Marie Josephine Louise of Savoy
Encyclopedia
Marie Joséphine of Savoy (Maria Giuseppina Luigia; 2 September 1753 – 13 November 1810) was the wife of the future King Louis XVIII of France
. She was a princess of Savoy by birth, became titular Queen consort, and was known by her title: Her Royal Highness, Countess of Provence (Comtesse de Provence).
on 2 September 1753 and was the third child and second daughter of Prince Victor Amadeus of Savoy
and his wife the Spanish Infanta Maria Antonia Ferdinanda of Spain. At the time of her birth her paternal grandfather, Charles Emmanuel III of Sardinia
, was the King of Sardinia. As a result her parents were titled the Duke and Duchess of Savoy.
Her brothers included the last three kings of Sardinia from the mainline; the future Charles Emmanuel IV
, Victor Emmanuel I
and Charles Felix of Sardinia
. Her youngest sister, Maria Carolina
married the future King of Saxony.
. He was known as the Count of Provence. Her husband was the future Louis XVIII of France
.
She was married on 16 April 1771 by proxy
in the Kingdom of Sardinia
, her homeland. Then again in person on 14 May 1771 at the Palace of Versailles
she married the comte de Provence. A luxurious ball followed the wedding on 20 May.
The new comtesse de Provence (Louis bore the courtesy title 'comte de Provence') was considered to be ugly, ignorant of the court at Versailles, and tedious. Louis Stanislas was supposedly repulsed by his new wife. We know today that these rumors were created by those who supported Marie Antoinette
as a rivalry soon emerged after the youngest brother 'comte d'Artois', married the Comtesse's sister, thereby bringing yet another Savoyard princess to Versailles and creating a Piedmontese party at court.
Some history books claim that the marriage remained unconsummated due to Louis Stanislas' alleged impotence (according to Antonia Fraser
), or his unwillingness to sleep with his wife due to her poor personal hygiene. Apparently, she never brushed her teeth, plucked her eyebrows, or used any perfumes.
However, according to the Chateau de Versailles's publication, Versallia (2007 edition), the comtesse's private quarters and bathroom were not ready at the time of the marriage of her arrival. Thus, not only was the comtesse not able to wash herself after spending days in a carriage riding from Turin to Versailles, but she was also not able to do so in the days following her arrival. Initial mockery of the princess in the Versailles court may have stuck. As this fact has only recently come to light, previous accounts of the comtesse and her relations with the comte should be regarded with suspicion as it may very well have been the case that negative remarks were made about the comte and comtesse for various political or circumstantial reasons.
Despite the fact that Louis Stanislas was supposedly not infatuated with his wife, he boasted that the two enjoyed vigorous conjugal relations — such declarations were held in low esteem by courtiers at Versailles. He also proclaimed his wife to be pregnant, merely to spite Louis Auguste and his wife Maria Antonia of Austria
(Marie Antoinette), who had not yet consummated their marriage. Louis Stanislas impregnated his wife in 1774, conquering his alleged aversion to Marie Joséphine. Unfortunately, the pregnancy ended in a miscarriage.
The Dauphin and Louis Stanislas did not enjoy a harmonious relationship, and often quarreled, as did their wives. The comte de Provence actually challenged the legitimacy of Marie Antoinette's first child and until the birth of a male heir by Marie Antoinette, the comte did everything in his power to promote himself and his wife as better fitted to be next in line for the throne.
In France she was known as Marie-Joséphine de Savoie.
Her marriage to a Petit-fils de France
(Grandson of France) allowed her to take this rank. She was thus a petite-fille de France (Granddaughter of France) by marriage and was a member of the Royal Family (Famille du Roi). This rank allowed to her to maintain the style of Royal Highness’’, which she had had from birth being the granddaughter of a Sovereign.
At the baptism of her niece Marie Thérèse de France on 19 December 1778, Marie Joséphine stood in for the child's godmother Empress Maria Theresa
; her husband stood in for Charles III of Spain
.
She was a cousin of the ill-fated Marie Louise of Savoy
, princesse de Lamballe who was instrumental in the arrangement of the marriage. She was also a cousin of the Prince of Condé
who later helped to organize and lead a large counter-revolutionary army of émigré
s. Her aunts included Maria Luisa of Savoy
and Eleonora of Savoy
, the proposed brides for Louis Stanislas' father. Her uncle the Duke of Chablais
fought against French revolutionaries after the execution of Louis XVI in 1793. He took part in the Battle of Loano
.
Her marriage was one of three Franco-Savoyard marriages that would occur in four years: hers, the first, was followed by her sister, Princess Maria Teresa who would marry her brother-in-law, the future Charles Philippe de France
, comte d'Artois. Charles Philippe was later King of France, Maria Theresa dying in 1805 died before his accession in 1824. The last marriage was between her oldest brother Prince Charles Emmanuel of Savoy
(future king) to Clotilde de France; they married in 1775.
At the death of her husband’s grandfather Louis XV
in 1774, her brother-in-law succeeded as Louis XVI
. As a result, her husband the comte de Provence took on the style of Monsieur as he was the oldest brother of the king - this was tradition at the French court. Marie Joséphine thus took on the style of Madame
.
She became pregnant in 1774 and 1781, but both pregnancies ended in miscarriage. The marriage was, ultimately, childless. ^ Phillip, Mansel (2005).
Without children, without political influence, she rallied against the queen, but without much success, while her spouse orchestrated a true country-wide opposition against the queen. She lived a rather isolated life at Versailles. She and her husband were at Versailles when The Women's March on Versailles took place on 5 October 1789.
During the revolution, Marie Joséphine and her husband lodged in Luxembourg Palace
, while the rest of the royal family stayed in the Tuileries Palace
. The Provence couple escaped to the Austrian Netherlands in conjunction with the royal family’s failed Flight to Varennes
in June 1791.
In 1791 Marie Joséphine went to Germany
. During the period of exile, the Count and Countess fought constantly. Some historians have suggested Marie Joséphine's possible lesbian relationship with a lady-in-waiting as the primary cause for discord between the couple. This lady in waiting was one Madame de Gourbillon.
On 8 June 1795, Louis XVII of France
, the only surviving son of Louis XVI of France
and Marie Antoinette
, died while imprisoned in the Temple
, and on 16 June, the exiled French court proclaimed her husband King of France as Louis XVIII. Thus, Marie Joséphine became titular Queen consort of France. Regardless, due to the acrimony, she and her husband spent much time apart.
By 1798, Marie Joséphine was still living in Schleswig-Holstein
, Germany, with a friend. She refused to attend the marriage of her niece Marie-Thérèse Charlotte to her nephew Louis Antoine d'Artois
, duc d'Angoulême.
Louis Antoine fetched his wife Marie-Thérèse Charlotte and Marie Joséphine, from the continent in 1808.
Marie Joséphine died of an edema
at Hartwell House, English residence of the exiled French royal family. Surrounded in her final days by most of the French court, she begged for forgiveness for any wrongs she might have done them, especially Louis, who he assured that he harbored no ill will toward. Her funeral was a magnificent occasion to which the whole Emigration turned out, their names recorded by police spies and reported back to Napoleon. The funeral cortege was followed by the carriage of the British royal family, and Marie Joséphine was laid to rest in the Lady Chapel
of Westminster Abbey
.
Her body was removed a year later on Louis's orders and buried in the Kingdom of Sardinia; today in Cagliari
Cathedral.
There her brother, King Charles Felix of Sardinia
, had an imposing monument erected over her grave, whereon she is described personally as "sapiens, prudens, pientissima" ("wise, prudent, kindest") and as "Galliarum Regina", literally "Queen of the Gauls", i.e. of France.
called the Le Pavilon de Musique [de la Comtesse de Provence]. The architect for the project was Jean-François-Thérèse Chalgrin
, who also designed the Arc de Triomphe
in Paris. Her sister-in-law Élisabeth de France did the same in 1783. The Pavilion was later bought by the Mellerio family. After many a mutation, it was acquired by Alfred Chauchard, who was the founder of the magasin du Louvre
. It was then bought by Jacques and Lydie Bazaine in 1960. The couple restored the pavilion which is a classified historical monument. Today it is privately owned by their great grandson. The pavilion was featured on the July 2008 cover of World of Interiors and in the book, "Folie de Batir," by Bernd H. Dams and Andrew Zega. The Comtesse also had another mansion on the grounds which became the lycée privée Sainte-Geneviève in 1913.
She was also the Duchess of Anjou, Vendôme
and Alençon by right of her husband being awarded the Peerages in 1771.
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Louis XVIII of France
Louis XVIII , known as "the Unavoidable", was King of France and of Navarre from 1814 to 1824, omitting the Hundred Days in 1815...
. She was a princess of Savoy by birth, became titular Queen consort, and was known by her title: Her Royal Highness, Countess of Provence (Comtesse de Provence).
Family
Maria Giuseppina Luigia di Savoia was born at the Royal Palace of TurinRoyal Palace of Turin
Royal Palace of Turin or Palazzo Reale, is a palace in Turin, northern Italy. It was the royal palace of the House of Savoy. It was modernised greatly by the French born Madama Reale Christine Marie of France in the seventeenth century. The palace was worked on by Filippo Juvarra...
on 2 September 1753 and was the third child and second daughter of Prince Victor Amadeus of Savoy
Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia
Victor Amadeus III was King of Sardinia from 1773 until his death. Although he was politically conservative, he carried out numerous administrative reforms until declaring war on revolutionary France in 1792...
and his wife the Spanish Infanta Maria Antonia Ferdinanda of Spain. At the time of her birth her paternal grandfather, Charles Emmanuel III of Sardinia
Charles Emmanuel III of Sardinia
Charles Emmanuel III was the Duke of Savoy and King of Sardinia from 1730 until his death.-Biography:...
, was the King of Sardinia. As a result her parents were titled the Duke and Duchess of Savoy.
Her brothers included the last three kings of Sardinia from the mainline; the future Charles Emmanuel IV
Charles Emmanuel IV of Sardinia
Charles Emmanuel IV was King of Sardinia from 1796 to 1802. He abdicated in favour of his brother Victor Emmanuel I...
, Victor Emmanuel I
Victor Emmanuel I of Sardinia
Victor Emmanuel I was the Duke of Savoy and King of Sardinia from 1802 to 1821, and Jacobite Pretender from 1819 until his death.-Biography:...
and Charles Felix of Sardinia
Charles Felix of Sardinia
Charles Felix was the Duke of Savoy, Piedmont, Aosta and King of Sardinia from 1821 to 1831.-Early life:...
. Her youngest sister, Maria Carolina
Princess Maria Carolina of Savoy
Maria Carolina of Savoy was a Princess of Savoy from her birth. She was the youngest daughter of the future Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia and married in 1781 to the Electoral Prince of Saxony...
married the future King of Saxony.
Marriage
Maria Giuseppina was engaged to the French Prince Louis Stanislas Xavier de FranceLouis XVIII of France
Louis XVIII , known as "the Unavoidable", was King of France and of Navarre from 1814 to 1824, omitting the Hundred Days in 1815...
. He was known as the Count of Provence. Her husband was the future Louis XVIII of France
Louis XVIII of France
Louis XVIII , known as "the Unavoidable", was King of France and of Navarre from 1814 to 1824, omitting the Hundred Days in 1815...
.
She was married on 16 April 1771 by proxy
Proxy marriage
A proxy wedding or is a wedding in which the bride or groom is not physically present, usually being represented instead by another person...
in the Kingdom of Sardinia
Kingdom of Sardinia
The Kingdom of Sardinia consisted of the island of Sardinia first as a part of the Crown of Aragon and subsequently the Spanish Empire , and second as a part of the composite state of the House of Savoy . Its capital was originally Cagliari, in the south of the island, and later Turin, on the...
, her homeland. Then again in person on 14 May 1771 at the Palace of Versailles
Palace of Versailles
The Palace of Versailles , or simply Versailles, is a royal château in Versailles in the Île-de-France region of France. In French it is the Château de Versailles....
she married the comte de Provence. A luxurious ball followed the wedding on 20 May.
The new comtesse de Provence (Louis bore the courtesy title 'comte de Provence') was considered to be ugly, ignorant of the court at Versailles, and tedious. Louis Stanislas was supposedly repulsed by his new wife. We know today that these rumors were created by those who supported Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette ; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was an Archduchess of Austria and the Queen of France and of Navarre. She was the fifteenth and penultimate child of Holy Roman Empress Maria Theresa and Holy Roman Emperor Francis I....
as a rivalry soon emerged after the youngest brother 'comte d'Artois', married the Comtesse's sister, thereby bringing yet another Savoyard princess to Versailles and creating a Piedmontese party at court.
Some history books claim that the marriage remained unconsummated due to Louis Stanislas' alleged impotence (according to Antonia Fraser
Antonia Fraser
Lady Antonia Margaret Caroline Fraser, DBE , née Pakenham, is an Anglo-Irish author of history, novels, biographies and detective fiction, best known as Antonia Fraser...
), or his unwillingness to sleep with his wife due to her poor personal hygiene. Apparently, she never brushed her teeth, plucked her eyebrows, or used any perfumes.
However, according to the Chateau de Versailles's publication, Versallia (2007 edition), the comtesse's private quarters and bathroom were not ready at the time of the marriage of her arrival. Thus, not only was the comtesse not able to wash herself after spending days in a carriage riding from Turin to Versailles, but she was also not able to do so in the days following her arrival. Initial mockery of the princess in the Versailles court may have stuck. As this fact has only recently come to light, previous accounts of the comtesse and her relations with the comte should be regarded with suspicion as it may very well have been the case that negative remarks were made about the comte and comtesse for various political or circumstantial reasons.
Despite the fact that Louis Stanislas was supposedly not infatuated with his wife, he boasted that the two enjoyed vigorous conjugal relations — such declarations were held in low esteem by courtiers at Versailles. He also proclaimed his wife to be pregnant, merely to spite Louis Auguste and his wife Maria Antonia of Austria
Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette ; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was an Archduchess of Austria and the Queen of France and of Navarre. She was the fifteenth and penultimate child of Holy Roman Empress Maria Theresa and Holy Roman Emperor Francis I....
(Marie Antoinette), who had not yet consummated their marriage. Louis Stanislas impregnated his wife in 1774, conquering his alleged aversion to Marie Joséphine. Unfortunately, the pregnancy ended in a miscarriage.
The Dauphin and Louis Stanislas did not enjoy a harmonious relationship, and often quarreled, as did their wives. The comte de Provence actually challenged the legitimacy of Marie Antoinette's first child and until the birth of a male heir by Marie Antoinette, the comte did everything in his power to promote himself and his wife as better fitted to be next in line for the throne.
In France she was known as Marie-Joséphine de Savoie.
Her marriage to a Petit-fils de France
Fils de France
Fils de France was the style and rank held by the sons of the kings and dauphins of France. A daughter was known as a fille de France .The children of the dauphin, who was the king's heir apparent, were accorded the same style and status as if they were the king's children instead of his...
(Grandson of France) allowed her to take this rank. She was thus a petite-fille de France (Granddaughter of France) by marriage and was a member of the Royal Family (Famille du Roi). This rank allowed to her to maintain the style of Royal Highness’’, which she had had from birth being the granddaughter of a Sovereign.
At the baptism of her niece Marie Thérèse de France on 19 December 1778, Marie Joséphine stood in for the child's godmother Empress Maria Theresa
Maria Theresa of Austria
Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina was the only female ruler of the Habsburg dominions and the last of the House of Habsburg. She was the sovereign of Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Bohemia, Mantua, Milan, Lodomeria and Galicia, the Austrian Netherlands and Parma...
; her husband stood in for Charles III of Spain
Charles III of Spain
Charles III was the King of Spain and the Spanish Indies from 1759 to 1788. He was the eldest son of Philip V of Spain and his second wife, the Princess Elisabeth Farnese...
.
She was a cousin of the ill-fated Marie Louise of Savoy
Princess Marie Louise of Savoy
Maria Luisa of Savoy was a member of the House of Savoy. She was married at the age of 16 to Louis Alexandre de Bourbon, Prince de Lamballe, the heir to the greatest fortune in France. After her marriage, which lasted a year, she went to court and became the confidante of Queen Marie Antoinette...
, princesse de Lamballe who was instrumental in the arrangement of the marriage. She was also a cousin of the Prince of Condé
Louis Joseph de Bourbon, prince de Condé
Louis Joseph de Bourbon was Prince of Condé from 1740 to his death. A member of the House of Bourbon, he held the prestigious rank of Prince du Sang.-Biography:...
who later helped to organize and lead a large counter-revolutionary army of émigré
Émigré
Émigré is a French term that literally refers to a person who has "migrated out", but often carries a connotation of politico-social self-exile....
s. Her aunts included Maria Luisa of Savoy
Princess Maria Luisa of Savoy (1729–1767)
Maria Luisa of Savoy was a princess of Savoy. A religious woman, she died unmarried.-Biography:...
and Eleonora of Savoy
Princess Eleonora of Savoy
Eleonora of Savoy was a Savoyard princess, the eldest daughter of Charles Emmanuel III of Sardinia and his second wife Polyxena of Hesse-Rotenburg...
, the proposed brides for Louis Stanislas' father. Her uncle the Duke of Chablais
Benedetto, Duke of Chablais
Benedetto of Savoy was a prince of Savoy and Duke of Chablais. He was born in the reign of his father Charles Emmanuel III, King of Sardinia. He has no descendants but had a distinguished military career...
fought against French revolutionaries after the execution of Louis XVI in 1793. He took part in the Battle of Loano
Battle of Loano
The Battle of Loano occurred on 23-24 November 1795 during the War of the First Coalition. The French Army of Italy led by Barthélemy Schérer defeated the combined Austrian and Sardinian forces under Olivier, Count of Wallis. -Context:...
.
Charles X of France
Charles X was known for most of his life as the Comte d'Artois before he reigned as King of France and of Navarre from 16 September 1824 until 2 August 1830. A younger brother to Kings Louis XVI and Louis XVIII, he supported the latter in exile and eventually succeeded him...
, comte d'Artois. Charles Philippe was later King of France, Maria Theresa dying in 1805 died before his accession in 1824. The last marriage was between her oldest brother Prince Charles Emmanuel of Savoy
Charles Emmanuel IV of Sardinia
Charles Emmanuel IV was King of Sardinia from 1796 to 1802. He abdicated in favour of his brother Victor Emmanuel I...
(future king) to Clotilde de France; they married in 1775.
At the death of her husband’s grandfather Louis XV
Louis XV of France
Louis XV was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1 September 1715 until his death. He succeeded his great-grandfather at the age of five, his first cousin Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, served as Regent of the kingdom until Louis's majority in 1723...
in 1774, her brother-in-law succeeded as Louis XVI
Louis XVI of France
Louis XVI was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre until 1791, and then as King of the French from 1791 to 1792, before being executed in 1793....
. As a result, her husband the comte de Provence took on the style of Monsieur as he was the oldest brother of the king - this was tradition at the French court. Marie Joséphine thus took on the style of Madame
Fils de France
Fils de France was the style and rank held by the sons of the kings and dauphins of France. A daughter was known as a fille de France .The children of the dauphin, who was the king's heir apparent, were accorded the same style and status as if they were the king's children instead of his...
.
She became pregnant in 1774 and 1781, but both pregnancies ended in miscarriage. The marriage was, ultimately, childless. ^ Phillip, Mansel (2005).
Without children, without political influence, she rallied against the queen, but without much success, while her spouse orchestrated a true country-wide opposition against the queen. She lived a rather isolated life at Versailles. She and her husband were at Versailles when The Women's March on Versailles took place on 5 October 1789.
During the revolution, Marie Joséphine and her husband lodged in Luxembourg Palace
Luxembourg Palace
The Luxembourg Palace in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, north of the Luxembourg Garden , is the seat of the French Senate.The formal Luxembourg Garden presents a 25-hectare green parterre of gravel and lawn populated with statues and provided with large basins of water where children sail model...
, while the rest of the royal family stayed in the Tuileries Palace
Tuileries Palace
The Tuileries Palace was a royal palace in Paris which stood on the right bank of the River Seine until 1871, when it was destroyed in the upheaval during the suppression of the Paris Commune...
. The Provence couple escaped to the Austrian Netherlands in conjunction with the royal family’s failed Flight to Varennes
Flight to Varennes
The Flight to Varennes was a significant episode in the French Revolution during which King Louis XVI of France, his wife Marie Antoinette, and their immediate family attempted unsuccessfully to escape from Paris in order to initiate a counter-revolution...
in June 1791.
In 1791 Marie Joséphine went to Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. During the period of exile, the Count and Countess fought constantly. Some historians have suggested Marie Joséphine's possible lesbian relationship with a lady-in-waiting as the primary cause for discord between the couple. This lady in waiting was one Madame de Gourbillon.
On 8 June 1795, Louis XVII of France
Louis XVII of France
Louis XVII , from birth to 1789 known as Louis-Charles, Duke of Normandy; then from 1789 to 1791 as Louis-Charles, Dauphin of France; and from 1791 to 1793 as Louis-Charles, Prince Royal of France, was the son of King Louis XVI of France and Queen Marie Antoinette...
, the only surviving son of Louis XVI of France
Louis XVI of France
Louis XVI was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre until 1791, and then as King of the French from 1791 to 1792, before being executed in 1793....
and Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette ; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was an Archduchess of Austria and the Queen of France and of Navarre. She was the fifteenth and penultimate child of Holy Roman Empress Maria Theresa and Holy Roman Emperor Francis I....
, died while imprisoned in the Temple
Temple (Paris)
The Temple was a medieval fortress in Paris, located in what is now the IIIe arrondissement. It was built by the Knights Templar from the 12th century, as their European headquarters. In the 13th century it replaced earlier works of the Vieille Temple in Le Marais...
, and on 16 June, the exiled French court proclaimed her husband King of France as Louis XVIII. Thus, Marie Joséphine became titular Queen consort of France. Regardless, due to the acrimony, she and her husband spent much time apart.
By 1798, Marie Joséphine was still living in Schleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein is the northernmost of the sixteen states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Schleswig...
, Germany, with a friend. She refused to attend the marriage of her niece Marie-Thérèse Charlotte to her nephew Louis Antoine d'Artois
Louis-Antoine, Duke of Angouleme
Louis Antoine of France, Duke of Angoulême was the eldest son of Charles X of France and, from 1824 to 1836, the last Dauphin of France...
, duc d'Angoulême.
Louis Antoine fetched his wife Marie-Thérèse Charlotte and Marie Joséphine, from the continent in 1808.
Marie Joséphine died of an edema
Edema
Edema or oedema ; both words from the Greek , oídēma "swelling"), formerly known as dropsy or hydropsy, is an abnormal accumulation of fluid beneath the skin or in one or more cavities of the body that produces swelling...
at Hartwell House, English residence of the exiled French royal family. Surrounded in her final days by most of the French court, she begged for forgiveness for any wrongs she might have done them, especially Louis, who he assured that he harbored no ill will toward. Her funeral was a magnificent occasion to which the whole Emigration turned out, their names recorded by police spies and reported back to Napoleon. The funeral cortege was followed by the carriage of the British royal family, and Marie Joséphine was laid to rest in the Lady Chapel
Henry VII Lady Chapel
The Henry VII Lady Chapel, now more often known just as the Henry VII Chapel, is a large Lady chapel at the far eastern end of Westminster Abbey, paid for by the will of Henry VII. It is separated from the rest of the abbey by brass gates and a flight of stairs.The structure of the chapel is a...
of Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey
The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...
.
Her body was removed a year later on Louis's orders and buried in the Kingdom of Sardinia; today in Cagliari
Cagliari
Cagliari is the capital of the island of Sardinia, a region of Italy. Cagliari's Sardinian name Casteddu literally means castle. It has about 156,000 inhabitants, or about 480,000 including the outlying townships : Elmas, Assemini, Capoterra, Selargius, Sestu, Monserrato, Quartucciu, Quartu...
Cathedral.
There her brother, King Charles Felix of Sardinia
Charles Felix of Sardinia
Charles Felix was the Duke of Savoy, Piedmont, Aosta and King of Sardinia from 1821 to 1831.-Early life:...
, had an imposing monument erected over her grave, whereon she is described personally as "sapiens, prudens, pientissima" ("wise, prudent, kindest") and as "Galliarum Regina", literally "Queen of the Gauls", i.e. of France.
Pavilon de Musique
Marie Joséphine had a private pavilion built on the Avenue de Paris in the city of VersaillesVersailles
Versailles , a city renowned for its château, the Palace of Versailles, was the de facto capital of the kingdom of France for over a century, from 1682 to 1789. It is now a wealthy suburb of Paris and remains an important administrative and judicial centre...
called the Le Pavilon de Musique [de la Comtesse de Provence]. The architect for the project was Jean-François-Thérèse Chalgrin
Jean Chalgrin
Jean-François-Thérèse Chalgrin was a French architect, best known for his design for the Arc de Triomphe, Paris.-Biography:...
, who also designed the Arc de Triomphe
Arc de Triomphe
-The design:The astylar design is by Jean Chalgrin , in the Neoclassical version of ancient Roman architecture . Major academic sculptors of France are represented in the sculpture of the Arc de Triomphe: Jean-Pierre Cortot; François Rude; Antoine Étex; James Pradier and Philippe Joseph Henri Lemaire...
in Paris. Her sister-in-law Élisabeth de France did the same in 1783. The Pavilion was later bought by the Mellerio family. After many a mutation, it was acquired by Alfred Chauchard, who was the founder of the magasin du Louvre
Louvre
The Musée du Louvre – in English, the Louvre Museum or simply the Louvre – is one of the world's largest museums, the most visited art museum in the world and a historic monument. A central landmark of Paris, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement...
. It was then bought by Jacques and Lydie Bazaine in 1960. The couple restored the pavilion which is a classified historical monument. Today it is privately owned by their great grandson. The pavilion was featured on the July 2008 cover of World of Interiors and in the book, "Folie de Batir," by Bernd H. Dams and Andrew Zega. The Comtesse also had another mansion on the grounds which became the lycée privée Sainte-Geneviève in 1913.
- She was played by the French actress Clémentine Poidatz in the 2006 film named Marie AntoinetteMarie Antoinette (2006 film)Marie Antoinette is a 2006 biographical film, written and directed by Sofia Coppola. It is very loosely based on the life of the Queen consort in the years leading up to the French Revolution. It won an Academy Award for Best Costume Design...
; the film was directed by Sofia CoppolaSofia CoppolaSofia Carmina Coppola is an American screenwriter, film director, actress, and producer.In 2003 she received the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for Lost in Translation, and became the third woman to be nominated for an Academy Award for Directing...
.
Ancestry
Titles and styles
- 2 September 1753 – 16 April 1771 Her Royal Highness Princess Maria Giuseppina of Savoy
- 16 April 1771 –13 November 1810 Her Royal Highness the Countess of Provence
She was also the Duchess of Anjou, Vendôme
Duchess of Vendôme
-House of Bourbon:...
and Alençon by right of her husband being awarded the Peerages in 1771.
Titles
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