Domitília de Castro Canto e Melo
Domitília de Castro Canto e Melo (* December 27, 1797 in São Paulo ; † November 3, 1867 ibid) was a lover of Emperor Peter I of Brazil and from 1825 Countess of Honor of Santos , in 1826 she became Margravine of Santos ( Portuguese Marquesa de Santos ).
Her father, Colonel João de Castro Canto e Melo, came from the Azores , her mother, Escolástica Bonifácia de Oliveira Toledo Ribas, came from a respected family in São Paulo. Two brothers, João and José, and a sister, Maria Benedita, with whom the emperor had an illegitimate child, were their closest relatives.
She was married to her first husband, Felicio Pinto Coelho de Mendonça, an officer of the Dragoons from Vila Rica , on January 13, 1813 at the age of sixteen. She divorced him on May 21, 1824.
Shortly before Brazil's declaration of independence in 1822, Domitília met the young Pedro de Alcântara , the prince to the throne of the Kingdom of Portugal and future emperor of Brazil . A liaison developed between them and Domitília bore the following four children to her lover:
- Isabel Maria (* May 23, 1824, † November 3, 1898), was legitimized by Pedro and appointed Duchess of Goiás
- Pedro (7 December 1825 - 27 December 1825)
- Maria Isabel (born August 13, 1827 - † October 25, 1828)
- Maria Isabel II (February 28, 1830 - September 13, 1896), Countess of Iguaçu
Domitília's relationship with Pedro lasted until the emperor ended it in 1829 in view of his impending marriage to Amélie , Princess von Leuchtenberg (this condition was one of the clauses in the marriage contract).
In 1833 Domitília met her second husband, the Brigadier of the Army Rafael Tobias de Aguiar, with whom she married on June 14, 1842. This marriage had six children, Rafael Tobias, João Tobias, Gertrudes, Antônio Francisco, Brasilico and Heitor. Gertrudes and Brasilico died in childhood. After her husband's death in 1857, Domitília moved from Rio de Janeiro to São Paulo , where she looked after the poor and needy. Their city palace became a cultural center for São Paulo society. The building ( Solar da Marquesa de Santos ) can still be visited today and is located directly behind the Pateo do Collegio .
Domitília died of enterocolitis in 1867 and was buried in the Cimitério da Consolação cemetery that she had donated .
literature
- Rezzutti, Paulo: Domitila. A verdadeira história da marquesa de Santos . São Paulo: Geração Editorial, 2013.
- Prince of Bavaria, Adalbert : The heart of the Leuchtenberg. Prestel Verlag Munich 1963, especially pp. 33–40, without ISBN.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Castro Canto e Melo, Domitília de |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Marquesa de Santos |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Brazilian duchess |
| DATE OF BIRTH | December 27, 1797 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | São Paulo , Brazil |
| DATE OF DEATH | November 3, 1867 |
| Place of death | São Paulo , Brazil |