Don Don, don or DON and variants may refer to: Places *Don (river), a river in European Russia *Don River (disambiguation), several other rivers with the name * Don, Benin, a town in Benin * Don, Dang, a village and hill station in Dang district, Gu ...

Leonardo VII Tocco (1 January 1698 – 31 March 1776), later also known under the full name Leonardo di Tocco Cantelmo Stuart, was an 18th-century Italian noble, serving as the Prince of

Montemiletto Montemiletto (; Irpino: ) is a town and comune in the province of Avellino, Campania, Italy. The population of Montemiletto is roughly 5,400. References See also *Irpinia *Revolt of Montefalcione The revolt of Montefalcione was a popular p ...

and the titular Prince of Achaea from the death of his father Carlo Antonio Tocco in 1701 to his own death in 1776. Throughout his life, Leonardo reached high honors and positions in service to the

papacy The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

, the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

and the

Kingdom of Naples The Kingdom of Naples (; ; ), officially the Kingdom of Sicily, was a state that ruled the part of the Italian Peninsula south of the Papal States between 1282 and 1816. It was established by the War of the Sicilian Vespers (1282–1302). Until ...

. He served as the captain of the cavalrymen of the papal guard, an Imperial Counsellor of State in the Holy Roman Empire and a

field marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army (in countries without the rank of Generalissimo), and as such, few persons a ...

and

vicar general A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop or archbishop of a diocese or an archdiocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vica ...

in the Kingdom of Naples. In 1738, Leonardo became one of the first knights of the

Order of Saint Januarius The Illustrious Royal Order of Saint Januarius (Italian: ''Insigne Reale Ordine di San Gennaro'') is a Roman Catholic order of knighthood founded by Charles VII of Naples in 1738. It was the last great dynastic order to be constituted as a chiva ...

. He assumed the full last name 'di Tocco Cantelmo Stuart' after marrying Camilla Cantelmo Stuart, whose family claimed descent from the Scottish and English royal

House of Stuart The House of Stuart, originally spelled Stewart, also known as the Stuart dynasty, was a dynasty, royal house of Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland and later Kingdom of Great Britain, Great ...

Biography

Leonardo VII Tocco was born at

on 1 January 1698, the eldest son of Carlo Antonio Tocco, Prince of Montemiletto and titular Prince of Achaea, and the Italian noblewoman Livia Sanseverino. Upon his father's death on 31 January 1701, Leonardo inherited his titles. Leonardo served the

and the

in high positions. On 20 October 1720, at the age of 22, Leonardo was made captain of a cavalry regiment of the papal guard. On 24 December 1724, just four years later, he was promoted to captain of all the cavalrymen. In the Holy Roman Empire, Emperor Charles VI (1711–1740) made Leonardo the Imperial Counsellor of State on 6 October 1725. Leonardo also achieved various honors in the

. On 23 April 1732, he was made

and

of the , one of the kingdom's administrative divisions. On 14 July 1734,

Charles VII of Naples Charles III (; 20 January 1716 – 14 December 1788) was King of Spain in the years 1759 to 1788. He was also Duke of Parma and Piacenza, as Charles I (1731–1735); King of Naples, as Charles VII; and King of Sicily, as Charles III (or V) (1735� ...

made Leonardo a gentleman of the chamber. On 6 July 1738, Leonardo was made a knight of the

, an order founded that year by Charles VII. On 16 January 1724, Leonardo married Camilla Cantelmo Stuart (or Stuard), princess of Pettora and duchess of

Popoli Popoli Terme (previously Popoli) is a ''comune'' and town in the province of Pescara, in the Italian region of Abruzzo. History Though the site has not revealed significant Roman presence it appears in a ninth-century document as ''borgo di Pag ...

. Her family, the prominent Cantelmo Stuarts, claimed descent from, and kinship with, the Scottish and English royal

. Following his marriage, Leonardo used the full name 'Leonardo di Tocco Cantelmo Stuart', also used by the couple's descendants. Leonardo died in

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

on 31 March 1776.

Family

With his wife Camilla Cantelmo Stuart, Leonardo VII Tocco had three children: * Carlo Maria di Tocco Cantelmo Stuart (8 April 1725 – 1 April 1747), son. * Maria Beatrice di Tocco Cantelmo Stuart (1 June 1726 – ?), daughter. * Restaino di Tocco Cantelmo Stuart (6 August 1730 – 21 February 1796), son, heir to Leonardo's titles.

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * {{Cite journal, last=Stewart, first=Helen Catherine, date=1941, title=The Exiled Stewarts in Italy, 1717–1807, journal=The Scottish Historical Society Miscellany VII, series=Third Series, location=Edinburgh, volume=35 1698 births 1776 deaths Tocco family Lords in Italy