by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

The Duchy of Parma was in today’s northwest Italy and came into existence in 1545 when Pope Paul III made his illegitimate son Pier Luigi Farnese the Duke of Parma and Piacenza, territories that previously were a part of the Papal States. The House of Farnese reigned until 1731 when the male line went extinct. The duchy passed to Felipe V, King of Spain from the Spanish House of Bourbon whose second wife Elizabeth Farnese was the Farnese heiress. Felipe V made Carlos, his only son with Elizabeth Farnese, the Duke of Parma. However, in 1738, Felipe V traded the Duchy of Parma to the House of Habsburg-Lorraine for the Kingdom of Naples and Sicily and Carlos became King of Naples and Sicily.

In 1748, the Duchy of Parma was ceded back to the Bourbons. Infante Felipe of Spain became Duke of Parma and was the founder of the House of Bourbon-Parma, a cadet branch of the Spanish House of Bourbon.  In 1796, the Duchy of Parma was occupied by French troops under Napoleon Bonaparte. It remained in French hands until the defeat of Napoleon in 1814 when the duchy was given to Napoleon’s second wife, Marie-Louise of Habsburg-Lorraine. She reigned until her death in 1847 when the Duchy of Parma was restored to the House of Bourbon-Parma. In 1859, the Duchy of Parma was abolished during the Italian unification movement. It was merged with the Kingdom of Sardinia as part of the unification of Italy. In 1861, Vittorio Emanuele II, King of Sardinia was proclaimed the first King of the new, united Kingdom of Italy.

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Maria Teresa of Savoy was the wife of Carlo II Ludovico, Duke of Parma. Maria Teresa Fernanda Felicitas Gaetana Pia was born on September 19, 1803, at the Palazzo Colonna in Rome, Papal States, now in Italy. She had a twin sister, Maria Anna Ricciarda Carolina Margherita Pia. The twin sisters were the fifth and sixth of the seven children and the fourth and fifth of the six daughters of Vittorio Emanuele I, King of Sardinia and Maria Theresa of Austria-Este. Maria Teresa’s paternal grandparents were Vittorio Amadeo III, King of Sardinia and Maria Antonia Ferdinanda of Spain. Her maternal grandparents were Ferdinand Karl, Archduke of Austria-Este and Maria Beatrice d’Este, Duchess of Massa.

Maria Teresa had six siblings. Two of Maria Teresa’s sisters died in infancy and her only brother died at the age of three from smallpox. Maria Teresa and her three surviving sisters all married sovereigns. Children of Kings of Sardinia were often styled “of Savoy” as their fathers were also Dukes of Savoy from the House of Savoy

• Maria Beatrice of Savoy (1792 – 1840), married her uncle Francesco IV, Duke of Modena, had four children
• Maria Adelaide of Savoy (1794 – 1795), died in infancy
• Carlo Emanuele of Savoy (1796 – 1799) died in early childhood from smallpox
• A daughter (1800 – 1801), died in infancy
• Maria Anna of Savoy (1803 – 1884), twin of Maria Teresa, married Ferdinand I, Emperor of Austria, no children
• Maria Cristina of Savoy (1812 – 1836), married Ferdinando II, King of the Two Sicilies, had one son, died due to childbirth complications, in 2014 she was beatified by Pope Francis and is known as Blessed Maria Cristina of Savoy

Maria Teresa spent much of her early life on the island of Sardinia. In 1796, before her birth, the French occupied Turin, the capital of the Duchy of Savoy, and forced her uncle Carlo Emanuele IV, King of Sardinia and Duke of Savoy to give up all his territories on the Italian mainland. Carlo Emanuele IV and the rest of the Sardinian royal family withdrew to the island of Sardinia in 1799. When Carlo Emanuele’s beloved wife Marie Clotilde of France died from typhoid fever in 1802, the childless Carlo Emanuele IV was so upset by her death that he decided to abdicate. He left the throne of Sardinia to his brother, Maria Teresa’s father who reigned as Vittorio Emanuele I, King of Sardinia. In 1814, two-thirds of Savoy was restored to the Kingdom of Sardinia following Napoleon’s defeat, and the family was able to return to Turin.

In 1819, Maria Teresa was betrothed to the future Carlo II Ludovico, Duke of Parma. A proxy marriage was held on August 15, 1820, at the Villa Reale in Turin with the groom being represented by Maria Teresa’s paternal uncle Carlo Felice, then the Duke of Genoa, later King of Sardinia. Soon Maria Teresa left for Viareggio, Duchy of Lucca, now in Italy. There she met Carlo Ludovico and married him at the court of his mother Maria Luisa of Spain, Duchess of Lucca in her own right. Carlo Ludovico’s father Ludovico of Parma (King of Etruria from 1801 – 1803) had died at the age of 29 in 1803.

Carlo Ludovico and Maria Teresa had two children:

• Luisa Francesca (1821 – 1823), died in early childhood
• Carlos III, Duke of Parma (1823 – 1854), married Louise Marie Thérèse of France, had four children, assassinated

The marriage was a mismatch. Maria Teresa was very religious and a secular member of the Dominican Order. Carlo Ludovico lived for his own pleasure and preferred entertainment and travel to praying. In 1824, Carlo Ludovico’s mother died and he became the reigning Duke of Lucca. However, he had no interest in reigning. He left the Duchy of Lucca in the hands of his government ministers and instead traveled around Europe. The seemingly endless travels all over Europe with her husband shattered Maria Teresa’s nervous system. In 1833, she stopped accompanying Carlo Ludovico on his travels.

Eventually, Maria Teresa left the Duchy of Lucca court, first settling at the Villa Marlia in the Duchy of Lucca and then at the Villa delle Pianore (link in Italian) also in the Duchy of Lucca, which became a favorite of future members of the House of Bourbon-Parma. Maria Teresa’s grandson Roberto I, the last Duke of Parma enlarged the villa, and his daughter Zita of Bourbon-Parma, the wife of Karl I, the last Emperor of Austria, was born there. Maria Teresa surrounded herself with priests and nuns and dedicated her life to religion. After 1840 she lived in complete religious seclusion.

In 1847, Carlo Ludovico ceded the Duchy of Lucca to the Grand Duchy of Tuscany for financial compensation. Two months later, in December 1847, at the death of Napoleon’s second wife Marie-Louise of Austria, Duchess of Parma, he succeeded her as the reigning Duke of Parma according to the stipulations of the 1815 Congress of Vienna. However, the reign of Carlo II Ludovico, Duke of Parma was short. He was very unpopular with the citizens of Parma, and within a few months, he was ousted by a revolution. Carlo Ludovico regained control of Parma with the help of Austrian troops but finally abdicated in favor of his son Carlo III, Duke of Parma on March 14, 1849.

Maria Teresa’s son Carlo III, Duke of Parma reigned only five years. He was assassinated on March 27, 1854, due to his authoritarian policies. He was succeeded by his six-year-old son Roberto I, Duke of Parma with his mother Louise Marie Thérèse of France acting as regent. Roberto reigned for only five years. In 1859, the Duchy of Parma was abolished during the Italian unification movement. It was merged with the Kingdom of Sardinia as part of the unification of Italy. In 1861, Vittorio Emanuele II, King of Sardinia was proclaimed the first King of the new, united Kingdom of Italy.

After the assassination of her son, Maria Teresa lived at the Villa Borbone (link in Italian) in Viareggio, Grand Duchy of Tuscany, after 1861 in the Kingdom of Italy. Here she had a chapel built as a burial place for her assassinated son Carlo III, Duke of Parma.

Maria Teresa’s final residence was the Tenuta Maria Teresa (Villa Maria Teresa) – link in Italian) which was built for her by the Italian architect by Lorenzo Nottolini in San Martino, Vignale in the hills, just north of Lucca in Italy. It is still called Tenuta Maria Teresa in her honor and is now a winery. There Maria Teresa led a very secluded life. She never left the villa and her only visitors were her confessor and the administrator of the property. The local citizens gave her the nickname “sepolta viva” (buried alive). During the last years of her life, Maria Teresa suffered from progressive atherosclerosis of the cerebral blood vessels.

Maria Teresa of Savoy died on July 16, 1879, aged 75, at the Tenuta Villa Maria. Her funeral was held on July 23, 1879, at Saint Romano Church in Lucca, Italy. Her body, dressed in a Dominican nun’s habit, was taken by train to Rome, Italy where it was buried in the Chapel of the Dominican Order at the Verano Cemetery. Maria Teresa’s husband survived his wife by nearly three years, dying in Nice, France on April 16, 1883, at the age of 83. He was buried at the Chapel of the Villa Borbone (link in Italian) in Viareggio, Italy where his assassinated son was buried and where many subsequent members of the House of Bourbon-Parma were buried.

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Works Cited

• Almanachdegotha.org. 2021. Duchy of Parma – House of Bourbon-Parma. [online] Available at: <http://www.almanachdegotha.org/id29.html> [Accessed 11 October 2021].
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• Flantzer, Susan, 2021. Carlo II Ludovico, Duke of Parma. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/carlo-ii-ludovico-duke-of-parma/> [Accessed 11 October 2021].
• Flantzer, Susan, 2021. Vittorio Emanuele I, King of Sardinia and Duke of Savoy. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/vittorio-emanuele-i-king-of-sardinia-and-duke-of-savoy/> [Accessed 11 October 2021].
• It.wikipedia.org. 2021. Maria Teresa di Savoia (1803-1879) – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Teresa_di_Savoia_(1803-1879)> [Accessed 11 October 2021].
• Louda, Jiri and MacLagan, Michael, 2002. Lines of Succession. New York: Barnes and Noble.
• Ru.wikipedia.org. 2021. Мария Тереза Савойская (1803—1879) — Википедия. [online] Available at: <https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9C%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%B8%D1%8F_%D0%A2%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%B7%D0%B0_%D0%A1%D0%B0%D0%B2%D0%BE%D0%B9%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B0%D1%8F_(1803%E2%80%941879)> [Accessed 11 October 2021].