Altavilla

Overview

A lady of the household of the exiled Queen Isabella II of Spain in Paris. Marie meets her at the queen's receptions: «la marquise d'Altavilla, sa dame d'honneur» (091.0383), and the Mon Journal indexes list «Altavilla d' (marquise)» in t.13 (pp. 240, 280) and t.14 (p. 107) and «Altavilla d' (Les)» (t.14 p. 116), «members of the exiled queen's household» per the earlier RSR note.

Relevance to Marie

• 10 May 1880. «On parle de mon tableau avec la marquise d'Altavilla et la jeune marquise de Merced» (088.0143).
• 10 June 1880. Marie meets the queen on foot in the rue de la Paix with Mme d'Altavilla, who thanks her for the strawberries she sent; Marie presents her aunt (088.0699).
• 28 March 1881. At the queen's reception «je n'étais pas à l'aise connaissant si peu la marquise d'Altavilla, sa dame d'honneur et la marquise de Merced, femme du chambellan» (091.0383). Mme d'Altavilla asks her, about the Appletcheieffs, «d'un air singulier» (091.0384), The Altavillas come up again on 16 April 1881 in connection with an invitation to the queen's (091.0479).

Identity uncertain

We are not sure who this is. The diary calls her a lady-in-waiting (dame d'honneur) of Isabella II and the name is Marie's spelling of Alta Villa / Altavilla. The best-documented bearer of the title is José Ramiro de la Puente y González Nandín, marqués de Alta Villa (1845–1909), secretary of Isabella II's exiled court in Paris, who received the court at Savigny-sur-Orge in 1869–1876 (Wikipedia, «Marqués de Alta Villa», citing Santí, Cuban Studies 29). She may be his wife, but no source consulted names a marquise or says she was a lady-in-waiting, and Wikipedia gives the papal title (marchese de Alta Villa) as granted on 9 October 1880, after Marie's first mention in May 1880. If you can identify her, we would be glad to hear from you.

References in Diary

• 1880-05-10 (088.0143); 1880-06-10 (088.0699); 1881-03-28 (091.0383, 091.0384); 1881-04-16 (091.0479).