Leopoldina Maria, Princess of Savoy was born at the
Palazzo Carignano in
Turin, the capital of the
Kingdom of Sardinia. She was the third child of ten, she was her parents' second daughter. Her father
Louis Victor of Savoy was the
Prince of Carignano and head of the cadet branch of the
House of Savoy which ruled over
Sardinia. Her mother was a daughter of the
Landgrave of Hesse-Rotenburg and was a sister of the late
Queen Polyxena of Sardinia, wife of King
Charles Emmanuel III. As such, Charles Emmanuel's children were Leopoldina's first cousins including the future King
Victor Amadeus III. She received a good education and was fluent in
French,
Italian, and
German. Her brothers included
Victor Amadeus II, Prince of Carignano, grandfather of King
Charles Albert of Sardinia. Her younger brother was
Eugenio, Count of Villafranca, founder of the Villafranca line of the
Princes of Carignano. The second of six daughters, her most famous sister was
Maria Luisa of Savoy, future wife of
Louis Alexandre de Bourbon and friend of
Marie Antoinette and immortalised as the
princesse de Lamballe. Her other sisters included Princes Charlotte who was a
nun; Princess Caterina who married a
Colonna, and was the Princess of Paliano by marriage. Another was Princess Gabrielle who married into the
House of Lobkowicz. She was married to Andrea IV
Doria-Pamphilj-Landi, a member of the wealthy Doria-Pamphilj-Landi who were of
Genoese origin. Andrea IV who was a frequent at the court at the
Royal Palace of Turin and the
Castle of Racconigi, the latter of which was a personal residence of the Princes of Carignano. Leopoldina married the
Prince of Melfi on 6 May 1767 and arrived in Rome on 20 June 1767. Once in Rome, her husband established them in the
Palazzo Doria Pamphilj, present site of Doria Pamphilj Gallery in Rome. She died there in 1807 aged 62. The present
Doria-Pamphilj-Landi descend from her. ==Issue==