Maria Cristina of Naples and Sicily

Maria Cristina of Naples and Sicily (Maria Cristina Amelia Teresa; 17 January 1779 – 11 March 1849) was a Princess of Naples and Sicily and later Queen of Sardinia as wife of Charles Felix of Sardinia. 

Princess of Naples and Sicily

She was a daughter of King Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies and his wife Maria Carolina of Austria, a daughter of Empress Maria Theresa of Austria. She was her mother's favourite child.

Duchess of Genevois

She was married on 6 April 1807 in Palermo with Prince Charles Felix of Savoy, who became King unexpectedly, when his two elder brothers abdicated, Charles Emmanuel IV of Sardinia in 1802 and Victor Emmanuel I of Sardinia in 1821. Till her husband became king, she was styled as the Duchess of Genevois.

Queen of Sardinia

The royal couple were interested in the arts and artists, and turned the Royal House in Agliè and the Villa Rufinella in Frascati into comfortable residences. 

During her husband's reign, they resided at the Palazzo Chiablese, where her husband died in 1831. 

In 1825, the Queen engaged the archaeologist Marquess Luigi Biondi (1776–1839), whose excavation work uncovered Tusculum. In 1839 and 1840, the architect and archaeologist Luigi Canina (1795–1856) was engaged by the royal family and excavated the Theatre area of Tusculum. The ancient works of art excavated were sent to the Duke of Savoy's Castle of Agliè in Piedmont.

Charles Felix died in 1831 after a reign of ten years. Maria Cristina lived the rest of her life in Turin, Naples, Agliè and Frascati, and died in Savona, Liguria. She was buried beside her husband in the Basilica of Superga, Great Mausoleum, Savoy Crypt, Turin, Piedmont, Italy. The couple had no children.

Titles, styles, honours and arms
Titles and styles

17 January 1779 – 6 April 1807 Her Royal Highness Princess Maria Cristina of Naples and Sicily
6 April 1807 – 12 March 1821 Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Genevois
12 March 1821 – 27 April 1831 Her Majesty the Queen of Sardinia
27 April 1831 – 11 March 1849 Her Majesty the Dowager Queen of Sardinia

Ancestry

Other websites

References and notes

Category:1779 births
Category:1849 deaths
Category:Kings and Queens of Sardinia
Category:Princes and Princesses of Savoy
Category:Dukes and duchesses
Category:House of Bourbon
Category:Burials at the Basilica of Superga