Maria Teresa of Savoy (Maria Teresa Fernanda Felicitas Gaetana Pia; 19 September 1803 – 16 July 1879) was Duchess consort of Parma and Piacenza by marriage to

Charles II, Duke of Parma Charles Louis (; 22 December 1799 – 16 April 1883) was King of Etruria (1803–1807; reigned as Louis II), Duke of Lucca (1824–1847; reigned as Charles Louis), and Duke of Parma (1847–1849; reigned as Charles II). He was the son of Louis o ...

(Duke Charles I of Lucca).

Early life

Maria Teresa was born on 19 September 1803 at the Palazzo Colonna in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. She was the fifth child and fourth daughter of King

Victor Emmanuel I of Sardinia Victor Emmanuel I (; 24 July 1759 – 10 January 1824) was the Duke of Savoy, King of Sardinia and ruler of the Savoyard states from 4 June 1802 until his reign ended in 1821 upon abdication due to a liberal revolution. Shortly thereafter, hi ...

and his wife, Archduchess Maria Teresa of Austria-Este. She had a twin sister, Maria Anna. The two princesses were baptised by Pope

Pius VII Pope Pius VII (; born Barnaba Niccolò Maria Luigi Chiaramonti; 14 August 1742 – 20 August 1823) was head of the Catholic Church from 14 March 1800 to his death in August 1823. He ruled the Papal States from June 1800 to 17 May 1809 and again ...

. Their godparents were their maternal grandparents, Archduke Ferdinand of Austria-Este and his wife Maria Beatrice Ricciarda d'Este. In the Museo di Roma can be seen a painting of the baptism. Maria Teresa spent the majority of her childhood in

Cagliari Cagliari (, , ; ; ; Latin: ''Caralis'') is an Comune, Italian municipality and the capital and largest city of the island of Sardinia, an Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Italy. It has about 146,62 ...

on the island of

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...

, where her family had taken refuge from the armies of

Napoleon I of France Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

. In 1814 her father was restored to rule in

Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...

and the family returned to

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

. She had hoped to marry her cousin Charles Albert of Savoy, who in 1817 married Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria, a daughter of the Duke of Tuscany.

Marriage

On 5 September 1820, in

Lucca Città di 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 of Lucca, province has a population of 383,9 ...

, Maria Teresa married Charles Louis, Prince of Lucca. They had two children: * ''Luisa'' Francesca di Paola Teresa Maria Anna Clothilde Beatrice (29 October 1821 – 8 September 1823) * ''Carlo'' Giuseppe Maria Vittorio Baldasarre, Duke of Parma (14 January 1823 – 27 March 1854) Maria Teresa was beautiful, tall, regal with a noble and melancholic expression. Charles Louis, Prince of Lucca, was handsome and they were said to be the best looking royal couple of their time. However they were mismatched.Sainz de Medrano, ''Changing Thrones: Duke Carlo of Parma'', p. 99 She was a deeply religious woman committed to her Catholic faith. Charles Louis lived largely for his own pleasure often ignoring his governmental responsibilities. They lived most of their married life apart from each other. "Even if there was no love", Charles Louis later commented, "there was respect". On 13 March 1824, Charles Louis' mother died, and he succeeded her as Duke Charles I of Lucca; Maria Teresa became ''Duchess of Lucca''. Neglected by her husband who had numerous affairs, she turned increasingly towards religion and grew disdainful of court life and entertainments, to which her husband was attached. He sometimes dragged her in his travels and in 1829 she accompanied him visiting the court of Saxony. Their relationship, cold from the beginning, deteriorated quickly with time.

Later life

Eventually she retired completely from the court of Lucca, settling permanently first in Villa di Marlia and later to her villa at Pianore, where surrounded by priest and nuns, she dedicated her life to religion. After 1840 she lived in complete religious seclusion in Pianore.Sainz de Medrano, ''Changing Thrones: Duke Carlo of Parma'', p. 100 She was very attached to her own Sardinian family and lived a life dedicated to religion. She surrounded herself by her confessor and her homeopathic doctors. Her husband visited her but he commented that her weak intellect and lack of sensitivity "would enable her to live a century ". She had little influence over their son who, in 1845, married princess Louise Marie Thérèse d'Artois, a daughter of the Duke of Berry and the only sister of the French legitimate pretender the Count of Chambord. On 17 December 1847, the Empress Marie Louise died, and, in accordance with the

Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon, Napol ...

, Charles exchanged the duchy of Lucca for that of Parma, becoming Duke Charles II of Parma; Maria Teresa became ''Duchess of Parma'' but only for few months. The

revolution In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...

broke out in March 1848. In March 1849 Charles abdicated as duke of Parma and was succeeded by their son, Charles III. Maria Teresa lived mostly at her villa at

Viareggio Viareggio () is a city and ''comune'' in northern Tuscany, Italy, on the coast of the Ligurian Sea. With a population of over 62,000, it is the second largest city in the province of Lucca, after Lucca. It is known as a seaside resort as well a ...

, particularly after the assassination of her son in 1854. There she built a chapel as a memorial for her son. Later she lived in a villa in San Martino in Vignale on the hills just north of

served only by her confessor and the administrator of the property. The villa is still called "Tenuta Maria Teresa" in her honor. There she died in 1879 as a result of cerebral arteriosclerosis. She was buried in the Verano cemetery in Rome, dressed in the habit of the

Third Order of St. Dominic The Third Order of Saint Dominic (; abbreviated TOP), also referred to as the Lay Fraternities of Saint Dominic or Lay Dominicans since 1972, is a Roman Catholic, Catholic third order which is part of the Dominican Order. As members of the Order ...

Ancestry

Notes

Bibliography

* Mateos Sainz de Medrano. Ricardo. ''Changing Thrones: Duke Carlo II of Parma''. Published in Royalty History Digest, Vol 3, N 1. July 1993.

External links

*
Dizionario biografico degli Parmigiani
' *
Tenuta Maria Teresa Duchessa di Lucca
' , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Maria Teresa Of Savoy, Princess 1803 births 1879 deaths Nobility from Rome 19th-century Italian women Nobility from the Republic of Lucca Princesses of Bourbon-Parma Duchesses of Parma Princesses of Savoy Italian twins Daughters of kings Mothers of Italian monarchs Daughters of dukes