Maria Anna Josepha von Althann (26 July 1689 - 1 March 1755) was an Italian noblewoman, who, after her marriage, turned into an politically active Austrian countess.
Biography
editBorn into the powerful House of Pignatelli, as Donna Maria Anna Giuseppina, second child and only daughter of Don Domenico Pignatelli, Marchese di San Vicente (b. 1642) and his wife, Doña Ana de Aimeric-Cruïllas de Santa Pau y d'Argeñola, Marchesa de Aimerich (b. 1652). She had one older brother, Don Antonio Pignatelli, Prince of Belmonte (1685-1761). On 12 February 1709, Maria Anna married Count Johann Michael von Althann (1679-1727), the favorite of Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor, with whom she had three sons and three daughters, all married into the Austrian nobility. They often resided at Vranov nad Dyjí Castle, Althann family estate. She was known for her influence in the court of Spain and Austria, where she was an associate of the pro-Spanish party at court. She was also a noted patron of Italian art, and rumored to have secretly married Pietro Metastasio after the death of her first husband.
References
edit- Constantin von Wurzbach: Althann, Maria Anna Josepha Gräfin. In: Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich. 1. Theil. Universitäts-Buchdruckerei L. C. Zamarski (vormals J. P. Sollinger), Wien 1856, S. 18