page_title: Franca Florio
section_title: Ancestry and marriage
hierarchical_section_title: Franca Florio / Biography / Ancestry and marriage
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Illustration aus " Italian castles and coutry seats "
context_page_description: Franca Florio, born Francesca Paola Jacona della Motta dei baroni di San Giuliano and commonly called Donna Franca, was an Italian noblewoman, socialite and a prominent protagonist of the Belle Époque. Descendant of a Sicilian noble family, she married the entrepreneur Ignazio Florio Jr., member of the wealthy Florio family. She was nicknamed "Queen of Palermo".
context_section_description: Francesca Paola Jacona della Motta was born in Palermo on 27 December 1873. She belonged to an impoverished family of the Sicilian high aristocracy. Her father was Pietro Jacona della Motta, baron of San Giuliano, and her mother was Costanza Notarbartolo di Villarosa, sister of Pietro Notarbartolo, duke of Villarosa. Her maternal ancestry also included the House of Montcada and the Lucchesi-Palli, princes of Campofranco.
  Despite the impoverishment of the family, the prestigious ancestry of Donna Franca made her a good catch, especially in the eyes of the Sicilian high bourgeoisie looking for nobility. Therefore, on 11 February 1893, at the age of 19, Franca married the entrepreneur and shipowner Ignazio Florio Jr., heir of the Florio family's economic empire. The assets of Ignazio Florio Jr. included the Florio winery (leading company in the production of Marsala wine), the majority of the Sicilian tuna traps, the Oretea foundry, the Florio Bank (previously belonging to the Rothschild family ), and  the 40% of the Navigazione Generale Italiana.
caption: Donna Franca in 1911.
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