The Duchy of Lucca was a small Italian state existing from 1815 to 1847. It was centered on the city of

Lucca Lucca ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the Serchio River, in a fertile plain near the Ligurian Sea. The city has a population of about 89,000, while its province has a population of 383,957. Lucca is known as one ...

. By the

Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna (, ) of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon ...

of 1815 the Duchy was to revert to Tuscany on the end of its Bourbon-Parma line of rulers or when the line would obtain another territory,https://mjp.univ-perp.fr/traites/1815vienne2.htm#it Acte final du Congrès de Vienne (art. 102) which both happened in 1847, when

Marie Louise of Austria Marie Louise (12 December 1791 – 17 December 1847) was an Austrian archduchess who reigned as Duchess of Parma from 11 April 1814 until her death. She was Napoleon's second wife and as such Empress of the French and Queen of Italy from their ...

died and the Bourbon-Parma recovered the

Duchy of Parma The Duchy of Parma and Piacenza ( it, Ducato di Parma e Piacenza, la, Ducatus Parmae et Placentiae), was an Italian state created in 1545 and located in northern Italy, in the current region of Emilia-Romagna. Originally a realm of the Farnese ...

. In accordance with the final act of the Congress of Vienna, the Duchy of Lucca then came into the possession of the

Grand Duchy of Tuscany The Grand Duchy of Tuscany ( it, Granducato di Toscana; la, Magnus Ducatus Etruriae) was an Italian monarchy that existed, with interruptions, from 1569 to 1859, replacing the Republic of Florence. The grand duchy's capital was Florence. In th ...

, which was annexed by the Kingdom of Sardinia (Piedmont) in 1860. The Duchy was formed in 1815 by the

, out of the former Republic of Lucca and the Principality of Lucca and Piombino, which had been ruled by Elisa Bonaparte. It was created to compensate the

House of Bourbon-Parma The House of Bourbon-Parma ( it, Casa di Borbone di Parma) is a cadet branch of the Spanish royal family, whose members once ruled as King of Etruria and as Duke of Parma and Piacenza, Guastalla, and Lucca. The House descended from the Fren ...

for the loss of the

, which had been given to

. In 1817,

Maria Luisa of Spain Infanta Maria Luisa of Spain (Spanish: ''María Luisa'', German: ''Maria Ludovika''; 24 November 1745 – 15 May 1792) was Holy Roman Empress, German Queen, Queen of Hungary and Bohemia, and Grand Duchess of Tuscany as the spouse of Leopold II, H ...

, the former Infanta of Spain and Queen of Etruria, assumed the government of Lucca. She was also the mother of Charles Louis of Parma, the Bourbon heir to Parma. This followed the

Treaty of Paris (1815) The Treaty of Paris of 1815, also known as the Second Treaty of Paris, was signed on 20 November 1815 following the defeat and second abdication of Napoleon Bonaparte. In February, Napoleon had escaped from his exile on Elba; he entered Paris ...

, which confirmed both her sovereign status in Lucca, and her son's status as heir to Parma in succession to Marie Louise. After Maria Luisa's death in 1824, Charles Louis assumed the government of the Duchy. In 1847 Charles succeeded to the Duchy of Parma, and left Lucca, which was annexed by the

. From 1815 to 1818, the flag of Lucca was yellow and red horizontal stripes. From 7 November 1818, to 1847 the flag was white, with Maria Luisa's coat of arms and the yellow–red flag in the canton.

Dukes of Lucca (1815–1847)

Symbols

File:Flag of the Duchy of Lucca (1815-1818).svg, Duchy of Lucca (1815-1818) File:Second Flag of the Duchy of Lucca (1818-1824).svg, Duchy of Lucca (1818-1824) File:Third Flag of the Duchy of Lucca.svg, Duchy of Lucca (1824–1847) File:Merchant Flag of Lucca (1819).svg, Merchant Flag (1819) File:Merchant Flag of Lucca (1820).svg, Merchant Flag (1820) File:Coat of Arms of the Duchess of Lucca.svg, Coat of Arms (1815-1824) File:Coats of Arms of Duchy of Lucca Mantle Variant.svg, Middle Coat of Arms (1824-1847)

Dukes of Lucca (1815–1847)

Symbols

References

Further reading