Luisa or Luigia Sanfelice (1764–1800) was an Italian aristocrat who was executed by

Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies Ferdinand I (12 January 1751 – 4 January 1825) was the King of the Two Sicilies from 1816, after his restoration following victory in the Napoleonic Wars. Before that he had been, since 1759, Ferdinand IV of the Kingdom of Naples and Ferdinand I ...

because of her involvement with the French-backed

Parthenopean Republic The Parthenopean Republic ( it, Repubblica Partenopea, french: République Parthénopéenne) or Neapolitan Republic (''Repubblica Napoletana'') was a short-lived, semi-autonomous republic located within the Kingdom of Naples and supported by the ...

during the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted French First Republic, France against Ki ...

, although Sanfelice was largely

apolitical Apoliticism is apathy or antipathy towards all political affiliations. A person may be described as apolitical if they are uninterested or uninvolved in politics. Being apolitical can also refer to situations in which people take an unbiased pos ...

. As she was generally regarded as the innocent victim of circumstances, she became a legendary figure who was widely portrayed in popular culture. During the nineteenth century she was often depicted as a gentle and naïve beauty whose story closely resembled that of the fictional Fioria Tosca, heroine of the Puccini opera ''Tosca''.Nicassio p. 117 Amongst those who have depicted Sanfelice's story are the French writer Alexandre Dumas, who wrote the novel ''La San Felice'' in 1864, and the artist Giovacchino Toma, who painted ''Luisa Sanfelice in Carcere'' in 1874, showing her in captivity before her execution. In the twentieth century, Sanfelice was portrayed in two films, ''Luisa Sanfelice (1942 film), Luisa Sanfelice'' (1942) and ''Luisa Sanfelice (2004 film), Luisa Sanfelice'' (2004).

Bibliography

* Lancaster, Jordan. ''In the Shadow of Vesuvius: A Cultural History of Naples''. I.B.Tauris, 2005. * Nicassio, Susan Vandiver. ''Tosca's Rome: The Play and the Opera in Historical Perspective''. University of Chicago Press, 2002.

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1764 births 1800 deaths People of the Parthenopean Republic Executed Italian women 18th-century Neapolitan people Italian revolutionaries 18th-century Italian women {{Italy-bio-stub