Maria Antonia of Parma was a Princess of Parma, daughter of Duke Ferdinand I of Parma and his wife, Archduchess Maria Amalia of Austria.
Background
Maria Antonia"s godparents were her uncle, Emperor Joseph II, and her father"s aunt, Maria Antonia of Spain, Queen of Sardinia, after whom the princess was named. Maria Antonia grew up with her brother and sisters in the ducal court of Parma, where she was affectionately known as Tognina.
Career
She was a gifted painter and received her training from Giuseppe Baldrighi and Domenico Muzzi, both court painters and professors of the Academy of Fine Arts of Parma. In 1796, Parma was occupied by France. However, while Carlotta was imposing enough for the French governor Andoche Junot to recommend that she be acknowledged a Princess by France and awarded a pension to be able to live according to her status, Maria Antonia was described as particularly severe and reserved.
A quiet person, Maria Antonia never married and became an Ursuline novice in 1802.
The following year, on 22 April 1803, she officially received the habit of an Ursuline nun and changed her name to Sister Louise Marie (Luigia Maria). Maria Antonie remained in Prague until the fall of Napoleon, after which she returned to Parma.
During the following years she led a quiet and modest life in the Ursuline convent in Parma. After many years of living there, on 9 May 1831, she moved to the Convent of Street Agatha in Rome, where she died in 1841.
Titles and styles
28 November 1774 – 20 February 1841 Her Royal Highness Princess Maria Antonia of Parma.