| The
Christening of Princess Maria Carolina
and the party for the fifth wedding anniversary of
the Duke and Duchess of Calabria
The first weekend of November
saw great and important events for the Royal House of Bourbon
Two Sicilies.
On Friday 31st October, T.R.H. Prince Charles and Princess
Camilla, Duke and Duchess of Calabria, celebrated their fifth
wedding anniversary during an evening reception held at the
Excelsior Hotel in Naples. The dinner was attended by over
500 guests most of them coming from the most important aristocratic
families in the world as well as from politicians, people
from show business, industrialists and entrepreneurs.
On the next day – November 1st 2003, All Saints Day
– Prince Charles, some of the guests and His Eminence,
Cardinal Mario Francesco Pompedda, Prefect of the Supreme
Court of Apostolic Segnatura and Grand Prior of the Sacred
Military Constantinian Order of Saint George visited the Conservatory
of San Pietro a Majella. The rooms of the Library and the
restored Museum were purposely re-opened for the occasion.
Princess Camilla instead went with some other guests to visit
the beautiful Royal Palace/Museum of Capodimonte.
Fireworks show in
the Gardens of the Royal Palace of Caserta
In the afternoon, Princess Maria Carolina – born on
23rd June 2003 – was christened in the Palatine Chapel
of the Royal Palace of Caserta by His Eminence Cardinal Mario
Francesco Pompedda assisted by His Eminence Cardinal Saraiva
Martins and His Eminence Cardinal Poggi as well as by His
Excellence Bishop Schettino, His Excellence Bishop Farina
and His Excellence Bishop Oles.
The baby Princess was given the names of Maria Carolina –
in honour of the Queen of Naples and Sicily, wife of King
Ferdinand IV and daughter of the Empress of the Sacred Roman
Empire Maria Theresa of Hapsburg and of Francis I of Lorraine
– Chantal, Edoarda – after its grandmothers –
Beatrice – name of her aunt on the father’s side
– and Ianuaria – in honour of San Gennaro, the
Patron Saint of Naples. The godfathers were H.R.H. Prince
Laurent of Belgium - son of King Albert II - and H.S.H. Prince
Pierre of Arenberg whilst the godmothers were Mrs. Anna Maria
Pisanu – wife of the Italian Home Secretary Giuseppe
Pisanu – and Mrs. Ines Sastre – actress.
Princess Maria Carolina has been the first member of the Royal
House of Bourbon Two Sicilies to be born in Italy and to be
christened in the Royal Palace of Caserta since the times
of King Francis II.
The Christening was then followed by a Cocktail party during
which the guests visited the beautiful rooms of the Royal
Palace and then by a gala dinner held in the Hall of the Throne
and the Astrea, Mars and Council Halls.
Three of the wonderful halls – among which the Hall
of the Throne containing 250 people – were furnished
with immense u-shaped dining tables whilst the fourth hall
was furnished with a square dining table. The tablecloths
were pink and beige and the chairs were decorated with a pink
ribbon on the back. The tables were decorated with great ivy
centrepieces, 5000 pink roses and wonderful ancient chandeliers
with a total of 1600 candles.
The gala dinner had 5 courses, namely, lobster with royal
shellfishes, pore mushroom crepes, lamb filet, ragusa caponatina
in a violet pout porri with a spinach core and finally a dark
chocolate soufflé with zabaglione cream. During the
dinner, Campanian and Sicilian wines were served.
The dinner ended with a cake dedicated to Princess Maria Carolina,
9 meters long and weighing over 100 kilos.
After the dinner, the over 500 guests went to the park of
the Royal House – illuminated for the occasion –
where they saw a fireworks show that floodlit the wonderful
fountains of the Palace.
The event was attended by the following members of the Royal
House of Bourbon Two Sicilies: H.R.H. the Duchess of Castro;
Donna Edoarda Crociani and her daughter Cristiana; H.R.H.
Princess Beatrice and her children; T.I.H. Prince Jean Christophe
and Princess Caroline Napoleon; H.R.H. Princess Anna and her
children, Nicolas and Dorothèe Cochin; T.R.H. Prince
Louis Alphonse and Princess Cristina; H.R.H. Prince Alexander.
Among the other royal guests, there were: T.R.H. Prince Laurent
and Princess Claire of Belgium; T.R.H. the Duke and Duchess
of Bracanca; H.R.H. Prince Kardam of Bulgaria; H.R.H. Prince
Emanuele Filiberto of Savoia; H.R.H. the Duke of Aosta; H.R.H.
Prince Michael of Yugoslavia; T.R.H. Prince and Princess Alexander
of Liechtenstein; H.R.H. Prince Charles Philip of Orleans;
H.R.H. Faical Bey of Tunisia; H.S.H. Prince Raimondo Orsini
d’Aragona and H.S.H. Princess Kethevan Orsini d’Aragona;
Count Massimiliano Secco d’Aragona and H.R.I.H the Countess;
T.R.H. Prince Manfred and Princess Victoria Windish Graetz;
H.S.H. Prince Paolo Boncompagni Ludovisi; H.S.H. Prince Alessandrojacopo
Ludovisi Boncompagni Altemps; H.S.H. Prince Charles-Henri
of Lobkowicz; Prince Charles Giovannelli; Princess Barbara
Massimo; Prince Scipione Borghese; Don Muzio and Donna Elisabetta
Sforza Cesarini; Prince and Princess Fabrizio Colonna; Prince
Oddone Colonna; Prince and Princess Carlo Odescalchi; Countess
Celia von Bismarck; Countess Eléonore de la Rochefoucault;
Count and Countess Michel de Liedekerke; Count and Countess
Hadelin de Liedekerke-Beaufort; Prince Carlo Massimo; Count
and Countess Carlo Marullo di Condojanni, Princes of Casalnuovo;
Marquis and Marquise Aldo Pezzana Capranica del Grillo; Marquis
Sersale; Count and Countess Alberto Sifola di San Martino;
Marquise de Goyzueta of Toverena; Marquis and Marquise Fabrizio
di Giura; Marquis and Marquise Giacomo del Gallo.
Among the members of the aristocratic families of southern
Italy, there were: Princess Acton of Leporano; Prince Augusto
and Princess Tana Ruffo of Calabria; Prince and Princess Landolfo
Ambrogio Caracciolo of Melissano; Prince and Princess Alessandro
d’Aquino of Caramanico; Prince Ferdinando Ferrara Pignatelli
of Strongoli and his daughter Ginevra; Countess Lidia d’Aquino
of Caramanico; the Marquis and the Marquise Pierluigi Sanfelice;
the Marquis and the Marquise Riccardo Imperiali; Countess
Maria Lucia Imperiali; Count and Countess Riccardo Paternò
of Montecupo, Dukes of San Nicola; Marquis and Marquise Piero
Piromallo Capece Piscitelli of Montebello; Baron and Baroness
Francesco Sanseverino of Marcellinara; Baron and Baroness
Giampietro Sanseverino of Marcellinara; Marquis and Marquise
Leopoldo de Gregorio Cattaneo di Sant’Elia; Princess
Uzza de Gregorio Cattaneo di Sant’Elia; Duke and Duchess
Giovan Battista Valiante d’Avena; Don Michele e Donna
Micaela Valiante d’Avena.
Among the members of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta,
there were: H.E. Count Jacques de Liedekerke – representing
the Grand Master – and the Countess; the Grand Prior
of Rome, H.E. the Venerable Balì Franz von Lobstein;
the Grand Prior of Naples and Naples, Frà Antonio Nesci;
H.E. Ambassador Quaroni; Frà Carlo of the Marquises
Arditi di Castelvetere.
Among the political
and military personalities, there were: the Mayor
of Caserta, Mr. Luigi Falco and his wife; H.E. the Prefect
of Caserta, Mr. Renato Schilardi and his wife; H.E. the Prefect
of Naples, Mr. Renato Profili and his wife; H.E. the Prefect
of Naples, Mr. Achille Serra and his wife; the Superintendent
of the Royal Palace of Caserta, Mrs. Giovanna Petrenga; the
President of the Calabria Region, the Honourable Giuseppe
Chiaravalloti and his wife; H.E. the Ambassador of Italy in
the Holy See, Count Raniero Avogadro di Casalvonole and the
Countess; H.E. the Ambassador of France Pierre Morel and his
wife; H.E. the Ambassador of Argentina in Paris, Mr. Archibald
Lannus; H.E. the Ambassador of Panama in London, Mrs. Ariadne
Singares Robinson; the Culture Councillor of Naples, the Honourable
Giulia Parente; H.E. General Paolo Di Noia and his wife; H.E.
General Palazzo and his wife; General Salvatore D’Amato
and his wife; General Li Pira and his wife; Admiral Paolo
Pagnottella and his wife.
Among the entrepreneurs
there were; Mr. and Mrs. Ferragamo, Mr. Brachetti Peretti,
Mrs. Carla Fendi, Mr. and Mrs. Giugiaro, Mr. and Mrs. Oetker,
Countess Agusta, Mrs. Arnault, Mr. and Mrs. Caltagirone, Mr.
and Mrs. Gussalli Beretta, Mr. Hirshmann, Mr. and Mrs. Mentasti,
Mr. and Mrs. Pastor.
As Prince Charles himself
said, the Dukes of Calabria wished to make people know and
appreciate Neapolitan civilization and culture: “We
are here because we have always been close to this land, to
Neapolitans and to Southern Italy. The Christening of Maria
Carolina is a moment of intimate joy but also the chance to
show people the beauty of Naples that is often described in
an incorrect manner”.
For the evening reception
of Friday 31st October, celebrating the fifth wedding anniversary
of the Dukes of Calabria, the Excelsior Hotel was purposely
decorated with traditional Neapolitan ornaments, flowers,
perfumes and food. The staff wore Bourbon costumes and the
buffet was with food of the same period. The anniversary cake
was an enormous babà shaped as Mount Vesuvio - the
Volcano of Naples.
During the evening traditional and modern Neapolitan music
was played. The night ended with a a concert by Peppino di
Capri
On Sunday 2nd November
there was a requiem mass in the Saint Clare Cathedral of Naples,
the Pantheon of the Royal House of Bourbon Two Sicilies, attended
by T.R.H. the Duke and Duchess of Calabria who then visited
the Cloister and paid their homage to the tombs of the Royal
Family.
As the Duke of Calabria said: “Between the 18th and
19th century Caserta and Naples were the milestones of my
ancestors and my family. The Christening of Maria Carolina
gave us the possibility to bring many important guests to
Caserta. We wanted to do something important for Caserta,
to make people know its wonderful Royal Palace”.
The same spirit was behind the choice of the Dukes of Calabria
to use products from companies of southern Italy for the making
of clothes and decorations, for the bonbonnière made
in Capodimonte porcelain, the dress for the Christening of
Princess Maria Carolina made in silk coming from the former
Royal Colony of San Leucio and decorated with the monogram
of the baby.
Also to remember are the opening - attended by the Duke of
Calabria and hosted by the Mayor of Caserta - of new Sport
Centre in Tuoro dedicated to Queen Maria Carolina as well
as several new charity initiatives among which the one in
favour of the young inmates of the Correctional Centre of
Nisida – who also made the ceramic masks of Pulcinella
offered to their guests by the Dukes of Calabria – and
that in favour of the “Family Centre” for the
HIV positive children of Secondigliano as well as the sum
collected from the Knights of the Sacred Military Constantinian
Order of Saint George as present for Princess Maria Carolina
and given by the Duke and Duchess of Calabria to a baby girl
of Barra called Noemi, born on the same day of the Princess
from a humble, less fortunate though respectable family.
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