Leopoldo II and the Fall of the House of Lorraine
Ferdinando III died in 1824, leaving the throne to his eldest son, the archduke Leopoldo, who ruled under the name of Leopoldo II. During his reign, he presided over the opening to the public of the Palatine Gallery in 1828, and he completed the construction of the palazzina della Meridiana and chose to reside there with the grand ducal family. He preferred smaller, more intimate quarters than the grand reception rooms of the older parts of the palace. The process of changing the grand duke's family's image from old-fashioned to enlightened, begun under Leopoldo II's grandfather, Pietro Leopoldo, was now complete.
It is interesting in this regard to read what Pietro Leopoldo had written in his treatise on the government of Tuscany, Relazioni : “It is essential that those who govern show themselves to the people, greet everyone, even the people, make themselves visible on foot, show up at popular events, at balls, at carnivals, at races, at the triennial illumination at Pisa,… always showing the people the pleasure you take in being near them….” An example of this could be seen at the opening of the Boboli Garden to the population in September 1787, where the sovereign and the princes mixed with the common people.
Even after the French interregnum, Ferdinando III and Crown Prince Leopoldo had continued to follow this path. Leopoldo II regularly eschewed the formal life at court throughout the middle decades of the nineteenth century, choosing instead to sleep in the same bedroom as his wife and to take his meals with his family, just like the head of any bourgeois family. As Grand Duke, he chose a life style of enlightened despotism – a kind of “paternal despotism” as Baldasseroni defined it – that was a far cry from true liberty and progressive policies from which Leopoldo always kept his distance. In his Diari, Leopoldo spoke of “new communist insurgency” and the “dissolution of social ties”, and of Mazzini’s “subversion” on the New Italy. The term “Tuscan Morpheus”, coined by Giusti, referred to Leopoldo’s awkward way and his lack of vitality and sharpness. In the end, however, the fall of the ancien régime was accomplished without a revolt or the shedding of a drop of blood. The entire grand ducal family took their leave of Florence, said good-bye to the citizenry, and left Tuscany for good on April 27, 1859.
Leopoldo II and his family were forced to flee with the outbreak of a revolution inspired by the outbreak of a war by France and Sardinia-Piedmont against Austria as part of the unification of Italy. The family took refuge in Austria. After the end of the war, about three months later, Leopold II abdicated on July 21, and Ferdinando IV succeeded him as grand duke. Ferdinand IV proved unable to return to Florence to claim his throne, and an elected Tuscan National Assembly formally deposed him only a month later, on August 16. Ferdinando IV still hoped to recover his throne, as both France and Austria had promised to recognize his rights to it in the Armistice of Villafranca. However, neither power was willing to take any steps to bring about his restoration. In a plebicite of 11-12 March 1860, the Florentines voted overwhelmingly for annexation. Tuscanty formally became a part of the new Italian state with the proclamtion of the Kingdom of Italy on 18 February 1861, ending the rule of the House of Lorraine and Ferdinando's hopes to reclaim the throne.
Ferdinando spent the rest of his life in exile in Austria. He died there, in Salzburg, in 1908.
It is interesting in this regard to read what Pietro Leopoldo had written in his treatise on the government of Tuscany, Relazioni : “It is essential that those who govern show themselves to the people, greet everyone, even the people, make themselves visible on foot, show up at popular events, at balls, at carnivals, at races, at the triennial illumination at Pisa,… always showing the people the pleasure you take in being near them….” An example of this could be seen at the opening of the Boboli Garden to the population in September 1787, where the sovereign and the princes mixed with the common people.
Even after the French interregnum, Ferdinando III and Crown Prince Leopoldo had continued to follow this path. Leopoldo II regularly eschewed the formal life at court throughout the middle decades of the nineteenth century, choosing instead to sleep in the same bedroom as his wife and to take his meals with his family, just like the head of any bourgeois family. As Grand Duke, he chose a life style of enlightened despotism – a kind of “paternal despotism” as Baldasseroni defined it – that was a far cry from true liberty and progressive policies from which Leopoldo always kept his distance. In his Diari, Leopoldo spoke of “new communist insurgency” and the “dissolution of social ties”, and of Mazzini’s “subversion” on the New Italy. The term “Tuscan Morpheus”, coined by Giusti, referred to Leopoldo’s awkward way and his lack of vitality and sharpness. In the end, however, the fall of the ancien régime was accomplished without a revolt or the shedding of a drop of blood. The entire grand ducal family took their leave of Florence, said good-bye to the citizenry, and left Tuscany for good on April 27, 1859.
Leopoldo II and his family were forced to flee with the outbreak of a revolution inspired by the outbreak of a war by France and Sardinia-Piedmont against Austria as part of the unification of Italy. The family took refuge in Austria. After the end of the war, about three months later, Leopold II abdicated on July 21, and Ferdinando IV succeeded him as grand duke. Ferdinand IV proved unable to return to Florence to claim his throne, and an elected Tuscan National Assembly formally deposed him only a month later, on August 16. Ferdinando IV still hoped to recover his throne, as both France and Austria had promised to recognize his rights to it in the Armistice of Villafranca. However, neither power was willing to take any steps to bring about his restoration. In a plebicite of 11-12 March 1860, the Florentines voted overwhelmingly for annexation. Tuscanty formally became a part of the new Italian state with the proclamtion of the Kingdom of Italy on 18 February 1861, ending the rule of the House of Lorraine and Ferdinando's hopes to reclaim the throne.
Ferdinando spent the rest of his life in exile in Austria. He died there, in Salzburg, in 1908.