Ferdinand IV
Grand Duke of Tuscany
Ferdinand IV, Grand Duke of Tuscany (Italian: Ferdinando IV, Granduca di Toscana; 10 June 1835 – 17 January 1908) was the last Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1859 to 1860. Born at Florence, he was the son of Leopold II, Grand Duke of Tuscany and Princess Maria Antonia of the Two Sicilies. His first wife died on February 1859. Sometime later, he and his family were forced to flee Florence on 27 April 1859, with the outbreak of a revolution inspired by the outbreak of the Second Italian War of Independence as part of the unification of Italy. The family took refuge in Austria. After the end of the war, Leopold II abdicated on 21 July and Ferdinand succeeded him as Grand Duke. Ferdinand proved unable to return to Florence to claim his throne, and an elected Tuscan National Assembly formally deposed him only a month later, on 16 August, with Tuscany being merged into the United Provinces of Central Italy. Ferdinand still hoped to recover his throne, as both France and Austria had promised to recognize his rights to it in the Armistice of Villafranca. However, neither power was willing to take any steps to bring about his restoration; Sardinia would annex Tuscany on 22 March 1860, and with Austria recognizing the new
Kingdom of Italy after the Third War of Independence in 1866, Ferdinand's hopes to reclaim the throne were ended. Subsequently Ferdinand and his family returned to Austria. While Ferdinand was allowed to keep the grand ducal title as a courtesy and retain his status as grand master of all Tuscan orders of chivalry for his lifetime, his descendants could only bear the title of "Archduke/Archduchess of Austria"; the right to bear the title "Prince/ss of Tuscany" became restricted solely to family members born before 1866. In 1870 Ferdinand relinquished all dynastic rights to the defunct Grand Duchy for himself and his future heirs in favour of his second cousin, Emperor Franz Joseph I, effectively ending the House of Habsburg-Tuscany's status as a sovereign cadet branch.
The Carabinieri (Corpo dei Carabinieri Reali, "Royal Carabineers Corps") are the national gendarmerie of Italy who primarily carry out domestic and foreign policing duties. Inspired by the French gendarmerie, the corps was created by King Victor Emmanuel I of Sardinia with the aim of providing the Savoyard state of the Kingdom of Sardinia with a police corps. Previously, police duties were managed by the Dragoni di Sardegna Corps, created in 1726 and composed of volunteers. After French soldiers had occupied Turin at the end of the 18th century and later abandoned it to the Kingdom of Sardinia, the Royal Carabinieri Corps was instituted under the Royal Patents of 13 July 1814. The name is derived from the French word carabinier, meaning "soldier armed with a carbine." The new force was divided into divisions on the scale of one division for each province. The divisions
were further divided into companies and subdivided into lieutenancies, which commanded and coordinated the local police stations and were distributed throughout the national territory in direct contact with the public. In 1868, the Cuirassiers Regiment or Corazzieri was formed, initially as a cavalry escort of honour for the sovereign.
The Grand Duchy of Tuscany (Italian: Granducato di Toscana; Latin: Magnus Ducatus Etruriae) was an Italian monarchy that existed, with interruptions, from 1569 to 1860, replacing the Republic of Florence. The grand duchy's capital was Florence. Having brought nearly all Tuscany under his control after conquering the Republic of Siena, Cosimo I de' Medici, was elevated by a papal bull of Pope Pius V to Grand Duke of Tuscany on August 27, 1569. The Grand Duchy was ruled by the House of Medici until the extinction of its senior branch in 1737. While not as internationally renowned as the old republic, the grand duchy thrived under the Medici and it bore witness to unprecedented economic and military success under Cosimo I and his sons, until the reign of Ferdinando II, which saw the beginning of the state's long economic decline. It peaked under Cosimo III. Francis Stephen of Lorraine, a cognatic descendant of the Medici, succeeded the family and ascended the throne of his Medicean ancestors. Tuscany was governed by a viceroy, Marc de Beauvau-Craon, for his entire rule. His descendants ruled, and resided
in, the grand duchy until its end in 1859, barring one interruption, when Napoleon Bonaparte gave Tuscany to the House of Bourbon-Parma (Kingdom of Etruria, 1801–1807), then annexed it directly to the First French Empire. Following the collapse of the Napoleonic system in 1814, the grand duchy was restored. The United Provinces of Central Italy, a client state of the Kingdom of Sardinia, annexed Tuscany in 1859. Tuscany was formally annexed to Sardinia in 1860, as a part of the unification of Italy.
Awards: Sash and star of the Holy Military Order of St. Stephen Pope and Martyr, Insignia of the Distinguished Order of the Golden Fleece, Star of the Order of Saint Joseph.
