page_title: Marițica Bibescu
section_title: Exile
hierarchical_section_title: Marițica Bibescu / Biography / Exile
caption_attribution_description: Français&#160;: Sépulture de Georges-Démètre Bibesco (1804-1873), secrétaire de l'assemblée générale de Valachie&#160;; Maria Vacaresco (1815-1859), sa 2e épouse&#160;; Anna de Noailles (1876-1933), poétesse et romancière. Chapelle que "Georges-Démètre Bibesco, exilé à Paris en 1850, fit élever. Chapelle expiatoire liée à la mort précoce de sa femme Marie Bibescu en 1859, et servant de sépulture familiale. Construite par l'architecte Antoine-Martin Garnaud sur plan circulaire qui évoque une église byzantine, elle est ornée à l'extérieur d'éléments sculptés qui citent ceux de l'église épiscopale de Curtea de Arge, et à l'intérieur, d'un décor peint à fresque par Jean-Baptiste-Auguste Leloir qui avait déjà travaillé avec Garnaud. Quant au devant d'autel sculpté en marbre blanc, non signé, il est attribué par l'auteur à Eugène Oudinié" (Badea-Păun 2004).
context_page_description: Marițica Bibescu, born Maria Văcărescu, also known as Marițica Ghica, was the Princess-consort of Wallachia between September 1845 and June 1848. A boyaress by birth, she belonged to the Văcărescu family. Her father Nicolae, her grandfather Ienăchiță and her uncle Alecu were politicians and professional writers; Marițica herself was an unpublished poet. She was orphaned as a child, but was looked after by her relatives and her family friends, including Prince Alexandru II Ghica and philanthropist Zoe Brâncoveanu. Described by period sources as exceptionally beautiful, if also vain and ambitious, she married in 1834 the Prince's brother, Spatharios Costache Ghica. Her adoptive clan, the Ghicas, remained the leading Wallachian family until late 1842, when Alexandru II was deposed by the Ottoman Empire.
  Marițica's influence peaked again after the princely election of 1842–1843. Though her husband failed in his bid for the throne, Marițica became mistress of the winner, Gheorghe Bibescu, bearing him a child. Her third cousin, Gheorghe was at the time married to her godmother Zoe Brâncoveanu. Choosing to ignore public outrage, he finally obtained a divorce in 1844.
context_section_description: Later that month, Gheorghe secretly left the country, leaving Bucharest to be fought over between the Wallachian provisional government and a conservative dissident, Ioan Odobescu. According to Lăcusteanu, the departing Prince was sure that he would be returned to the throne by "the Moskals", who "are set to enter Bucharest in three to four days". Marițica followed her husband into exile, both of them initially settling at Corona. On June 29, another conservative coup in Bucharest briefly established a triumvirate comprising Neofit and two of Marițica's uncles: Teodor Văcărescu and Emanoil Băleanu. All three were captured and expelled over the border with Austria. Eventually, the revolution was dealt with by a two-stage invasion of Wallachia, seeing cooperation between the Ottoman Army and Russian forces, led by Mehmed Fuad Pasha, Abdülkerim Nadir Pasha, and Alexander von Lüders; the only battle was fought over Dealul Spirii in Bucharest.
  By June 1849, Gheorghe's brother Știrbei had been appointed Prince by both the Ottoman Empire and Russia, returning Wallachia to conservatism. In August 1849, the Bibescus left Austria and set course for a new home in Istanbul. On their passage through Brăila, they were offered a royal reception and gun salute by Lăcusteanu, who commanded the local garrison; other members of the Lăcusteanu clan joined the former princely couple for the remainder of their trip. Gheorghe established friendly contacts with the exiled revolutionaries; resentful of his brother, he returned to Wallachia as a pretender. He lived in the small town of Măgurele, but repeatedly demanded to be restored ownership of the princely palace, which he viewed as his personal property. Eventually, Abdulmejid ordered him into exile.
  In the 1850s, the Bibescus moved to the French Empire. For a while, they were joined there by General Ion Emanuel Florescu, who had married Zoe's daughter Catinca Bibescu. The former Prince eventually returned to Wallachia after the Crimean War, which curbed Russian influence and placed the Principalities under an international tutelage. He and his brother fought each other to emerge as conservative candidates for the Wallachian throne; Știrbei was initially the favorite. However, shortly before the legislative election of 1857, Gheorghe led his own wing of the "National Party", whose activists supported unification between Wallachia and Moldavia. He then stood as a regular deputy in the ad-hoc Divan, where he proposed an hereditary monarchy under a foreign Prince. He eventually resigned in November 1857, and returned to Paris. At the time, he was upset by the radicalism of the elected legislature.
  Before and during the elections of January 1859, Gheorghe and Știrbei were again boyar favorites for the throne, with Gheorghe clearly in the lead before the actual ballot. Marițica's cousin Iancu and her uncle Băleanu were also in the race. On election day, the progressive caucus inside the National Party put up Alexandru Ioan Cuza, who had already won the Moldavian election, as a surprise candidate. Under street pressure, Gheorghe renounced his ambitions, and Cuza emerged as the winner.
  Marițica did not follow her husband on these enterprises: she fell ill with cancer. She died in Paris on September 27, 1859, months after the Moldo–Wallachian union. Her tomb is located in a Bibescu crypt at Père Lachaise Cemetery.
caption: Princess Marițica's portrait on her sarcophagus at Père Lachaise Cemetery. Attributed to Eugène André Oudiné
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