Leonor de Moura

Leonor de Moura Corterreal y Moncada de Aragón ( it. Eleonora di Mora , * 1642 , † January 1, 1707 in Madrid ) was an Italian-Portuguese-Spanish noblewoman. She was 2nd Duchessa di Nocera and 4th Marquesa de Castelo Rodrigo, and in 1677, after the death of her husband Anielo de Guzmán, she was Viceroy of Sicily for a short time .

biography

Until 1677

Leonor de Moura was the daughter of Francisco de Moura (1610-1675), 1656 1st Duca di Nocera (in Italy) and Marquês de Castelo Rodrigo (in Portugal), and Ana María de Aragón. Her father was Viceroy of Sardinia (1657–1661), Viceroy of Catalonia (1663–1664) and governor of the Habsburg Netherlands (1664–1668). Since he had no sons and she was the elder of two daughters, she inherited his titles in 1675, thus becoming the 2nd Duchess of Nocera, the 4th Marquesa de Castelo Rodrigo and the 3rd Condesa de Lumiares (also in Portugal).

Her first marriage was in 1664 with Anielo de Guzmán (* probably 1641), third son of Ramiro Núñez de Guzmán , 2nd Duque de Medina de las Torres, 2nd Marqués de Toral, Conde de Arzarcóllar, Viceroy of Naples (1637-1644 ), and Ana Carafa, 3rd Duchessa di Mondragone. The marriage remained childless. Anielo de Guzmán was appointed Viceroy of Sicily (interim) in 1676 , but died of elephantiasis on April 18, 1677 at the age of 38 . In his will he designated her as his successor until the King of Spain appointed a new viceroy.

The Viceroy of Sicily

In the usual chronology of the Spanish viceroys there is no trace of Leonor de Moura to be found; in the Dizionario delle figure delle istituzioni e dei costumi della Sicilia storica and in the 3rd volume of the Storia cronologica dei Vicerei lugtotenente ... on the other hand you can find her name and the measures she took.

She restored the Conservatorio per le Vergine pericolante ("for the endangered virgins"); the “vulnerable virgins” were girls from the poorer classes who were orphaned and therefore more at risk than others of prostitution. To avoid this, they received a livelihood through the Conservatorio ; She proceeded similarly with an asylum for older prostitutes - both facilities had been closed some time ago for financial reasons. In addition, Leonor set up the Conservatorio delle Ripentite (“Conservatory of the penitent”) from her private box to help prostitutes who wanted to give up their work.

She was also responsible for a tax cut for large families, a law to lower the price of bread and the creation of a commercial administration that brought together the 72 guilds of Palermo .

After only 27 days she was dismissed because, due to her gender, she could not exercise the office of papal legate , which was inextricably linked with the office of viceroy. The Bishop of Palermo had made a corresponding petition .

From 1677

In 1679 the Duchess of Nocera married Carlos Homodei y Lasso de la Vega, 2nd Marqués de Almonacid de los Oteros, (today Valdesaz de los Oteros , Province of León ), Comendador Mayor de la Orden de Cristo , Viceroy and Captain General of Catalonia, Caballero mayor of the Spanish Queen Maria Luisa Gabriella of Savoy . From this marriage a son was born on February 24, 1680, who died young.

She herself died on January 1st, 1707 in Madrid. Since she had no children from her first husband and the son from the second marriage had died young, she left no heirs of her own. After her death, Nocera etc. went to her sister Juana de Moura .

literature

• Vincenzo Avria, Historia cronologica delli signori vicerè di Sicilia… dall 'anno 1409 sino al 1697… , P. Coppolo, 1697, p. 163f ( online )
• Giovanni Evangelista di Blasi e Gambacorta, Storia cronologia dei vicerei lugotenente e presidenti del regno di Sicilia , Volume 3, 1842
• Gennaro Orlando, Storia di Nocera de 'Pagani , Naples, 1888
• Francesco Paolo Castiglione, Dizionario delle figure delle istituzioni e dei costumi della Sicilia storica , 2010, ISBN 978-8838924552

Web link

• Ester Rizzo, La Vicerè di Sicilia ( online, accessed January 27, 2020 )

Fiction

Leonor de Moura is the main character in Andrea Camilleri's novel The Revolution of the Moon ( La rivoluzione della luna , 2013) during her 27-day reign in Palermo.

Remarks

predecessor	Office	successor
Ángel de Guzmán	Viceroy of Sicily 1677–1677	Luis Manuel Fernández de Protocarrer
Francisco de Moura	Duke of Nocera 1694–1707	Juana de Moura