Queen of Sardinia from 1821 to 1831
Maria Cristina of Naples and Sicily
(Maria Cristina Amelia Teresa; 17 January 1779 – 11 March 1849) was a Princess of Naples and Sicily and later
Queen of Sardinia
as wife of
King Charles Felix
. She was a daughter of
Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies
and
Maria Carolina of Austria
.
Princess of Naples and Sicily (1779?1807)
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Portrait of Princess Maria Cristina as a child (by
Louise Elisabeth Vigee Le Brun
,
c.
1790
)
Maria Cristina was born on 17 January 1779 at the
Caserta Palace
in
Caserta
. She was the sixth child and fourth daughter of King
Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies
and his wife
Maria Carolina of Austria
, a daughter of Empress
Maria Theresa of Austria
. She was her mother's favourite child.
Her twin sister Maria Cristina Amelia died of
smallpox
on 26 February 1783, at the age of four.
Duchess of Genoa (1807?1821)
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Maria Cristina was married on 6 April 1807 in
Palermo
with
Prince Charles Felix of Savoy
, who became King of Sardinia 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 (1821?1831)
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The royal couple were interested in the arts and artists, and turned the Royal House in
Aglie
and the
Villa Rufinella
in
Frascati
into comfortable residences. During her husband's reign, they lived at the
Palazzo Chiablese
, where her husband later died in 1831.
In 1825, the queen engaged the archaeologist Marquess Luigi Biondi (1776?1839), whose excavation work uncovered
Tusculum
, an excavation in which Maria Cristina financed.
[
citation needed
]
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.
[
citation needed
]
The ancient works of art excavated were sent to the Duke of Savoy's Castle of
Aglie
in
Piedmont
.
Charles Felix died in 1831 after a reign of ten years. Maria Cristina lived the rest of her life in Turin, Naples, Aglie and Frascati, and died in Savona,
Liguria
. She was buried beside her husband in the
Hautecombe Abbey
,
Saint-Pierre-de-Curtille
.
[
citation needed
]
The couple had no children.
Ancestry
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Ancestors of Maria Cristina of Naples and Sicily
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References
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External links
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Maria Cristina of Naples and Sicily
Born:
17 January 1779
Died:
11 March 1849
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Preceded by
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Queen consort of Sardinia
12 March 1821 ? 27 April 1831
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Succeeded by
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*
also a princess of Savoy by birth
**
Princess of Savoy-Genoa
***
Princess of Savoy-Aosta
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