Descrizione

THE PRIVATE DIARY OF ANGELINA CHIGI IN THE YEAR OF HER MARRIAGE
178x118 mm. 35 unnumbered leaves plus one final blank. It features two small drawings of Angelina's siblings, Mario and Teresa (called Teta), dressed in carnival costumes. Original marbled cardboards. Very well preserved.
The original title of the diary, Viaggio da Roma a Venezia 1853 (‘Journey from Rome to Venice, 1853'), has been crossed out and replaced with ‘The Adventures of Angelina Chigi, beginning on 1 January 1854'.
The diary provides a detailed account of Angelina Chigi's daily activities in 1854, just before her marriage to Flavio Buonaccorsi (1826-1908), a nobleman from Macerata, on 30 November of that year. The couple had nine children.
Angelina was born on 28 May 1837 in Rome. Her father was Sigismondo Chigi Albani della Rovere, the 6th Prince of Farnese (1798-1877), and her mother was the Roman princess Leopoldina Doria Pamphilj Landi (1811-1843). She had two siblings: Mario and Teresa. She died of a heart attack on 12 January 1901 at Villa Bonaccorsi in Potenza Picena.
The diary vividly depicts the everyday life of a young Roman princess who attended all the balls and public events in the papal capital. Her social life was particularly active, and it is hard not to wonder whether her impending marriage added a certain excitement to her life. There are also frequent references to minor and major events happening around her, such as the first gas illumination of Via del Corso that went on without disruption or the killing of a carabiniere by mistake by a killer who was being chased by the crowd. At p. 32 begins the description of a journey that took Angelina to Viterbo, Siena, Livorno (by train and visit to the steam boat Capri), Florence (evening at La Pergola Theater), Bologna, Ferrara and the river Po, Padua, Venice (description of the Pala d'oro), Vicenza, Verona, before returning home.
At the end of the booklet is a short section called Ricordi d'Angelina (‘Memories of Angelina'), in which she recounts her earliest memories (the oldest of which date back to 1844, when she was seven) and records important dates in her family's history, such as her siblings' and relatives' birthdays and confirmation dates.
Some excerpts from the diary:
Sabato 11. Molto freddo, vi è stato del gelo nella notte. Ballo da Lady Best […] Mercoledì 14. Tempo buono, ho scritto a Bepi per San Giuseppe che è il santo del suo nome. E ho ricevuto una lettera d'Emilia. Il principe di Prussia è partito per Napoli. Vi è a Roma il Duca di Wellington, Nonno lo conosce, e il D Principe di Sassonia. Le truppe francesi e inglesi sono in viaggio per Costantinopoli per combattere i Russi, insieme ai Turchi. Il ministro dei lavori pubblici cioè Jacobini sta molto male. Si parla di un matrimonio fra Maria Cini e Don Francesco Delgallo […] Domenica 28. Oggi essendo il mio compleanno terminando anni 17 Buonaccorsi mi ha donato una magnifica spilletta, ed è venuto a pranzo. Bonfigli mi sta facendo il ritratto in miniatura da dare a Buonaccorsi […] (‘Saturday 11. Very cold, there was frost during the night. Dance at Lady Best's […] Wednesday 14. Good weather, I wrote to Bepi for St. Joseph's Day, which is his name day. And I received a letter from Emilia. The Prince of Prussia has left for Naples. The Duke of Wellington is in Rome, Granpa knows him, and the D Prince of Saxony. French and English troops are on their way to Constantinople to fight the Russians, together with the Turks. The Minister of Public Works, Jacobini, is very ill. There is talk of a marriage between Maria Cini and Don Francesco Delgallo […] Sunday 28. Today is my birthday, I am turning 17, and Buonaccorsi gave me a magnificent brooch and came to lunch. Bonfigli is painting my portrait in miniature to give to Buonaccorsi […]').