On the 1st of September in 1777, the Duchess of Parma, Maria Amalia, gave birth to her fourth child — a daughter, named Maria Carlotta. She would eventually be baptized with the names of Maria Carlotta Ferdinanda Teresa Anna Giuseppa Giovanna Luisa Vincenza Rosalia, though she, up until 1804, would remain known as Maria Carlotta.
The young Princess of Parma came from a grand lineage; her maternal grandmother was the Holy Roman Empress, while her paternal grandfather was the Duke of Parma, a son of the Queen of Spain. The lineage and status of the princess would, in return, mean she’d be married to a king, or possibly a prince, however, this wasn’t the case.
Maria Carlotta was originally meant to marry Francis, Duke of Calabria, though he, with the help of Marla Amalia herself, annulled the marriage, as he was too reticent to ask. Maria Carlotta would instead become a nun under the Dominican Order in 1804. While a nun, she would go under the name of Sister Giacinta Domenica.
