Lucia Migliaccio, Duchessa di Floridia (19 July 1770, in Syracuse, Sicily – 26 April 1826, in

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

) was the second wife of

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 ...

. Their marriage was

morganatic Morganatic marriage, sometimes called a left-handed marriage, is a marriage between people of unequal social rank, which in the context of royalty or other inherited title prevents the principal's position or privileges being passed to the spous ...

and Lucia was never a queen consort.Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels, Fürstliche Häuser IV. "Bourbon". C.A. Starke Verlag, 1956, pp. 8-9. (German).

Family

She was a daughter of Don Vincenzo Migliaccio, 8th Duke of Floridia, and his wife, Donna Dorotea Borgia dei Marchesi del Casale, and inherited her father's dukedom. Her mother came from Syracuse, Sicily.Anales de la Real Academia Matritense de Heráldica y Genealogía, Volumen III. Imprime Industrias Gráficas Caro, S.L., 1995, Madrid, pp. 158. (Spanish). Lucia Migliaccio had several sons and a daughter, Lucia Borbone, who married Salvatore Sagnelli. Both of them are buried in Maddaloni, near Caserta.

Marriages

She married first Don Benedetto Maria III Grifeo, 8th Prince di Partanna. They had five children: * Don Giuseppe Grifeo * Donna Marianna Grifeo * Don Vincenzo Grifeo * Don Leopoldo Grifeo * Don Luigi Grifeo On 27 November 1814, Lucia married Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies, also known as Ferdinand III of Sicily, in Palermo. The bride was forty-four years old and the groom sixty-three. Their marriage created a scandal as it took place less than three months from 8 September 1814, the death of his first wife Queen

Maria Carolina of Austria Maria Carolina Louise Josepha Johanna Antonia (13 August 1752 – 8 September 1814) was Queen of Naples and Sicily as the wife of King Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies. As '' de facto'' ruler of her husband's kingdoms, Maria Carolina oversaw th ...

. Protocol rules required at least one-year period of mourning. By then, Ferdinand had already practically abdicated his power by naming his eldest son Prince Francis as his regent and delegating most decisions to him. His deceased queen, Maria Carolina, herself had been considered the de facto ruler of Sicily until 1812. Lucia after her marriage had very limited influence and little interest in politics. Ferdinand was restored to the throne of the Kingdom of Naples by right of his victory on the Battle of Tolentino (3 May 1815) over

Joachim Murat Joachim Murat ( , also , ; it, Gioacchino Murati; 25 March 1767 – 13 October 1815) was a French military commander and statesman who served during the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars. Under the French Empire he received the ...

. On 8 December 1816 he merged the thrones of Sicily and Naples under the name of the throne of the Two Sicilies, with Francis still serving as his

regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

and Lucia as his morganatic spouse. Ferdinand continued to rule until his death on 4 January 1825. Lucia survived him by a year and three months. She was buried in the Church of San Ferdinando, Naples.

Notes

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Floridia, Lucia Migliaccio Of 1770 births 1826 deaths People from Syracuse, Sicily Lucia Morganatic spouses Italian Roman Catholics 18th-century Italian women 19th-century Italian women 18th-century Roman Catholics 19th-century Roman Catholics