How and for whom did the Russian industrialist Demidov become a prince in Italian Tuscany?

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

The wealthy heir to the famous Demidov family, Anatoly Nikolaevich, stayed in Italy and intended to marry. It would seem that there should have been no obstacles to that - it would be more enviable to look for a groom: the owner of factories with an income of 2 million a year, a nobleman, young and generally not bad at all, but there was a hitch with the wedding. The bride's father, neither more nor less - the brother of Napoleon Bonaparte, did not want his daughter Matilda, having married, to lose her title of princess. And Demidov, without thinking twice, found a way out.

How a wealthy industrialist married a princess

The first of the famous Demidov family, Nikita Demidovich Antufiev, was lucky not only because life has rewarded him with hard work and business acumen. Once the pistols made by Demidov caught the eye of Peter I, and the tsar was so impressed with the skill of the master gunsmith that he gave him funds for the purchase and construction of several ironworks, and also provided him with orders for a long time in advance. By the time the first prince of San Donato was born, he was already a representative of a very wealthy noble family.

Anatoly was born on April 17, 1812 and was the youngest son of Nikolai Nikitich Demidov from his marriage to Elizaveta Aleksandrovna Stroganova. Most of his life was spent abroad, in Russia he rarely visited - however, he did not forget about his origin and sent large funds to the development of its industry, culture, did a lot in the field of charity. Thanks to Anatoly Demidov, the Demidov charity house of workers, the Nikolaev children's hospital were founded, prizes and grants for writers and artists were established. Demidov handed over his library to the Lyceum. At the end of the thirties of the XIX century, Anatoly Nikolaevich equipped an expedition that was engaged in the study of the south of Russia and the Crimea, and in addition, he was studying the situation of serfs, which caused the displeasure of the Russian emperor.

In 1840, thanks to the Grand Duke of Tuscany Leopold II, Demidov began to be called the prince of San Donato - all in order to be able to marry Matilda Bonaparte, niece of Napoleon I. a profitable party, but Jerome Bonaparte insisted that after marriage she retained the title of princess (princesse - "princess").

The failed family life of the prince and princess of San Donato

In the same year, 1840, on November 1, the wedding took place. But the marriage was not happy - Anatoly was in a relationship with Valentina de Saint-Aldegonde, and Matilda had a relationship with Emilien de Newerkerke. In the heat of a quarrel, Anatoly Demidov once publicly hit his wife, outraged by his open communication with his mistress at a ball. The relationship finally fell apart in 1846, and Matilda left, taking at the same time the jewelry from the dowry that the prince had bought back.

The mother of Princess San Donato was a cousin of the Russian emperor Nicholas I, he sided with Matilda in the conflict that broke out between the spouses, and Anatoly Demidov did not have to wait for a warm welcome in Russia. The title of the prince was not recognized there either - “let him wear it in Italy”. Of the four princes of San Donato, only the second, Pavel Pavlovich Demidov, received permission to use the title in Russia. A significant role in such a monarch's favor will be played by the large subsidies made by the Demidov family to finance the needs of the army during the military conflicts of the Russian state.

A year after the separation of the spouses, the divorce was formalized, Matilda received the right to a very decent annual allowance from her ex-husband and, settling in Paris, organized a salon in which all the bloom of the intelligentsia of that time, as well as artists and writers, gathered. Until the end of her life, she maintained close ties with the Russian imperial court.

Principality of San Donato - one hundred years of history and destruction

Villa San Donato was one of the most beautiful in 19th century Italy. It was built by Anatoly's father, Nikolai Demidov. In 1827, the first stone was laid for the construction of the estate, the work was headed by the architect Giovanni Battista Silvestri. 42 hectares of swampy land have become a true masterpiece of park and estate art. The construction was completed after the death of Nikolai Demidov through the efforts of his son.

Houses, rivers and lakes, churches and gardens - the scale with which the villa was built is amazing. The prince started building a railway to Florence, however, this plan was realized only half a century later. Even its own silk factory appeared in San Donato - from 30 to 40 thousand mulberry trees were planted on the lands of the villa. On the territory of the villa, which became a principality, there was also a large museum, where paintings and sculptures were placed - a huge collection inherited by Anatoly from his father and replenished by the prince himself. He ordered paintings to artists, one of which was the work "The Last Day of Pompeii" by Bryullov.

During the Second World War, the territory of the villa was ravaged and never rebuilt. In 1943, the third prince of San Donato died, and a few months later - his heir, the fourth and last holder of the title. Since 1946, all the privileges of the aristocrats have been abolished in Italy, and the villa has become the property of the state.

It is interesting that in that short period, when the Demidovs were recognized as entitled to the princely title of San Donato, the mandatory requirement for the presence of land with the same name - land that would be in Russia - was fulfilled. That is why a station called "San Donato" appeared, and it was located on the recently opened Ural Mining Railway, not far from Nizhny Tagil, where the Demidovs owned an iron plant.

About Mediterranean villas contributed by other aristocrats - here.