Felice Pasquale Baciocchi (18 May 1762 – 27 April 1841) was born at Ajaccio into a noble, but poor, Corsican family. He was second lieutenant in the

French army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed Force ...

in 1778, lieutenant in 1788, then captain in 1794. Around 5 May 1797, he married Elisa Maria Bonaparte,

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

's younger sister, in Marseilles. Baciocchi was appointed secretary to the ambassador to the Spanish Royal Court in November 1800 and moved to

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...

, while his wife remained in France. Baciocchi was then promoted to army colonel in 1802, to

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

in 1804, and to

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

in 1809. He was also made a senator in 1804 and imperial prince in 1805. Thanks to his brother-in-law's conquests, Baciocchi became Prince of Lucca, but without the associated power or the sovereign power, which really was exercised by his wife. He also serenely endured her infidelities. Baciocchi was an avid amateur violinist, and he studied with violin virtuoso

Niccolò Paganini Niccolò (or Nicolò) Paganini (; 27 October 178227 May 1840) was an Italian violinist and composer. He was the most celebrated violin virtuoso of his time, and left his mark as one of the pillars of modern violin technique. His 24 Caprices fo ...

for ten years while residing in

Lucca Lucca ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the Serchio River, in a fertile plain near the Ligurian Sea. The city has a population of about 89,000, while its province has a population of 383,957. Lucca is known as one ...

and

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...

. During this time, his wife and Paganini were also carrying on a romantic affair. When Napoleon's empire collapsed, he retired with Elisa to

Trieste Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into prov ...

, then to

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language, Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 1 ...

after her death in 1820. He died in that city on 27 April 1841.

Family

Baciocchi and Bonaparte had four children, of whom two survived to adulthood: *Felice Napoleon (1798–1799) * Elisa Napoleona (1806–1869) *Jérôme Charles (1810–1811) *Federico Napoleon (1814–1833)

References

External links

1762 births 1841 deaths Military personnel from Ajaccio House of Bonaparte Knights of the Order of Saint Joseph Knights of the Golden Fleece of Spain French military personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars French commanders of the Napoleonic Wars {{Europe-noble-stub