Ferdinando III
In 1790, upon the death of the Holy Roman Emperor, Joseph II, his younger brother, Pietro Leopoldo left Florence for Vienna to succeed his brother as Holy Roman Emperor and took the name of Leopoldo II. He was accompanied by his son Ferdinando, who inherited the title of Grand Duke of Tuscany. Ferdinando took the name Ferdinando III, underlining the continuity from the Medici to the House of Lorraine. Unfortunately, civil unrest in Tuscany prevented Ferdinando III from returning to Tuscany until June of 1791. Leopoldo II's reign as emperor was short-lived. He died in 1792, to be succeeded by his eldest son, who ruled as the Holy Roman Emperor, Francis II.
Under this new grand duke in Florence, Ferdinando III, efforts to modernize Palazzo Pitti continued. Many of the old walls were still covered in velvet and damask, by now looking incongruous in comparison to many of the rooms newly redecorated. Now they were recovered in satin of the most luminous quality. Work continued as well in the remodeling of many of the apartments, including work of the physical plant of the palace itself.
On the ground floor, the Palatine Chapel was frescoed by Luigi Ademollo. On the piano nobile, a series of service rooms were completed adjacent to the grand ducal apartments . Luigi Catani completed the frescoes in three smaller rooms intended to be a part of the grand duchess’s toilette, along with two larger bathrooms, completed a few years before.
During the Napoleonic period, Ferdinando III was exiled to Salzburg from which he returned to Florence in 1815 with the fall of Napoleon.
(See: Baldini Giusti, Laura, “I luoghi di Marco”, Arte, Collezionismo, Conservazione: Scritti in onore di Marco Chiarini, Giunti, 2004, Firenze.)
Under this new grand duke in Florence, Ferdinando III, efforts to modernize Palazzo Pitti continued. Many of the old walls were still covered in velvet and damask, by now looking incongruous in comparison to many of the rooms newly redecorated. Now they were recovered in satin of the most luminous quality. Work continued as well in the remodeling of many of the apartments, including work of the physical plant of the palace itself.
On the ground floor, the Palatine Chapel was frescoed by Luigi Ademollo. On the piano nobile, a series of service rooms were completed adjacent to the grand ducal apartments . Luigi Catani completed the frescoes in three smaller rooms intended to be a part of the grand duchess’s toilette, along with two larger bathrooms, completed a few years before.
During the Napoleonic period, Ferdinando III was exiled to Salzburg from which he returned to Florence in 1815 with the fall of Napoleon.
(See: Baldini Giusti, Laura, “I luoghi di Marco”, Arte, Collezionismo, Conservazione: Scritti in onore di Marco Chiarini, Giunti, 2004, Firenze.)