Princess Maria Antonia of the Two Sicilies

Maria Antonietta
Grand Duchess of Tuscany
Tenure	7 June 1833 – 21 July 1859
Born	(1814-12-19)19 December 1814 Royal Palace of Palermo, Kingdom of Sicily, Italy
Died	7 November 1898(1898-11-07) (aged 83) Gmunden, Austria
Spouse	Leopold II, Grand Duke of Tuscany (m. 1833 - 1870; his death)
Issue	Archduchess Maria Isabella, Countess of Trapani Ferdinand IV, Grand Duke of Tuscany Archduke Karl Salvator Maria Luisa, Princess of Isenburg-Büdingen Archduke Ludwig Salvator Archduke John Salvator
Full name Maria Antonia Josepha Anna
House	Bourbon-Two Sicilies
Father	Francis I of the Two Sicilies
Mother	Maria Isabella of Spain
Religion	Roman Catholicism

Princess Maria Antonia of the Two Sicilies (Maria Antonietta Giuseppa Anna; 19 December 1814 – 7 November 1898) was the Grand Duchess of Tuscany from 1833 to 1859 as the consort of Leopold II. In signature, she used Maria Antonietta.

Biography

Maria Antonia was born at the Royal Palace of Palermo on 19 December 1814, daughter of Francis I of the Two Sicilies and his wife Maria Isabella of Spain, she was baptised Maria Antonia in honor of Maria Antonia-Anna's great-aunt Marie Antoinette, deceased sister of her grandmother Maria Carolina of Austria.

When she was born, the Neapolitan court had already moved to Sicily because Napoleonic troops had invaded the continental part of the realm. After a few months the royal family returned to Naples thanks to the Congress of Vienna.

She was particularly close to her brother the future Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies, who affectionately dubbed her Totò.

Marriage and issue

In 1833, when she was eighteen, Maria Antonia married her first cousin Leopold II, Grand Duke of Tuscany, who was seventeen years older. Marie Antoinette and Leopold had ten children:

• Archduchess Maria Isabella, 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).
• Archduchess Maria Christina (5 February 1838 – 1 September 1849).
• Archduke Karl Salvator (30 April 1839 – 18 January 1892)
• Archduchess Maria Anna (9 June 1840 – 13 August 1841).
• Archduke Rainer (1 May 1842 – 14 August 1844).
• 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").

Tributes

The Piazza Maria Antonia – today Piazza dell'Indipendeza, the railway line Maria Antonia and the Maria Antonia train station, now called Firenze Santa Maria Novella, were named in her honour.

Revolution

In April 1859, before the Franco-Piedmont war against Austria, Leopold II proclaimed neutrality, but the Grand Ducal government was collapsing. People used vulgar insults towards the Grand Duchess and the troops gave signs of insubordination. On the afternoon of 27 April, Leopold II left the Palazzo Pitti through the Boboli door, stepping before an enraged mob on the streets and troops in open rebellion, heading toward Bologna. Shortly beforehand he had refused to abdicate in favour of his son, Ferdinand.

Ancestry

Titles, styles, honours and arms

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Princess Maria Antonia of Bourbon-Two Sicilies.