Adinolfo Lucchesi-Palli

Maria Adinolfo Leopoldo Antonio Ettore Lucchesi-Palli, 10th Prince of Campofranco and 5th Duke of Grazia, was born on 10 March 1840 at Brunnsee Castle near Graz. He came from the old Italian noble family of Lucchesi-Palli and was the only son of Ettore Lucchesi-Palli, 4th Duke of Grazia, and Princess Marie-Caroline of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. Through his family background, he was connected to several European ruling houses and important aristocratic families. His mother had previously been married to Prince Charles Ferdinand, Duke of Berry, a member of the French royal family, who was murdered in 1820. From that marriage came Adinolfo’s half-siblings, Princess Louise Marie Thérèse and Henri, Count of Chambord. Shortly after her marriage to Adinolfo’s father, Marie-Caroline unsuccessfully led an uprising against King Louis-Philippe I in an effort to place her son Henri on the French throne. Through his mother, Adinolfo was also the nephew of several members of the Bourbon and Habsburg dynasties, including King Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies, Queen Maria Cristina of Spain, and Empress Teresa Cristina of Brazil. Adinolfo’s siblings included Donna Francesca Lucchesi-Palli, who married Carlo Camillo Massimo, 3rd Prince of Arsoli, and Donna Maria Isabella Lucchesi-Palli, who was first married to Maximilien, Marquis of Cavriani, and, after his death, to Count Giovanni Battista de Conti. His paternal grandparents were Antonio Lucchesi-Palli, 7th Prince of Campofranco and 3rd Duke of Grazia, and Anna Maria Francisca Paola Pignatelli Tagliavia d’Aragona. Close ties to European princely families continued in the next generation: his nephew, Prince Fabrizio Massimo di Roviano, married the Carlist Princess Beatriz de Borbón y de Borbón-Parma. After his father’s death on 1 April 1864, Adinolfo inherited the titles of 10th Prince of Campofranco and 5th Duke of Grazia. Following family tradition, he entered the diplomatic service of the Kingdom of Italy. As the eldest son, he was initially chiefly responsible for managing the family’s estates, particularly those at Brunnsee Castle and Weinburg am Saßbach Castle. Adinolfo played a brief but historically notable role in the founding of the International Olympic Committee. When the committee was established in Paris in 1894, he was vice consul at the Italian embassy. Pierre de Coubertin wanted the new body to include respected figures and sports specialists from as many countries as possible. Adinolfo met this profile and also represented Italian interests, since the invited Italian Gymnastics Federation was unable to travel to the founding congress for financial reasons. He joined the committee on the condition that he would be allowed to propose a suitable successor at the next opportunity. His membership therefore lasted only three months, after which he handed his seat to Riccardo Carafa della Stadera. For his services, Adinolfo was awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of Malta. On 7 October 1860, Adinolfo married Princess Lucrezia Nicoletta Sasso-Ruffo at Brunnsee Castle. She was the daughter of Vincenzo Ruffo, 12th Duke of Bagnara, and Sarah Louisa Strachan, the daughter of Sir Richard Strachan, 6th Baronet. Her younger brother was Prince Ruffo, head of the Motta-Bagnara branch. Adinolfo and Lucrezia had seven children. Their eldest son, Enrico, born in 1861, later became the 11th Prince of Campofranco. In 1892, he married Maria Rainiera, 1st Countess of Waideck. Their daughter Maria Renata married Edward Onslow Moore in 1901. Donna Bianca married Prince Georg of Salm-Reifferscheidt-Krautheim, a son of the 4th Prince of Salm-Reifferscheidt-Krautheim. Carlo, born in 1868, later succeeded as the 12th Prince of Campofranco. He first married Countess Sidonie von Fünfkirchen in 1893 and, after her death, Princess Henriette of Salm-Salm. Their son Pietro, Count of Lucchesi-Pailli, married Princess Béatrice of Parma. The younger daughters, Caroline and Gabrielle, married Count Rudolf von Enzenberg zum Freyen und Jöchelsthurn and Girolamo Brandolini d’Adda, respectively. Adinolfo Lucchesi-Palli died on 4 February 1911 at Brunnsee Castle. His titles passed to his eldest son, Enrico. Through Enrico, he remained present in the following generation as well: among his grandchildren was Donna Maria Renata Lucchesi-Palli del Principi di Campofranco, who married Count Siegfried von Küenburg in 1922.