Maria Teresa Cybo-Malaspina, Duchess of Massa
| Maria Teresa Cybo-Malaspina | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Duchess of Massa and Princess of Carrara | |
| Reign | 18 August 1731 – 29 December 1790 |
| Born |
29 June 1725 Novellara, Italy |
| Died | 29 December 1790 (aged 65) Modena, Italy |
| Spouse |
Prince Eugenio of Savoy, Count of Soissons Ercole III d'Este, Duke of Modena |
| Issue | Rinaldo Francesco d'Este Maria Beatrice d'Este, Duchess of Massa |
| Father | Alderano I Cybo-Malaspina |
| Mother | Ricciarda Gonzaga |
Maria Teresa Cybo-Malaspina (29 June 1725 – 29 December 1790) was the sovereign Duchess of Massa and Princess of Carrara from 1731 until her death in 1790. She was the eldest child of Alderano I Duke of Massa and Carrara, and his wife Ricciarda Gonzaga, daughter of Camillo, Count of Novellara. She was the wife of Ercole III d'Este, Duke of Modena.
Maria Teresa was born in the town of Novellara (in what is now the province of Reggio Emilia. As the eldest child, she was her father's primary heiress. Her father died on 18 August 1731 when she was just six years old.
She wed Eugenio Giovanni Francesco of Savoy by proxy, a grandson of Prince Louis Thomas of Savoy-Carignan. However the couple never met due to the prince's death in 1734.
She wed Ercole Rinaldo d'Este, heir of the duchy of Modena and Reggio in 1741. The duchy of Massa and the principality of Carrara were then annexed to the duchy of Modena and Reggio.
In 1744, she came of age and was no longer under her mother's regency. She reformed the laws, built a hospital and promoted art, culture and architecture. Maria Teresa was praised for helping to set up Art Academies in Carrara and, after correspondence with the Spanish court, the creation of the Academy of Madrid.
The Holy Empress Maria Theresa arranged for Maria Beatrice, Duchess Maria Theresa's daughter and only surviving child, to marry the empress' fourth son Archduke Ferdinand of Austria in Milan on 15 October 1771. From this marriage, the House of Austria-Este was created, a cadet branch of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine, which ruled Modena between 1814 and 1859.
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