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Lot Essay
Francesco II (1836 - 1894), King of the Two Sicilies, was the son of Ferdinand II and Marie Christine of Savoy and was the last of the Bourbon Kings of Naples. His wife Maria Sophia, was the third daughter of Maximilian Joseph, Duke in Bavaria.
Francesco ascended the throne in 1859 and appointed Carlo Filangieri as Prime Minister, who resigned shortly afterwards as the King refused to take his advice. Several months later there was a mutiny by part of the Swiss Guard as well as disturbances in Naples.
Garibaldi's troops had defeated the Neopolitan royalists on the Voltarno (October 1-2), while the Piedmontese under Victor Emmanuel captured Capua. Garibaldi crossed the straits of Messana and was advancing northwards. Francesco, after a long period of hesitation, left Naples with his wife Queen Maria Sophia, together with the Court and diplomatic corps (except the English and French ministers) and travelled by sea to Gaeta, where a substantial part of the army was concentrated. The following day Garibaldi entered Naples with his troops on 17 December 1860 and was enthusiastically welcomed, thereafter forming a provisional government.
The seige of Gaeta by the Piedmontese began on 6 November 1860 and the fortress finally capitulated on 12 February 1861; Francesco being driven from his kingdom.
The exiled Queen was famed for her heroism during the battle of Gaeta, encouraging the men on the batteries, tending the wounded and the sick; '... Only, being as kind as she had long ago shown herself brave, this heroic woman who, a soldier-queen, had herself fired her musket from the ramparts of Gaeta, always ready to place herself chivalrously on the side of the weak ...', M. Proust, In Search of Lost Time, Volume Five, The Captive, translated by C.K Scott Moncrieff & T. Kilmartin, London, 1996, p. 279
Francesco ascended the throne in 1859 and appointed Carlo Filangieri as Prime Minister, who resigned shortly afterwards as the King refused to take his advice. Several months later there was a mutiny by part of the Swiss Guard as well as disturbances in Naples.
Garibaldi's troops had defeated the Neopolitan royalists on the Voltarno (October 1-2), while the Piedmontese under Victor Emmanuel captured Capua. Garibaldi crossed the straits of Messana and was advancing northwards. Francesco, after a long period of hesitation, left Naples with his wife Queen Maria Sophia, together with the Court and diplomatic corps (except the English and French ministers) and travelled by sea to Gaeta, where a substantial part of the army was concentrated. The following day Garibaldi entered Naples with his troops on 17 December 1860 and was enthusiastically welcomed, thereafter forming a provisional government.
The seige of Gaeta by the Piedmontese began on 6 November 1860 and the fortress finally capitulated on 12 February 1861; Francesco being driven from his kingdom.
The exiled Queen was famed for her heroism during the battle of Gaeta, encouraging the men on the batteries, tending the wounded and the sick; '... Only, being as kind as she had long ago shown herself brave, this heroic woman who, a soldier-queen, had herself fired her musket from the ramparts of Gaeta, always ready to place herself chivalrously on the side of the weak ...', M. Proust, In Search of Lost Time, Volume Five, The Captive, translated by C.K Scott Moncrieff & T. Kilmartin, London, 1996, p. 279