Maria Cristina of Naples and Sicily

Maria Cristina of Naples

Portrait by Giacomo Berger
Queen consort of Sardinia
Tenure 12 March 1821 27 April 1831
Born (1779-01-17)17 January 1779
Caserta Palace, Kingdom of Naples
Died 11 March 1849(1849-03-11) (aged 70)
Savona, Kingdom of Sardinia
Burial Royal Basilica of Superga, Turin
Spouse Charles Felix of Sardinia
Full name
Maria Cristina Amelia Teresa
House House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (by birth)
House of Savoy (by marriage)
Father Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies
Mother Maria Carolina of Austria
Religion Roman Catholic

Maria Cristina of Naples and Sicily (Maria Cristina Amelia Teresa; 17 January 1779 11 March 1849) was a Princess of Naples and Sicily[1] and later Queen of Sardinia as wife of King Charles Felix.

Princess of Naples and Sicily

Princess Maria Cristina, by Louise Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun.

She was a daughter of King Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies and his wife Maria Carolina of Austria, a daughter of Empress Maria Theresa of Austria. Her (younger) twin sister Princess Maria Cristina Amelia died of smallpox in 1783, aged four, a week after their brother Prince Giuseppe died.

She was her mother's favourite child.

Duchess of Genoa

She was married on 6 April 1807 in Palermo with Prince Charles Felix of Savoy, who became king when his elder brother Victor Emmanuel I abdicated in 1821. Until her husband became king, she was styled as the Duchess of Genoa.

Queen of Sardinia

The royal couple were interested in the arts and artists, and turned the Royal House in Agliè and the Villa Rufinella in Frascati into comfortable residences.

During her husband's reign, they resided at the Palazzo Chiablese, where her husband died in 1831.

In 1825, the Queen engaged the archaeologist Marquess Luigi Biondi (1776–1839), whose excavation work uncovered Tusculum. In 1839 and 1840, the architect and archaeologist Luigi Canina (1795–1856) was engaged by the royal family and excavated the Theatre area of Tusculum. The ancient works of art excavated were sent to the Duke of Savoy's Castle of Agliè in Piedmont.

Charles Felix died in 1831 after a reign of ten years. Maria Cristina lived the rest of her life in Turin, Naples, Agliè and Frascati, and died in Savona, Liguria. She was buried beside her husband in the Basilica of Superga, Great Mausoleum, Savoy Crypt, Turin, Piedmont, Italy. The couple had no children.

Ancestry

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies (1779–1849).

References and notes

  1. Later known as the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies
Maria Cristina of Naples and Sicily
Cadet branch of the House of Bourbon
Born: 17 January 1779 Died: 11 March 1849
Regnal titles
Preceded by
Maria Theresa of Austria-Este
Queen consort of Sardinia
12 March 1821 – 27 April 1831
Succeeded by
Maria Theresa of Austria
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