Biography
Maria Anna was born in Palazzo Colonna in Rome, the daughter of King Victor Emmanuel I of Sardinia and of his wife, Archduchess Maria Teresa of Austria-Este. She had a twin sister Maria Teresa. The two princesses were baptised by Pope Pius VII. Their godparents were their maternal grandparents, Archduke Ferdinand of Austria-Este and his wife Maria Beatrice Ricciarda d'Este. In the Museo di Roma can be seen a painting of the baptism.
On 12 February 1831 Maria Anna was married by procuration in Turin to King Ferdinand V of Hungary (later Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria). On 27 February the couple were married in person in Vienna in the chapel of the Cardinal Archbishop of Olmütz.
Maria Anna and Ferdinand were devoted to each other. They had no children.
Ferdinand succeeded as Emperor of Austria on 2 March 1835; Maria Anna became Empress of Austria. On 12 September 1836 she was crowned as Queen of Bohemia at Prague.
On 2 December 1848 Ferdinand abdicated as Emperor of Austria, but retaining his imperial rank; Maria Anna was henceforward titled Empress Maria Anna. They lived in retirement together, spending the winters at Prague Castle and the summers at Reichstadt (now Zákupy) or at Ploschkowitz (now Ploskovice).
Maria Anna died in Prague. She is buried next to her husband in tomb number 63 in the Imperial Crypt in Vienna.
Read more about this topic: Maria Anna Of Savoy
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