Princess Maria Antonia of the Two Sicilies


Princess Maria Antonia of the Two Sicilies was the Grand Duchess of Tuscany from 1833 to 1859 as the consort of Leopold II. In signature, she used Maria Antonietta.

Biography

Maria Antonia was born at the Royal Palace of Palermo on 19 December 1814, daughter of Francis I of the Two Sicilies and his wife Maria Isabella of Spain, she was baptised Maria Antonia in honor of Maria Antonia-Anna's great-aunt Marie Antoinette, deceased sister of her grandmother Maria Carolina of Austria.
When she was born, the Neapolitan court had already moved to Sicily because Napoleonic troops had invaded the continental part of the realm. After a few months the royal family returned to Naples thanks to the Congress of Vienna.
She was particularly close to her brother the future Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies, who affectionately dubbed her Totò.

Marriage and issue

In 1833, when she was eighteen, Maria Antonia married her first cousin Leopold II, Grand Duke of Tuscany, who was seventeen years older. Marie Antoinette and Leopold had ten children:
The Piazza Maria Antonia – today Piazza dell'Indipendeza, the railway line Maria Antonia and the Maria Antonia train station, now called Firenze Santa Maria Novella, were named in her honour.

Revolution

In April 27th 1859, before the Franco-Piedmont war against Austria, Leopold II proclaimed neutrality. On the afternoon of 27 April, Leopold II chose to leave Florence with his family, in four carriages heading toward Bologna, rather than provoke any violence by what appeared to be a well orchestrated coup directed by the Piedmontese government. Shortly beforehand he had refused to abdicate in favour of his son, Ferdinand IV, which then became nominal Grandduke of Tuscany after Leopold II was forced to abdicate by the emperor Francis Joseph in July of the same year.

Titles, styles, honours and arms

Titles and styles