Elisa Napoléone Baciocchi Levoy (3 June 1806 – 3 February 1869) was the daughter of Felice Baciocchi and

Elisa Bonaparte Maria Anna Elisa Bonaparte Baciocchi Levoy ( French: ''Marie Anne Elisa Bonaparte''; 3 January 1777 – 7 August 1820), better known as Elisa Bonaparte, was an imperial French princess and sister of Napoleon Bonaparte. She was Princess of Lucca ...

, who was Princess of Lucca and Piombino and a sister of

Napoleon I 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 ...

. She was their only child to live beyond their teenage years.

Life

Princess Elisa Napoléone Baciocchi Levoy was born at

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 ...

in the Principality of Lucca and Piombino, where her mother was the ruling princess. Violinist

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 ...

often resided at Lucca at her court. On 17 November 1824, she married Count Filippo Camerata-Passionei di Mazzoleni (1805–1882) in

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

. They had one son, Charles Félix Jean-Baptiste Camerata-Passionei di Mazzoleni, born in 1826. The couple separated shortly after their son's birth, and Elisa moved to

Trieste Trieste ( , ; ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital and largest city of the Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, as well as of the Province of Trieste, ...

, where she contacted other exiled members of the Bonaparte family to try to re-establish Napoleon's only son, Napoleon François, on the throne of France. On Napoleon François's death in 1832, Elisa supported the rise of her cousin Louis-Napoleon and on his accession as emperor

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was President of France from 1848 to 1852 and then Emperor of the French from 1852 until his deposition in 1870. He was the first president, second emperor, and last ...

in 1852, she moved to Paris. There, she obtained the title of ''maîtres des requêtes au Conseil d'État'' for her son, but he could not withstand the pressure of court life and died at the age of 26, under mysterious circumstances. Deeply affected by her son's death, Elisa left the court and, after a brief stay in the

Veneto Veneto, officially the Region of Veneto, is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the Northeast Italy, north-east of the country. It is the fourth most populous region in Italy, with a population of 4,851,851 as of 2025. Venice is t ...

, settled for good in

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

, where she devoted herself to tilling her lands and creating a farm and several fisheries. She built the chateau of Korn-er-Hoüet at

Colpo Colpo (; ) is a commune in the Morbihan department of the region of Brittany in north-western France. Demographics Inhabitants of Colpo are called ''Colpéens''. Map See also *Communes of the Morbihan department The following is a li ...

, where she died in 1869, aged 62.

Gallery

File:Napoleona Elisa Baciocchi by Benoist.jpg, Portrait by

Marie-Guillemine Benoist Marie-Guillemine Benoist, born Marie-Guillemine Laville-Leroux (18 December 1768 – 8 October 1826), was a French Neoclassicism, neoclassical, History painting, historical, and Genre art, genre Painting, painter. Biography Benoist was born ...

, 1810 File:Elisa Bonaparte with her daughter Napoleona Baciocchi - François Gérard - Google Cultural Institute.jpg, Elisa and her mother by

François Gérard François Pascal Simon Gérard (, 4 May 1770 – 11 January 1837), titled as Baron Gérard in 1809, was a French painter. He was born in Rome, where his father occupied a post in the house of the French ambassador, and his mother was Italian. A ...

, 1811 File:Lorenzo Bartolini - Napoléone-Elisa Baciocchi.jpg, ''Élisa Napoléone Baciocchi et son chien'',

Lorenzo Bartolini Lorenzo Bartolini (Prato, 7 January 1777 Florence, 20 January 1850) was an Italian sculptor who infused his neoclassicism with a strain of sentimental piety and naturalistic detail, while he drew inspiration from the sculpture of the Florentine ...

, 1812 File:Elisa Baciocchi by Stapleaux.jpg, Portrait by Michel Ghislain Stapleaux, 1830s

References

External links

1806 births 1869 deaths House of Bonaparte Nobility from the Republic of Lucca Daughters of monarchs People from Capannori {{europe-noble-stub