Princess Leopoldina of Savoy (Leopoldina Maria; 21 December 1744 – 17 April 1807) was a Princess of Savoy and later the Princess of Melfi, as wife of Giovanni ''Andrea'' VI Doria-Pamphilj-Landi, (13) Prince of Melfi. She was the older sister of the '' princesse de Lamballe''.

Biography

Leopoldina Maria, Princess of Savoy was born at the

Palazzo Carignano Palazzo Carignano is a historical building in the centre of Turin, Italy, which houses the Museum of the Risorgimento. It was a private residence of the Princes of Carignano, after whom it is named. Its rounded façade is different from other f ...

in Turin, the capital of the

Kingdom of Sardinia The Kingdom of Sardinia, also referred to as the Kingdom of Sardinia and Corsica among other names, was a State (polity), country in Southern Europe from the late 13th until the mid-19th century, and from 1297 to 1768 for the Corsican part of ...

. She was the third child of ten, she was her parents' second daughter. Her father Louis Victor of Savoy was the

Prince of Carignano The House of Savoy-Carignano (; ) originated as a cadet branch of the House of Savoy. It was founded by Thomas Francis, Prince of Carignano (1596–1656), an Italian military commander who was the fifth son of Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy. ...

and head of the cadet branch of the

House of Savoy The House of Savoy (, ) is a royal house (formally a dynasty) of Franco-Italian origin that was established in 1003 in the historical region of Savoy, which was originally part of the Kingdom of Burgundy and now lies mostly within southeastern F ...

which ruled over

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...

. Her mother was a daughter of the Landgrave of Hesse-Rotenburg and was a sister of the late Queen Polyxena of Sardinia, wife of

Charles Emmanuel III of Sardinia Charles Emmanuel III (27 April 1701 – 20 February 1773) was Duke of Savoy, King of Sardinia and ruler of the Savoyard states from his father's abdication on 3 September 1730 until his death in 1773. He was the paternal grandfather of the l ...

. As such, Charles Emmanuel's children were Leopoldina's first cousins including the future

King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia Victor Amadeus III (Vittorio Amedeo Maria; 26 June 1726 – 16 October 1796) was King of Sardinia and ruler of the Savoyard state, Savoyard states from 20 February 1773 to his death in 1796. Although he was politically conservative, he carrie ...

. She received a good education and was fluent in French,

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

, and

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

. Her brothers included Victor Amadeus II, Prince of Carignano, grandfather of King

Charles Albert of Sardinia Charles Albert (; 2 October 1798 – 28 July 1849) was the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), King of Sardinia and ruler of the Savoyard state from 27 April 1831 until his abdication in 1849. His name is bound up with the first Italian constit ...

. Her younger brother was Eugenio, Count of Villafranca, founder of the Villafranca line of the Princes of Carignano. The second of six daughters, her most famous sister was

Maria Luisa of Savoy Maria Luisa Gabriella of Savoy (17 September 1688 – 14 February 1714), nicknamed ''La Savoyana'', was Queen of Spain by marriage to King Philip V. She acted as regent during her husband's absence from 1702 until 1703 and had great influe ...

, future wife of Louis Alexandre de Bourbon and friend of

Marie Antoinette Marie Antoinette (; ; Maria Antonia Josefa Johanna; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was the last List of French royal consorts, queen of France before the French Revolution and the establishment of the French First Republic. She was the ...

and immortalised as the ''princesse de Lamballe''. Her other sisters included Princes Charlotte who was a nun; Princess Caterina who married a Colonna, and was the Princess of Paliano by marriage. Another was Princess Gabrielle who married into the House of Lobkowicz. She was married to Andrea IV Doria-Pamphilj-Landi, a member of the wealthy Doria-Pamphilj-Landi who were of Genoese origin. Andrea IV who was a frequent at the court at the

Royal Palace of Turin The Royal Palace of Turin () is a historic palace of the House of Savoy in the city of Turin in Northern Italy. It was originally built in the 16th century and was later modernized by Christine Marie of France (1606–1663) in the 17th century, w ...

and the Castle of Racconigi, the latter of which was a personal residence of the Princes of Carignano. Leopoldina married the

Prince of Melfi A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The fe ...

on 6 May 1767 and arrived in Rome on 20 June 1767. Once in Rome, her husband established them in the Palazzo Doria Pamphilj, present site of Doria Pamphilj Gallery in Rome. She died there in 1807 aged 62. The present Doria-Pamphilj-Landi descend from her.

Issue

*''Donna'' Anna Doria-Pamphilj-Landi (15 November 1770 – 1835) married Marchese Giovanni Battista Serra, no issue; *''Don'' Don Luigi Doria-Pamphili-Landi, Prince of Valmontore (24 October 1779 – 26 January 1838) married Donna Teresa Orsini and had issue; *''Donna'' Eugenia Doria-Pamphilj-Landi (1 June 1786 – 23 July 1841) married Don Marino Francesco Caracciolo, Prince of Avellino and had issue.

References and notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leopoldina Of Savoy, Princess 1744 births 1807 deaths Nobility from Turin Princesses of Savoy 18th-century Italian people 19th-century Italian people Pamphili family 18th-century Italian women 19th-century Italian women People from the Kingdom of Sardinia