Category Archives: Modena Royals

Adelgunde of Bavaria, Duchess of Modena and Reggio

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

The Duchy of Modena and Reggio was a small northwestern Italian state that existed from 1452 to 1859, except during the Napoleonic Wars (1796 – 1814). The House of Este ruled the duchy from 1452 – 1796, and then the House of Austria-Este ruled from 1814 – 1859. In 1796, Modena was occupied by a French army under Napoleon Bonaparte, who deposed Ercole III d’Este, Duke of Modena and Reggio, and added the duchy to the French Empire. Ercole III died in exile in 1803.

Ercole III’s only surviving child of Maria Beatrice d’Este, the heiress of Modena and Reggio married Archduke Ferdinand Karl of Austria, son of Francis Stephen, Duke of Lorraine, Grand Duke of Tuscany, Holy Roman Emperor and Maria Theresa, in her own right Archduchess of Austria, and Queen of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia. The son of Maria Beatrice and Ferdinand Karl regained the Duchy of Modena and Reggio as Francesco IV in 1814, after the fall of Napoleon Bonaparte.

The Duchy of Modena and Reggio was abolished during the Italian unification movement. It was annexed to the Kingdom of Sardinia in 1860. In 1861, Vittorio Emanuele II, King of Sardinia was proclaimed the first King of the new, united Kingdom of Italy.

Below is an indexed listing with links to biographical articles about the Modena royal family at Unofficial Royalty. If it says “Notable Issue” before a name, that means not all of the children for the parent of that person are listed.

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Adelgunde of Bavaria, Duchess of Modena and Reggio; Credit – Wikipedia

Adelgunde of Bavaria was the wife of Francesco V, the last Duke of Modena and Reggio. Adelgunde Auguste Charlotte Caroline Elisabeth Amalie Marie Sophie Luise was born on March 19, 1823, at the Würzburger Residenz, a palace in Würzburg, Kingdom of Bavaria, now in the German state of Bavaria. She was the sixth of the nine children and the third of the five daughters of Ludwig I, King of Bavaria and Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen. Adelgunde’s paternal grandparents were King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria and his first wife Augusta Wilhelmine of Hesse-Darmstadt. Her maternal grandparents were Friedrich, Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen (later Duke of Saxe-Altenburg) and Duchess Charlotte Georgine of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.

Adelgunde and her family, Adelgunde is on the left next to her mother and the painting; Credit – Di Baranzoni Angela – Opera propria, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=107172103

Adelgunde had eight siblings:

Adelgunde’s husband Francesco, circa 1845 – 1850; Credit – Wikipedia

Adelgunde first met her future husband Francesco, then heir to the Duchy of Modena and Reggio, in 1839 when his parents Francesco IV, Duke of Modena and Reggio and his wife and niece Maria Beatrice of Savoy visited the Kingdom of Bavaria. On March 30, 1842, 19-year-old Adelgunde married 23-year-old Francesco at the Allerheiligen-Hofkirche (Court Church of All Saints), a church in the Munich Residenz, the royal palace of the Bavarian royal family in Munich, Kingdom of Bavaria, now in the German state of Bavaria. The newlyweds made their entrance into Modena on April 16, 1842.

Francesco and Adelgunde had one daughter who died in infancy:

  • Princess Anna Beatrice (1848 – 1849), died in infancy

Francesco became Duke of Modena and Reggio upon the death of his father on January 21, 1846. Two years later, during the Revolutions of 1848, Adelgunde and Francesco were expelled by revolutionaries and fled to Austria for a short time before they were able to return to Modena. Soon thereafter, King Vittorio Emanuele II of Sardinia and Giuseppe Garibaldi, a general and politician became the driving forces behind the Italian unification movement. During the Second Italian War of Independence (April – July 1859), following the Battle of Magenta, Francesco V and his wife were forced to permanently flee the Duchy of Modena and Reggio. In 1860, the Duchy of Modena and Reggio was annexed to the Kingdom of Sardinia. Vittorio Emanuele II, King of Sardinia was proclaimed the first King of the new, united Kingdom of Italy in 1861.

Adelgunde and her husband Francesco in 1870; Credit – Wikipedia

Adelgunde and Francesco lived the rest of their lives in exile, mostly at the Palais Modena in Vienna, Austria, and at their summer residence Schloss Wildenwart (link in German) in the Kingdom of Bavaria. On November 20, 1875, in Vienna, Austria, Francesco died at the age of 75 and was buried in the Imperial Crypt at the Capuchin Church in Vienna. After Francesco’s death, Adelgunde lived at the Palais Modena in Vienna, Austria, the Munich Residenz in Munich, Bavaria, and Schloss Wildenwart in Frasdorf, Bavaria.

In 1886, Adelgunde’s brother Luitpold became Prince Regent of Bavaria after their nephew King Ludwig II of Bavaria was declared mentally incompetent. Ludwig II died three days later under mysterious circumstances, and the throne passed to Ludwig’s brother King Otto of Bavaria. However, Otto had also been declared mentally incompetent, and Luitpold continued as Prince Regent. During this time, Adelgunde became a grey eminence, a powerful decision-maker or adviser who operates behind the scenes. At the Bavarian court, she was known as Tante Modena (Aunt Modena) and had a great influence on her brother Luitpold. The formidable Adelgunde was considered the voice of the Viennese Habsburg court in Munich and was viewed with suspicion by Bavarian government ministers. In 1889, after the death of Marie of Prussia, Queen Dowager, the mother of King Ludwig II and King Otto, and the sister-in-law of Adelgunde and Luitpold, Adelgunde took on the role of the first lady of Bavaria and took on all the necessary family and social obligations.

A postcard celebrating Adelgunde’s 90th birthday; Credit – Wikipedia

Adelgunde survived her husband Francesco V, former Duke of Modena and Reggio by thirty-nine years, dying on October 28, 1914, at the age of 91. She was buried with her husband at the Imperial Crypt in Vienna.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • De.wikipedia.org. 2021. Adelgunde Auguste von Bayern – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adelgunde_Auguste_von_Bayern> [Accessed 9 October 2021].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Princess Adelgunde of Bavaria – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Adelgunde_of_Bavaria> [Accessed 9 October 2021].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2021. Francesco V, Duke of Modena and Reggio. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/francesco-v-duke-of-modena-and-reggio/> [Accessed 9 October 2021].
  • It.wikipedia.org. 2021. Adelgonda di Baviera – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adelgonda_di_Baviera> [Accessed 9 October 2021].
  • Mehl, Scott, 2016. King Ludwig I of Bavaria. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-ludwig-i-of-bavaria/> [Accessed 9 October 2021].

Francesco V, Duke of Modena and Reggio

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

The Duchy of Modena and Reggio was a small northwestern Italian state that existed from 1452 to 1859, except during the Napoleonic Wars (1796 – 1814). The House of Este ruled the duchy from 1452 – 1796, and then the House of Austria-Este ruled from 1814 – 1859. In 1796, Modena was occupied by a French army under Napoleon Bonaparte, who deposed Ercole III d’Este, Duke of Modena and Reggio, and added the duchy to the French Empire. Ercole III died in exile in 1803.

Ercole III’s only surviving child of Maria Beatrice d’Este, the heiress of Modena and Reggio married Archduke Ferdinand Karl of Austria, son of Francis Stephen, Duke of Lorraine, Grand Duke of Tuscany, Holy Roman Emperor and Maria Theresa, in her own right Archduchess of Austria, and Queen of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia. The son of Maria Beatrice and Ferdinand Karl regained the Duchy of Modena and Reggio as Francesco IV in 1814, after the fall of Napoleon Bonaparte.

The Duchy of Modena and Reggio was abolished during the Italian unification movement. It was annexed to the Kingdom of Sardinia in 1860. In 1861, Vittorio Emanuele II, King of Sardinia was proclaimed the first King of the new, united Kingdom of Italy.

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Francesco V, Duke of Modena and Reggio; Credit – Wikipedia

Francesco V was the last Duke of Modena and Reggio. He was also the Jacobite pretender to the thrones of England and Scotland from 1840 – 1875 (see below). Francesco Ferdinando Geminiano was born on June 1, 1819, at the Ducal Palace in Modena, Duchy of Modena and Reggio, now in Italy. He was the elder of the two sons and the second of the four children of Francesco IV, Duke of Modena and Reggio and his wife and niece Maria Beatrice of Savoy. Francesco V’s paternal grandparents were Archduke Ferdinand Karl of Austria-Este and Maria Beatrice d’Este, Duchess of Massa and Carrara in her own right. His maternal grandparents were Vittorio Emanuele I, King of Sardinia and Duke of Savoy and Maria Theresa of Austria-Este.

Francesco had three siblings:

As the senior surviving descendant of Henrietta of England, Duchess of Orléans, daughter of King Charles I of England and sister of James II, King of England/James VII, King of Scots, Francesco became the Jacobite pretender to the thrones of England and Scotland after the death of his mother Maria Beatrice of Savoy, Duchess of Modena and Reggio in 1840. James II had been deposed by the Glorious Revolution in 1688. The goal of the Jacobites was to restore the Roman Catholic heirs of King James II of England/VII of Scotland to the thrones of England and Scotland. However, unlike the Stuart Jacobite pretenders – James II’s son James Edward Francis Stuart and James II’s grandsons Charles Edward Stuart and Cardinal Henry Benedict Stuart – none of the later Jacobite pretenders ever claimed the title.

James II’s last legitimate Stuart descendant Cardinal Henry Benedict Stuart died in 1807. There were no surviving siblings of King James II/VII, son of King Charles I of England, or their legitimate descendants, except for the descendants of his youngest sister Henrietta of England, Duchess of Orléans. Henrietta married Philippe I, Duke of Orléans and they had one son who died in infancy and two daughters. Only their daughter Anne Marie d’Orléans, who married Vittorio Amedeo II, King of Sardinia, had children and so the Jacobite line of succession proceeded in the House of Savoy. See how the Jacobite succession arrived in the House of Austria-Este via Henrietta of England below.

Charles I of England → his daughter Henrietta of England, Duchess of Orléans → her daughter Anne Marie d’Orléans, Queen of Sardinia → her son Carlo Emanuele III, King of Sardinia → his son Vittorio Amadeo III, King of Sardinia → his son Carlo Emanuele IV, King of Sardinia → his brother Vittorio Emanuele I, King of Sardinia → his daughter Maria Beatrice of Savoy, Duchess of Modena and Reggio → her son Francesco V, Duke of Modena and Reggio

Adelgunde of Bavaria, the wife of Francesco V; Credit – Wikipedia

On March 30, 1842, 23-year-old Francesco married 19-year-old Princess Adelgunde of Bavaria, daughter of King Ludwig I of Bavaria and Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen, at the Allerheiligen-Hofkirche (Court Church of All Saints), a church in the Munich Residenz, the royal palace of the Bavarian royal family in Munich, Kingdom of Bavaria, now in the German state of Bavaria.

Francesco and Adelgunde had one daughter who died in infancy:

  • Princess Anna Beatrice (1848 – 1849), died in infancy

Francesco became Duke of Modena and Reggio when his father died on January 21, 1846. As Duke of Modena and Reggio, Francesco continued the conservative and autocratic policies of his father and was strongly aligned with the Austrian-Hungarian Empire. During the Revolutions of 1848, Francesco was expelled by revolutionaries and fled to Austria for a short time before he was able to return to Modena. Initially, Francesco moderated his policies, but after an assassination attempt, he returned to his conservative and autocratic policies.

The Revolutions of 1848 sowed the seeds of the Italian unification movement. King Vittorio Emanuele II of Sardinia and Giuseppe Garibaldi, a noted general and politician, led the drive toward a unified kingdom. During the Second Italian War of Independence (April – July 1859), following the Battle of Magenta, Francesco V and his wife were forced to permanently flee the Duchy of Modena and Reggio. In 1860, the Duchy of Modena and Reggio was annexed to the Kingdom of Sardinia. Vittorio Emanuele II, King of Sardinia was proclaimed the first King of the new, united Kingdom of Italy in 1861.

Francesco and Adelgunde; Credit – Wikipedia

Thereafter, Francesco and his wife mostly lived at the Palais Modena in Vienna, Austria, where his second cousin once removed Franz Joseph, Emperor of Austria reigned over the Austrian-Hungarian Empire. Francesco also had a summer residence at Schloss Wildenwart (link in German) in the Kingdom of Bavaria, his wife’s homeland.

Exterior of the Capuchin Church in Vienna (Cloister on left, Church in middle, Imperial Crypt on right); Credit – © Susan Flantzer

Francesco V, the former Duke of Modena and Reggio, died at the age of 56, on November 20, 1875, in Vienna, Austria. He was buried in the Imperial Crypt at the Capuchin Church in Vienna, Austria. Francesco left his fortune to his first cousin twice removed Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, whose assassination in 1914 was one of the causes of World War I, on the condition that he use the title Archduke of Austria-Este. Francesco’s wife Adelgunde survived him by thirty-nine years, dying on October 28, 1914, at the age of 91. She was buried with her husband at the Imperial Crypt in Vienna.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Francis V, Duke of Modena – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_V,_Duke_of_Modena> [Accessed 9 October 2021].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2021. Francesco IV, Duke of Modena and Reggio. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/francesco-iv-duke-of-modena-and-reggio/> [Accessed 9 October 2021].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2021. Maria Beatrice of Savoy, Duchess of Modena and Reggio. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/maria-beatrice-of-savoy-duchess-of-modena-and-reggio/> [Accessed 9 October 2021].
  • It.wikipedia.org. 2021. Francesco V d’Austria-Este – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francesco_V_d%27Austria-Este> [Accessed 9 October 2021].

Maria Beatrice of Savoy, Duchess of Modena and Reggio

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

The Duchy of Modena and Reggio was a small northwestern Italian state that existed from 1452 to 1859, except during the Napoleonic Wars (1796 – 1814). The House of Este ruled the duchy from 1452 – 1796, and then the House of Austria-Este ruled from 1814 – 1859. In 1796, Modena was occupied by a French army under Napoleon Bonaparte, who deposed Ercole III d’Este, Duke of Modena and Reggio, and added the duchy to the French Empire. Ercole III died in exile in 1803.

Ercole III’s only surviving child of Maria Beatrice d’Este, the heiress of Modena and Reggio, married Archduke Ferdinand Karl of Austria, son of Francis Stephen, Duke of Lorraine, Grand Duke of Tuscany, Holy Roman Emperor and Maria Theresa, in her own right Archduchess of Austria, and Queen of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia. The son of Maria Beatrice and Ferdinand Karl regained the Duchy of Modena and Reggio as Francesco IV in 1814, after the fall of Napoleon Bonaparte.

The Duchy of Modena and Reggio was abolished during the Italian unification movement. It was annexed to the Kingdom of Sardinia in 1860. 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 Beatrice of Savoy, Duchess of Modena and Reggio; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Beatrice of Savoy was the niece and the wife of Francesco IV, Duke of Modena and Reggio. She was also the Jacobite pretender to the thrones of England and Scotland from 1824 – 1840 (see below). Maria Beatrice Vittoria Giuseppina was born on December 6, 1792, in Turin, Kingdom of Sardinia, now in Italy. She was the eldest of the seven children and the eldest of the six daughters of Vittorio Emanuele I, King of Sardinia and Duke of Savoy and Maria Theresa of Austria-Este. Maria Beatrice’s paternal grandparents were Vittorio Amedeo III, King of Sardinia and Maria Antonia Ferdinanda of Spain. Her maternal grandparents were Archduke Ferdinand Karl of Austria-Este and Maria Beatrice d’Este, Duchess of Massa and Carrara in her own right.

Two of Maria Beatrice’s sisters died in childhood and her only brother died at the age of three from smallpox. Maria Beatrice 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.

In 1798, when Maria Beatrice was six years old, the French occupied Turin, the capital of the Duchy of Savoy, and forced her uncle Carlo Emanuele IV, King of Sardinia 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 his beloved wife Marie Clotilde of France died from typhoid fever on March 7, 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 Beatrice’s father who reigned as Vittorio Emanuele I, King of Sardinia. Maria Beatrice and her family remained on the island of Sardinia for fifteen years, living mostly in Cagliari. 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.

Maria Beatrice’s husband and uncle, Francesco IV, Duke of Modena and Reggio; Credit – Wikipedia

On June 20, 1812, at the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Mother of God and Saint Cecilia in Cagliari, Kingdom of Sardinia, now in Italy, 20-year-old niece Maria Beatrice married her 33-year-old maternal uncle Francesco IV, Duke of Modena and Reggio. Due to their close relationship, a special dispensation was received for their marriage from Pope Pius VII. Francesco was convinced that if he married Maria Beatrice, and her father and his two surviving brothers had no sons, he could become King of Sardinia. However, this plan did not work out. At a later date, Maria Beatrice’s mother and Francesco’s sister (and his mother-in-law) Maria Theresa was accused of trying to convince her childless brother-in-law Carlo Felice, King of Sardinia to name her brother Francesco as the heir to the throne of Sardinia and was exiled from the Kingdom of Sardinia for a while. On his deathbed, Carlo Felice, King of Sardinia named Carlo Alberto, Prince of Carignano, the senior male member of the House of Savoy-Carignano, a cadet branch of the House of Savoy, as his heir.

Francesco and Maria Beatrice had four children:

Like Maria Beatrice’s family, her husband Francesco had also been exiled since 1796 from the Duchy of Modena and Reggio due to the occupation of Napoleon’s French forces. After the fall of Napoleon in 1814, the couple was able to return and made their solemn entry into Modena on July 14, 1814.

Henrietta of England, Duchess of Orléans, Maria Beatrice’s great-great-great-grandmother; Credit – Wikipedia

As the senior surviving descendant of Henrietta of England, Duchess of Orléans, daughter of King Charles I of England and sister of James II, King of England/James VII, King of Scots, Maria Beatrice became the Jacobite pretender to the thrones of England and Scotland after the death of her father Vittorio Emanuele I, King of Sardinia in 1824. James II had been deposed by the Glorious Revolution in 1688. The goal of the Jacobites was to restore the Roman Catholic heirs of King James II of England/VII of Scotland to the thrones of England and Scotland. However, unlike the Stuart Jacobite pretenders – James II’s son James Edward Francis Stuart and James II’s grandsons Charles Edward Stuart and Cardinal Henry Benedict Stuart – none of the later Jacobite pretenders ever claimed the title.

James II’s last legitimate Stuart descendant Cardinal Henry Benedict Stuart died in 1807. There were no surviving siblings of King James II/VII, son of King Charles I of England, or their legitimate descendants, except for the descendants of his youngest sister Henrietta of England, Duchess of Orléans. Henrietta married Philippe I, Duke of Orléans and they had one son who died in infancy and two daughters. Only their daughter Anne Marie d’Orléans, who married Vittorio Amedeo II, King of Sardinia, had children and so the Jacobite line of succession proceeded in the House of Savoy. See how the Jacobite succession arrived in the House of Savoy via Henrietta of England below.

Charles I of England → his daughter Henrietta of England, Duchess of Orléans → her daughter Anne Marie d’Orléans, Queen of Sardinia → her son Carlo Emanuele III, King of Sardinia → his son Vittorio Amadeo III, King of Sardinia → his son Carlo Emanuele IV, King of Sardinia → his brother Vittorio Emanuele I, King of Sardinia → his daughter Maria Beatrice of Savoy, Duchess of Modena and Reggio

Castello del Catajo; Credit – By Alessandro Vecchi – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=25277385

During the last years of her life, Maria Beatrice preferred to live at the Castello del Catajo in Battaglia Terme near Padua, then in the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia, now in Italy, a summer home that had been purchased by Francesco IV in 1803. It was there that Maria Beatrice died from heart failure on September 15, 1840, at the age of 47. She was interred at the Church of San Vincenzo in Modena, Duchy of Modena and Reggio, now in Italy, in the funeral chapel her husband had built in 1836 for members of his family. Francesco IV survived his wife by less than six years, dying on January 21, 1846, aged 66, and was buried with his wife.

Funeral chapel of the House of Este and House of Austria-Este at the Church of San Vincenzo in Modena; Credit – Wikipedia

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Maria Beatrice of Savoy – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Beatrice_of_Savoy> [Accessed 8 October 2021].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2021. Francesco IV, Duke of Modena and Reggio. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/francesco-iv-duke-of-modena-and-reggio/> [Accessed 8 October 2021].
  • Flantzer, S., 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 8 October 2021].
  • It.wikipedia.org. 2021. Maria Beatrice di Savoia (1792-1840) – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Beatrice_di_Savoia_(1792-1840)> [Accessed 8 October 2021].
  • Ru.wikipedia.org. 2021. Мария Беатриче Савойская — Википедия. [online] Available at: <https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9C%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%B8%D1%8F_%D0%91%D0%B5%D0%B0%D1%82%D1%80%D0%B8%D1%87%D0%B5_%D0%A1%D0%B0%D0%B2%D0%BE%D0%B9%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B0%D1%8F> [Accessed 8 October 2021].

Francesco IV, Duke of Modena and Reggio

by Susan Flantzer © Unofficial Royalty 2021

The Duchy of Modena and Reggio was a small northwestern Italian state that existed from 1452 to 1859, except during the Napoleonic Wars (1796 – 1814). The House of Este ruled the duchy from 1452 – 1796, and then the House of Austria-Este ruled from 1814 – 1859. In 1796, Modena was occupied by a French army under Napoleon Bonaparte, who deposed Ercole III d’Este, Duke of Modena and Reggio, and added the duchy to the French Empire. Ercole III died in exile in 1803.

Ercole III’s only surviving child of Maria Beatrice d’Este, the heiress of Modena and Reggio married Archduke Ferdinand Karl of Austria, son of Francis Stephen, Duke of Lorraine, Grand Duke of Tuscany, Holy Roman Emperor and Maria Theresa, in her own right Archduchess of Austria, and Queen of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia. The son of Maria Beatrice and Ferdinand Karl regained the Duchy of Modena and Reggio as Francesco IV in 1814, after the fall of Napoleon Bonaparte.

The Duchy of Modena and Reggio was abolished during the Italian unification movement. It was annexed to the Kingdom of Sardinia in 1860. In 1861, Vittorio Emanuele II, King of Sardinia was proclaimed the first King of the new, united Kingdom of Italy.

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Francesco IV, Duke of Modena and Reggio; Credit – Wikipedia

Francesco IV, Duke of Modena and Reggio was born an Archduke of Austria-Este on October 6, 1779, at the Royal Palace of Milan in Milan, Duchy of Milan, now in Italy. Francesco Giuseppe Carlo Ambrogio Stanislao was the fifth of the ten children and the second but the eldest surviving of five sons of Archduke Ferdinand Karl of Austria-Este and Maria Beatrice d’Este, Duchess of Massa and Carrara in her own right. At the time of Francesco’s birth, the Duchy of Milan was under Austrian Habsburg rule and his father was the Governor of Milan.

The marriage of Francesco’s parents, Ferdinand Karl and Maria Beatrice, created the House of Austria-Este, a cadet branch of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine. Francesco’s paternal grandparents were Francis Stephen, Duke of Lorraine, Grand Duke of Tuscany, Holy Roman Emperor and Maria Theresa, in her own right Archduchess of Austria, and Queen of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia. His maternal grandparents were Ercole III d’Este, Duke of Modena and Reggio and Maria Teresa Cybo-Malaspina, reigning Duchess of Massa and Carrara.

Francesco’s parents with his two eldest surviving sisters; Credit – Wikipedia

Francesco had nine siblings:

In 1796, Modena was occupied by a French army under Napoleon Bonaparte. Francesco’s grandfather Ercole III d’Este, Duke of Modena and Reggio was deposed and exiled, and then the duchy was added to the French Empire. Ercole III died in exile in 1803. When Maria Beatrice’s mother died in 1790, she succeeded her as the reigning Duchess of Massa and Carrara. However, as the Duchy of Modena and Reggio did not allow female succession, Maria Beatrice’s rights to the throne of Modena and Reggio passed to her son Francesco when her father died. In 1814, after the defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte, Francesco was recognized as Francesco IV, Duke of Modena and Reggio by the Congress of Vienna. After the death of his mother in 1829, the Duchy of Massa and Carrara was annexed to the Duchy of Modena and Reggio.

Francesco’s wife Maria Beatrice of Savoy; Credit – Wikipedia

On June 20, 1812, at the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Mother of God and Saint Cecilia in Cagliari, Kingdom of Sardinia, now in Italy, 33-year-old Francesco married his 20-year-old niece Maria Beatrice of Savoy, the daughter of his sister Maria Theresa and Vittorio Emanuele I, King of Sardinia. Due to their close relationship, a special dispensation was received for their marriage from Pope Pius VII. Maria Beatrice was one of the four surviving children of Francesco’s sister Maria Theresa who married Vittorio Emanuele I, King of Sardinia. Francesco was convinced that if he married Maria Beatrice, and her father and his two surviving brothers had no sons, he could become King of Sardinia. Francesco’s sister (and his mother-in-law) Maria Theresa was accused of trying to convince her childless brother-in-law Carlo Felice, King of Sardinia to name her brother Francesco as the heir to the throne of Sardinia and was exiled from the Kingdom of Sardinia for a while. On his deathbed, Carlo Felice, King of Sardinia named Carlo Alberto, Prince of Carignano, the senior male member of the House of Savoy-Carignano, a cadet branch of the House of Savoy, as his heir.

Francesco and Maria Beatrice had four children:

While Francesco IV’s grandfather Ercole III reigned the Duchy of Modena and Reggio as an enlightened monarch who continued the reforms started by his father, Francesco IV’s reign was more autocratic. He saw conspiracies everywhere and was known for his stern and tyrannical rule and his repression of democratic movements. Francesco abolished all reforms and introduced censorship and the secret police. Like his mother, he believed that the people were never satisfied and that it was better to keep them as poor as possible. Francesco was reinforced in his extreme conservatism and his opposition to political or social change by the Jesuits, a religious order of the Catholic Church. He gave the Jesuits a great deal of authority, especially in the field of education.

Funeral chapel of the House of Este and House of Austria-Este at the Church of San Vincenzo in Modena; Credit – Wikipedia

Francesco IV, Duke of Modena and Reggio died January 21, 1846, aged 66, at the Ducal Palace in Modena, Duchy of Modena, now in Italy. He was buried with his wife Maria Beatrice who had died in 1840, at the Church of San Vincenzo in Modena in the funeral chapel he had built in 1836 for members of his family.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

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  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Francis IV, Duke of Modena – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_IV,_Duke_of_Modena> [Accessed 7 October 2021].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Maria Beatrice d’Este, Duchess of Massa – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Beatrice_d%27Este,_Duchess_of_Massa> [Accessed 7 October 2021].
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Maria Teresa Cybo-Malaspina, Duchess of Massa and Carrara, Duchess of Modena and Reggio

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

The Duchy of Modena and Reggio was a small northwestern Italian state that existed from 1452 to 1859, except during the Napoleonic Wars (1796 – 1814). The House of Este ruled the duchy from 1452 – 1796, and then the House of Austria-Este ruled from 1814 – 1859. In 1796, Modena was occupied by a French army under Napoleon Bonaparte, who deposed Ercole III d’Este, Duke of Modena and Reggio, and added the duchy to the French Empire. Ercole III died in exile in 1803.

Ercole III’s only surviving child of Maria Beatrice d’Este, the heiress of Modena and Reggio married Archduke Ferdinand Karl of Austria, son of Francis Stephen, Duke of Lorraine, Grand Duke of Tuscany, Holy Roman Emperor and Maria Theresa, in her own right Archduchess of Austria, and Queen of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia. The son of Maria Beatrice and Ferdinand Karl regained the Duchy of Modena and Reggio as Francesco IV in 1814, after the fall of Napoleon Bonaparte.

The Duchy of Modena and Reggio was abolished during the Italian unification movement. It was annexed to the Kingdom of Sardinia in 1860. 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 Cybo-Malaspina, the reigning Duchess of Massa and Carrara; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Teresa Cybo-Malaspina was the reigning Duchess of Massa and Carrara in her own right from 1731 until she died in 1790, and the wife of Ercole III, Duke of Modena and Reggio. She was born on June 29, 1725, in Novellara, then in the County of Novellara and Bagnolo, later in the Duchy of Modena and Reggio, now in Italy. Maria Teresa was the eldest of the three children and the eldest of the three daughters of Alderano I, Duke of Massa and Carrara and Ricciarda Gonzaga from the Gonzaga branch of the Counts of Novellara. Maria Teresa’s father died on August 18, 1731, when she was just six years old, and she became the reigning Duchess of Massa and Carrara, in the Tuscany region of present-day Italy. Her mother served as regent until 1744.

Maria Teresa had two younger sisters:

  • Maria Anna Matilde Cybo-Malaspina (1726 – 1797), married Prince Orazio Albani, had three children
  • Maria Camilla Cybo-Malaspina (1728 – 1760), married Restaino Gioacchino di Tocco Cantelmo Stuart, Prince of Montemiletto, had one son

On November 10, 1734, nine-year-old Maria Teresa was married by proxy to twenty-year-old Prince Eugenio Giovanni Francesco of Savoy. However, Eugenio Giovanni Francesco died thirteen days later from typhoid fever. The couple had never met and the marriage was annulled because it was never consummated.

Maria Teresa’s husband Ercole III, Duke of Modena and Reggio; Credit – Wikipedia

On April 16, 1741, Maria Teresa married the future Ercole III, Duke of Modena and Reggio. The marriage was made at the insistence of Ercole’s father who wanted the Duchy of Massa and Carrara because of its access to the sea. The marriage was not a happy one. After Maria Teresa gave birth to two children, Ercole humiliated her with his open relationships with his mistresses. Eventually, the couple began to live apart. Ercole remained in the Ducal Palace in Modena and Maria Teresa moved to the Ducal Palace in Reggio Emilia.

Ercole and Maria Teresa had two children but only their daughter survived childhood:

Maria Teresa’s only surviving child Maria Beatrice d’Este with her husband Archduke Ferdinand of Austria and two of their ten children Archduchess Maria Leopoldine and Archduchess Maria Theresa; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Teresa and Ercole’s only surviving child Maria Beatrice d’Este married Archduke Ferdinand of Austria, son of Francis Stephen, Duke of Lorraine, Grand Duke of Tuscany, Holy Roman Emperor and Maria Theresa, in her own right Archduchess of Austria, and Queen of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia. Maria Beatrice and Ferdinand’s marriage created the House of Austria-Este, a cadet branch of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine.

As far as ruling her Duchy of Massa and Carrara, Maria Teresa was an enlightened ruler and demonstrated excellent administrative skills. She continued the work on the Via Vandelli, a road that connected Massa and Modena and had a hospital built in Massa. In 1769, Maria Teresa founded the Accademia di Belle Arti di Carrara, a public academy of art in Carrara focusing on painting, sculpture, and architecture which is still in existence. The art academy complimented Carrara’s largest business, the quarrying of the famous Carrara marble, the white or blue-grey marble used in sculpture and building decor. Carrara marble has been used since the time of ancient Rome. It was used for many buildings of ancient Rome and Michelangelo used it for many of his sculptures. It is still an important industry in Carrara.

Funeral monument of Maria Teresa Cybo D’Este at the Basilica of the Madonna della Ghiara; Credit – Von Andrea.fusani – Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=48772495

Maria Teresa, Duchess of Massa and Carrara died at the age of 65 on December 29, 1790, at the Ducal Palace in Reggio Emilia, Duchy of Modena and Reggio, now in Italy. She was buried at the Basilica of the Madonna della Ghiara in Reggio Emilia. Maria Teresa’s only surviving child Maria Beatrice d’Este became the reigning Duchess of Massa and Carrara. After Maria Beatrice died in 1829, the Duchy of Massa and Carrara was annexed to the Duchy of Modena and Reggio.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Maria Beatrice d’Este, Duchess of Massa – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Beatrice_d%27Este,_Duchess_of_Massa> [Accessed 7 October 2021].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Maria Teresa Cybo-Malaspina, Duchess of Massa – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Teresa_Cybo-Malaspina,_Duchess_of_Massa> [Accessed 7 October 2021].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2021. Ercole III d’Este, Duke of Modena and Reggio. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/ercole-iii-deste-duke-of-modena-and-reggio/> [Accessed 7 October 2021].
  • geni_family_tree. 2021. Maria Teresa Cybo Malaspina, duchessa di Massa e Carrara. [online] Available at: <https://www.geni.com/people/Maria-Teresa-Cybo-Malaspina-duchessa-di-Massa-e-Carrara/6000000004140617051> [Accessed 7 October 2021].
  • It.wikipedia.org. 2021. Maria Teresa Cybo-Malaspina – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Teresa_Cybo-Malaspina> [Accessed 7 October 2021].

Ercole III d’Este, Duke of Modena and Reggio

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

The Duchy of Modena and Reggio was a small northwestern Italian state that existed from 1452 to 1859, except during the Napoleonic Wars (1796 – 1814). The House of Este ruled the duchy from 1452 – 1796, and then the House of Austria-Este ruled from 1814 – 1859. In 1796, Modena was occupied by a French army under Napoleon Bonaparte, who deposed Ercole III d’Este, Duke of Modena and Reggio, and added the duchy to the French Empire. Ercole III died in exile in 1803.

Ercole III’s only surviving child of Maria Beatrice d’Este, the heiress of Modena and Reggio married Archduke Ferdinand Karl of Austria, son of Francis Stephen, Duke of Lorraine, Grand Duke of Tuscany, Holy Roman Emperor and Maria Theresa, in her own right Archduchess of Austria, and Queen of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia. The son of Maria Beatrice and Ferdinand Karl regained the Duchy of Modena and Reggio as Francesco IV in 1814, after the fall of Napoleon Bonaparte.

The Duchy of Modena and Reggio was abolished during the Italian unification movement. It was annexed to the Kingdom of Sardinia in 1860. In 1861, Vittorio Emanuele II, King of Sardinia was proclaimed the first King of the new, united Kingdom of Italy.

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Ercole III, Duke of Modena and Reggio; Credit – Wikipedia

Ercole III d’Este, Duke of Modena and Reggio was the last reigning duke from the House of Este that had reigned in the Duchy of Modena and Reggio from 1452 – 1796. Ercole Rinaldo was born on November 22, 1727, at the Ducal Palace in Modena, the Duchy of Modena and Reggio, now in Italy. He was the fourth of the nine children and the eldest surviving of the four sons of Francesco III d’Este, Duke of Modena and Reggio and Princess Charlotte Aglaé of Orléans. Ercole’s paternal grandparents were Rinaldo d’Este, Duke of Modena, and Charlotte of Brunswick-Lüneburg. His maternal grandparents were Philippe II, Duke of Orléans (son of Philippe I, Duke of Orléans who was the brother of King Louis XIV of France) and Françoise-Marie de Bourbon (the legitimized daughter of King Louis XIV of France and his mistress Françoise-Athénaïs de Rochechouart, Marquise de Montespan).

Ercole had eight siblings:

Maria Teresa Cybo-Malaspina, the reigning Duchess of Massa and Carrara; Credit – Wikipedia

On April 16, 1741, Ercole married Maria Teresa Cybo-Malaspina, the reigning Duchess of Massa and Carrara, now in Italy. The marriage was made at the insistence of Ercole’s father who wanted the Duchy of Massa and Carrara because of its access to the sea. The marriage was not a happy one. After Maria Teresa gave birth to two children, Ercole humiliated her with his open relationships with his mistresses. Eventually, the couple began to live apart. Ercole remained in the Ducal Palace in Modena and Maria Teresa moved to the Ducal Palace in Reggio Emilia.

Ercole and Maria Teresa had two children but only their daughter survived childhood:

Ercole’s only surviving child Maria Beatrice d’Este with her husband Archduke Ferdinand of Austria and two of their ten children Archduchess Maria Leopoldine and Archduchess Maria Theresa; Credit – Wikipedia

Ercole’s only surviving child Maria Beatrice d’Este married Archduke Ferdinand of Austria, son of Francis Stephen, Duke of Lorraine, Grand Duke of Tuscany, Holy Roman Emperor and Maria Theresa, in her own right Archduchess of Austria, and Queen of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia. Maria Beatrice and Ferdinand’s marriage created the House of Austria-Este, a cadet branch of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine. In 1790, upon the death of her mother, Maria Beatrice became the reigning Duchess of Massa and Carrara. After Maria Beatrice’s death in 1829, the Duchy of Massa and Carrara was annexed to the Duchy of Modena and Reggio.

In 1795, five years after the death of his first wife, Ercole married his long-time mistress, the opera singer Chiara Marini (died 1800), and gave her the title Marchioness of Scandiano. They had one son, born 25 years before their marriage: Ercole Rinaldo d’Este who was a major general in the Modena army and was created Marquis of Scandiano in 1787. Ercole Rinaldo died unmarried in Modena on February 16, 1795, after a fall on a staircase.

Ercole III, Duke of Modena and Reggio was considered an enlightened monarch who continued the reforms started by his father. He improved the infrastructure of his duchy, building bridges and roads. In 1785, Ercole established the Atestine Academy of Fine Arts, (link in Italian) a school that provided instruction in sculpture, painting, and architecture. The school is still in existence and is now called the Adolfo Venturi Higher Institute of Art. The arts and sciences flourished in the Duchy of Modena and Reggio during Ercole III’s reign. Scholars that Ercole sponsored included Lazzaro Spallanzani, a Catholic priest, biologist, and physiologist, Giovanni Battista Venturi, a physicist and the discoverer of the Venturi effect, Girolamo Tiraboschi, a literary critic and the first historian of Italian literature, and Lodovico Ricci, a historian and economist.

Funeral chapel of the Dukes of Modena in the Church of San Vincenzo, Modena; Credit – Di Marcordb – Opera propria, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=85725981

In 1796, Modena was occupied by a French army under Napoleon Bonaparte, who deposed Ercole III, Duke of Modena and Reggio. He was forced to flee to Venice on May 7, 1796, bringing with him a great deal of his personal wealth. In Venice, Ercole was the victim of armed robbery by French soldiers who stole some of his money from his home. After this incident, Ercole moved to the city of Treviso, north of Venice, where he died on October 14, 1803, at the age of 75. He was buried at the Church of San Vincenzo in Modena. In 1814, after the defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte, Ercole’s grandson, the son of Maria Beatrice d’Este and Ferdinand Karl regained the Duchy of Modena and Reggio as Francesco IV, Duke of Modena.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

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  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Maria Beatrice d’Este, Duchess of Massa – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Beatrice_d%27Este,_Duchess_of_Massa> [Accessed 7 October 2021].
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