Maria of Brignole-Dirty

Maria of Brignole-Dirty , duchess of Galliera (1837) and princess of Lucedio (1828), was born with Genoa (Italy) in 1812 and died in Paris the December 9th 1888.

Biography

Exit of an eminent family which gave to the République of Genoa five of her doges (whose elected official exceptionally twice in 1779 and 1795), as of 1635, Maria of Brignole-Dirty is the girl of the marquis Antoine of Brignole-Dirty, ambassador of king de Sardaigne in Paris, under the Restoration and during the reign of Louis-Philippe Ier.

In 1828, it marries the marquis Raffaele de Ferrari (1808 - 1876), prince de Lucedio and duke of Galliera (starting from 1837). The couple has three children:

Livia (1828 - 1829);
Andrea (1831 - 1847);
Philippe (1850 - 1917), eccentric collector of postage stamps, which refuses, to dead of his/her father, to inherit his fortune and the title of duke to which it could claim.

The duke and the duchess of Galliera have, inter alia, a sumptuous villa at the western end of the agglomeration of Genoa, with Voltri.

But, in 1852, the duke of Galliera buys with the duke of Montpensier the Hôtel of Matignon, Rue of Game preserve. The duchess accumulates splendid collections of art there, in particular superb Van Dyck, and is due to it a considered living room, regularly receiving Thiers, Guizot, Pasquier, the duke of Broglie, Mérimée or Holy-Beuve. It finds however housing exiguous, affirming: “One is well here, with the proviso of not having children. ”

Become widowed in 1876, the duchess of Galliera deploys an intense philanthropic activity. It founds a charitable establishment with Meudon, the educational village Saint-Philippe, inaugurated in 1888, for the orphans and the elderly. Of 1878 with 1888, it makes build by Leon Ginain the Ferrari old people's home with Clamart, old people's home for people in service. In 1879, it gives a million francs to the Private school of political sciences of Emile Boutmy, in order to enable him to buy a private mansion with the 27 Rue Saint-Guillaume. It also founds the industrial civic School.

Of 1878 with 1888, it in addition makes build, always by the architect Leon Ginain, a palate of Italian Renaissance style intended to shelter its collection, which it then wishes to bequeath at the French State. The Palate is located on a ground ranging between the avenue of President Wilson and the streets Pierre Charron, Brignole and Galliera, these two last ways having been opened at the time of its construction.

In 1877, the duchess of Galliera, which had always been intimate of Orleans, proposes with the count de Paris to reside at the ground floor of the hotel of Matignon. A sumptuous festival is given there on May 14th, 1886 for engagement of Amélie of Orleans to infant Charles of Portugal. Unfortunately, the glare of this reception is, for the government, the pretext of the vote of the Loi of exile, which is adopted on June 11th 1886, and which constrained of Orleans to leave France until in 1950.

Outraged by this brimade, the duchess of Galliera gives up bequeathing her collections to France and restricts herself to make gift of her palate at the Town of Paris: it shelters today the museum of the mode and the costume. She on the other hand yields the Matignon hotel to the Austria-Hungary, which installs its embassy there. The duchess in addition makes gift of the totality of her sumptuous collections and several of her palates, like the Palazzo Bianco and the Palazzo Rosso , at the town of Genoa, where it finishes her existence in her superb villa of Voltri, of which it makes refit the landscaped garden. Its portrait was in particular carried out by Matteo Picasso (1794 Recco-1879 Genoa)

External bond

Villa of the duchess of Galliera with Voltri

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