How to Pronounce Marițica Bibescu
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Aug 01, 1815 Bucharest Died on 27 Sep 1859 (aged 44)
Romanian noblewoman and poet
LeoMariica Bibescu - Place of Birth, Date of Birth, Age, Wiki, Facts, Net Worth, Birthday, Biography and Family
Mariica Bibescu, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Family, Facts, Age, Net Worth, Biography and More in FamedBorn.com
About Mariica Bibescu
- Mari?ica Bibescu, born Maria Vacarescu, also known as Mari?ica Ghica (August 1, 1815 – September 27, 1859), was the Princess-consort of Wallachia between September 1845 and June 1848.
- A boyaress by birth, she belonged to the Vacarescu family.
- Her father Nicolae, her grandfather Ienachi?a and her uncle Alecu were politicians and professional writers; Mari?ica herself was an unpublished poet.
- She was orphaned as a child, but was looked after by her relatives and her family friends, including Prince Alexandru II Ghica and philanthropist Zoe Brâncoveanu.
- Described by period sources as exceptionally beautiful, if also vain and ambitious, she married in 1834 the Prince's brother, Spatharios Costache Ghica.
- Her adoptive clan, the Ghicas, remained the leading Wallachian family until late 1842, when Alexandru II was deposed by the Ottoman Empire. Mari?ica's influence peaked again after the princely election of 1842–1843.
- Though her husband failed in his bid for the throne, Mari?ica became mistress of the winner, Gheorghe Bibescu, bearing him a child.
- Her third cousin, Gheorghe was at the time married to her godmother Zoe Brâncoveanu.
- Choosing to ignore public outrage, he finally obtained a divorce in 1844.
- The following year, he and Mari?ica were married in Foc?ani, a town situated on Wallachia's border with Moldavia.
- This was a lavish ceremony attended by Moldavian Prince Mihail Sturdza, who was their new godfather.
- Nevertheless, it had only partial recognition from the Wallachian Orthodox Church hierarchy.
- At odds with Metropolitan Neofit II, Gheorghe appealed to the Ecumenical Patriarch, and obtained approval after replacing Germanus IV with Meletius III.
- His effort included bribing the Ottoman Divan to depose Germanus. Policy disagreements between the conservative Gheorghe and liberal groups fed the Wallachian Revolution of 1848.
- During these events, Mari?ica remained by her husband's side, and was possibly present when he survived an assassination attempt.
- The couple eventually escaped Wallachia and settled in the Austrian Empire; the revolution was crushed by the Ottoman and Russian Empires, and the throne was handed to Mari?ica's brother-in-law, Barbu Dimitrie ?tirbei.
- She and Gheorghe lived in Istanbul, and later in Paris, where Gheorghe continued to press for his recognition as Prince, as well as for union between Wallachia and Moldavia.
- His political career in Wallachia was resumed after the Crimean War, but his prospects of becoming Prince were ended during the electoral battles of 1859; his rival, Alexandru Ioan Cuza, was in a position to unite the two countries. The same year, Mari?ica died of cancer in Paris.
- She was survived by five children from two marriages, including a son, Mihai Ghica, who died without heirs of his own, in 1926.
- Her female descendants married into several houses of European nobility, including Montesquiou, Rasponi-Murat, Courval, and Faucigny-Lucinge.
- In the arts, Mari?ica is remembered as a promoter of the Romanian dress, and a muse to painters Carol Szathmari and Constantin Lecca.
- Also a literary patron, she was the aunt of two other female writers, Elena Vacarescu and Dora d'Istria, as well as the stepgrandmother of poet Anna de Noailles.
- Mari?ica's grandson Léon de Montesquiou was a founding member and doctrinaire of Action Française.
