After the weddings of her older sisters to French Princes, was arranged the marriage between Maria Anna and her paternal half-uncle
Prince Benedetto, Duke of Chablais, younger half-brother of Victor Amadeus III (as the son of
Charles Emmanuel III and his last wife,
Elisabeth Therese of Lorraine). The wedding took place on 19 March 1775 at the
Chapel of the Holy Shroud in Turin. They had no children but had a happy union: although they were close, Maria Anna always saw him as her uncle. Their official residence were the
Palazzo Chiablese and the Ducal Castle of Agliè. When in December 1798 the Republic of France invaded the Kingdom of Sardinia, the whole royal family went into exile. The Duke and Duchess of Chablais left Turin and moved to Sardinia, where they remained until the end of 1799. Then they left the island and settled in Rome at the Papal States. In 1805, they spent a few months in Florence as guests at King
Louis I of Etruria, and his wife Queen
Maria Luisa. He took part in the
Battle of Loano. Benedetto, Duke of Chablais died on 4 January 1808 in
Rome. In 1816 the now Dowager Duchess of Chablais received her younger brother Charles Felix their cousin Charles Albert. By that time, the states and properties of the House of Savoy where recovered; during Maria Anna's absence, the Palazzo Chiablese was used by
Camillo Borghese, 6th Prince of Sulmona and his wife, the famous
Pauline Bonaparte. However, Maria Anna didn't return to her homeland immediately: in 1820 she acquired the
Villa Rufinella in
Frascati near Rome, having bought the property from
Lucien Bonaparte. In 1822, despite protests from her brother and cousin, Maria Anna settled in Florence, despite the fact that the city actively participated in the period of unrest in the Kingdom of Sardinia the previous year. ==Death==