Giovanni Duprè
1871
cm. 52×60
The white marble bust by artist Giovanni Duprè was part of the funerary monument of Letizia Bonaparte (1804-71) princess of Canino (VT) who was buried in the now closed chapel dedicated to S. Francesco Saverio in the Cathedral of Viterbo.
The princess was a daughter of Luciano Bonaparte (Napoleone Bonaparte‘s brother), who had land in the Tuscia area. Letizia’s lifestyle was quite unorthodox for those times.
She married Irish diplomat Thomas Wyse at 16 then left him after transferring to Ireland and being accused of infidelity. She then became the companion of Captain Studholme John Hodgdson and had a child Maria Letizia Studolmina who cared for the burial in the Cathedral chapel.
The Bonaparte family palazzo, located just outside Porta Fiorentina in Viterbo, is now a structure for elderly people.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
M.J. CRYAN, Etruria. Storie e segreti, Edizioni Archeoares
M.J. CRYAN, Etruria. Travel, history and itineraries in central Italy, Edizioni Archeoares