23 Facts About Letizia Bonaparte

Maria-Letizia Bonaparte, commonly known as Letizia Bonaparte, was a Corsican noblewoman and the mother of Napoleon I, Emperor of the French.

Maria-Letizia Bonaparte Ramolino was born in Ajaccio, Corsica, then part of the Republic of Genoa.

Letizia Bonaparte was the daughter of Giovanni Geronimo Ramolino, an army officer specialising in civil engineering who commanded the Ajaccio garrison, and Angela Maria Pietra-Santa.

Letizia Bonaparte was educated at home, with instruction primarily focused on domestic skills, as was customary for Corsican women of the period.

Letizia Bonaparte gave birth to thirteen children, of whom eight survived.

Letizia Bonaparte's firstborn, a son named Napoleon, was born in 1765 but died shortly after birth.

Letizia Bonaparte remained in Ajaccio, bearing six more children, Lucien in 1775, Elisa in 1777, Louis in 1778, Pauline in 1780, Caroline in 1782 and in 1784 Jerome.

Letizia Bonaparte visited Napoleon at Brienne in 1784, despite the school's strict policy prohibiting boys from leaving the grounds for six years and limiting parental visits.

Letizia Bonaparte graduated a year later as a second lieutenant assigned to the artillery regiment of la Frere in Valence.

The family's financial situation deteriorated, leaving Letizia Bonaparte to provide for her younger children while struggling to pay for Jerome and Joseph's education.

Letizia Bonaparte moved Letizia and her children to the Chateau Sale in Antibes.

Letizia Bonaparte later returned to Ajaccio, settling back in Casa Buonaparte, which had been rebuilt and renovated in her absence.

Letizia Bonaparte was granted a pension of 25,000 francs per month.

Letizia Bonaparte remained composed, leaving only at the end of the play.

Letizia Bonaparte supported Lucien, leading her to leave Paris for Rome, where she joined Pauline, now Princess Borghese, and took up residence with Cardinal Fesch.

On 2 December 1804, when Napoleon was crowned emperor, Letizia Bonaparte did not attend the coronation ceremony, despite being depicted in Jacques-Louis David's famous painting, The Coronation of Napoleon.

On 19 December 1804, Letizia Bonaparte left Rome and took up residence at the Hotel de Brienne, located at 92 rue Saint-Dominique in Paris, a property she purchased from Lucien for 600,000 francs.

In 1814, Letizia Bonaparte accompanied Napoleon into exile on Elba, where she lived alongside Pauline.

In Rome, she purchased the former Palazzo Rinuccini, which was renamed Palazzo Letizia Bonaparte, situated at the corner of Piazza Venezia and Via del Corso.

Letizia Bonaparte died in 1836, aged 85, three weeks before the 51st anniversary of Carlo Buonaparte's death.

Letizia Bonaparte gave birth to thirteen children between 1765 and 1784; five of them died, including two at birth and three in infancy.

Letizia Bonaparte has been portrayed in various film and television productions.

Letizia Bonaparte was later portrayed by Jane Lapotaire in the 1987 miniseries Napoleon and Josephine: A Love Story, followed by Anouk Aimee in the 2002 miniseries Napoleon.