Crypt in Vienna. In her honor, on 4 December a solemn mass was celebrated in Florence in the Basilica della Santissima Annunziata with great participation.

Her granddaughter, Archduchess Louise, Crown Princess of Saxony, wrote in her memoirs:She was stiff, a slave to etiquette, and a bigoted Catholic, entirely in the hands of the priests. She was, however, intelligent. We were always very much afraid of her, and she was mean to miserliness; indeed, to dine with grandmother meant getting hardly anything to eat. She died near Salzburg in 1898, a lonely, colourless woman; and heredity, so strong in our family, gave to her children the individuality she had been denied.

Issue

Archduchess Maria Isabella (21 May 1834 – 14 July 1901), who wed her maternal uncle Prince Francis, Count of Trapani, youngest son of Francis I of the Two Sicilies.

Ferdinand IV, Grand Duke of Tuscany (10 June 1835 – 17 January 1908).

Archduchess Maria Theresa (29 June 1836 – 5 August 1838), died in childhood.

Archduchess Maria Christina (5 February 1838 – 1 September 1849), died in childhood.

Archduke Karl Salvator (30 April 1839 – 18 January 1892)

Archduchess Maria Anna (9 June 1840 – 13 August 1841), died in childhood.

Archduke Rainer (1 May 1842 – 14 August 1844), died in childhood.

Archduchess Maria Luisa (31 October 1845 – 27 August 1917), who wed Karl, Prince of Isenburg-Büdingen.

Archduke Ludwig Salvator (4 August 1847 – 12 October 1915).

Archduke Johann Salvator (25 November 1852 – reported lost at sea in 1890, amidst speculation that he survived, subsequently using the alias "Johann Orth").

Honours

Austria-Hungary : Dame of the Order of the Starry Cross

Two Sicilies : Dame of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George

Spain : Dame of the Order of Queen Maria Luisa

Russian Empire : Dame Grand Cross of the Order of Saint Catherine