Religion Roman Catholic | Name Maria of | |
 | ||
Tenure 12 March 1821 – 27 April 1831 Born 17 January 1779
Caserta Palace, Kingdom of Naples ( 1779-01-17 ) Burial Royal Basilica of Superga, Turin 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 Died March 11, 1849, Savona, Italy Spouse Charles Felix of Sardinia (m. 1807) Parents Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies, Maria Carolina of Austria Grandparents Maria Theresa, Charles III of Spain, Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor, Maria Amalia of Saxony Cousins Louis XVII of France, Ferdinand VII of Spain, Marie Therese of France, Carlota Joaquina of Spain, Princess Sophie Helene B Similar People Charles Felix of Sardinia, Maria Carolina of Austria, Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies, Maria Theresa of Naples a, Princess Maria Antonia o | ||
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.
Contents
Princess of Naples and Sicily
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.