6 autograph letters signed from the Duchess of Berry to Dona Januaria of Braganza

BERRY (Duchess of), Marie-Caroline de Bourbon-Siciles (1798–1870). Six autograph letters signed “Marie Caroline”, to Dona Januaria de Bragance, Countess d’Aquila, daughter of Emperor Pedro I of Brazil.
1861–1867.
Six letters, 8vo (207 × 130 mm). Two additional contemporary manuscript copies included.

A moving and highly personal correspondence, written in Italian, reflecting the intimate links between the Bourbon-Sicily exiled court and the Brazilian imperial family, against the turbulent political backdrop of the 1860s.

The letters span the years 1861, 1863, 1865, 1866 (two letters) and 1867. Several include extended postscripts by her daughter Francesca Lucchesi-Palli, and one by the duchesse della Grazia, another prominent member of the Lucchesi-Palli household. Together they form a rare window into the emotional life, loyalties, anxieties and political perceptions of the Duchess of Berry in her last decades.

The earliest letter, written in February 1861 on black-bordered stationery, mourns the loss of “una sorella si buona… il Signore l’ha voluta prendere con sé perché non vedesse tante infamie che si fanno in questo mondo”. Grief blends here with moral commentary typical of the duchess’s later writings.

In 1863, the tone turns explicitly political: “Il Re è a Roma”. The fall of Naples, the reorganisation of the Italian states and the waning hopes of the Bourbon-Two Sicilies dynasty haunt the background of these pages.

The 1865 letter, again bordered in black, includes a striking judgment on the state of the Church: “I vescovi di Francia e d’Italia si conducono a meraviglia ma che ne sarà Dio solo lo sa. Ora è il Regno del Diavolo; speriamo che presto sarà quello dei buoni.” A vivid glimpse into ultramontane anxieties during the unification of Italy.

The 1866 correspondence is particularly rich. Part of one letter is penned in French by her daughter Francesca: “Dans ce moment Maman s’agite beaucoup pour tous les événements qui se succèdent et qui sont si incompréhensibles…” Another letter anticipates their departure for Rome, with deep uncertainty: “Je ne sais si nous y trouverons encore la famille royale. Quels tristes temps !”

The 1867 letter concludes the series, its second half written by the duchesse della Grazia, reinforcing the familial and political solidarity of the expatriated Lucchesi-Palli circle.

Some losses in the 1866 and 1867 letters; slight plastic odour.
From the Guerrand-Hermès collection (1940–2016).