| Maria Teresa of Savoy | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duchess of Parma and Piacenza | |||||
 | |||||
| Duchess consort of Parma and Piacenza | |||||
| Tenure | 17 December 1847 – 17 May 1849 | ||||
| Duchess consort of Lucca | |||||
| Tenure | 13 March 1824 – 17 December 1847 | ||||
| Born | (1803-09-19)19 September 1803 Palazzo Colonna, Rome,Papal States | ||||
| Died | 16 July 1879(1879-07-16) (aged 75) San Martino, Vignale,Italy | ||||
| Burial | Verano Cemetery, Rome | ||||
| Spouse | |||||
| Issue | Princess Luisa Charles III, Duke of Parma | ||||
| |||||
| House | Savoy (by birth) Bourbon-Parma (by marriage) | ||||
| Father | Victor Emmanuel I of Sardinia | ||||
| Mother | Archduchess Maria Teresa of Austria-Este | ||||
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 toCharles II, Duke of Parma (Duke Charles I of Lucca).
Maria Teresa was born on 19 September 1803 at thePalazzo Colonna inRome. She was the fifth child and fourth daughter of KingVictor Emmanuel I of Sardinia and his wife, ArchduchessMaria Teresa of Austria-Este. She had a twin sister,Maria Anna. The two princesses were baptised by PopePius VII. Their godparents were their maternal grandparents,Archduke Ferdinand of Austria-Este and his wifeMaria Beatrice Ricciarda d'Este. In theMuseo di Roma can be seen a painting of the baptism.[citation needed]
Maria Teresa spent the majority of her childhood inCagliari on the island ofSardinia,[citation needed] where her family had taken refuge from the armies ofNapoleon I of France. In 1814 her father was restored to rule inPiedmont and the family returned toTurin.[citation needed] She had hoped to marry her cousinCharles Albert of Savoy, who in 1817 marriedArchduchess Maria Theresa of Austria, a daughter of the Duke of Tuscany.
On 5 September 1820, inLucca, Maria Teresa marriedCharles Louis, Prince of Lucca.
They had two children:
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.[1] She was a deeply religious woman committed to her Catholic faith.[citation needed] Charles Louis lived largely for his own pleasure often ignoring his governmental responsibilities.[citation needed] They lived most of their married life apart from each other. "Even if there was no love", Charles Louis later commented, "there was respect".[1]
On 13 March 1824, Charles Louis' mother died, and he succeeded her as Duke Charles I of Lucca; Maria Teresa becameDuchess 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.[citation needed]
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.[2] She was very attached to her own Sardinian family and lived a life dedicated to religion.[2] She surrounded herself by her confessor and her homeopathic doctors.[2] Her husband visited her but he commented that her weak intellect and lack of sensitivity "would enable her to live a century ".[2] 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 pretenderthe Count of Chambord.[2]
On 17 December 1847, theEmpress Marie Louise died, and, in accordance with theCongress of Vienna, Charles exchanged the duchy of Lucca for that of Parma, becoming Duke Charles II of Parma; Maria Teresa becameDuchess of Parma but only for few months. Therevolution broke out in March 1848. In March 1849 Charles abdicated as duke of Parma and was succeeded by their son, Charles III.[citation needed]
Maria Teresa lived mostly at her villa atViareggio, 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 ofLucca 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 theThird Order of St. Dominic.[citation needed]
Maria Teresa of Savoy Born: 19 September 1803 Died: 16 July 1879 | ||
| Royal titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Vacant Title last held by Maria Amalia of Austria | Duchess consort of Parma 17 December 1847 – 17 May 1849 | Vacant Title next held by Louise d'Artois |