Recently, at the initiative of the Consul General of Italy in Munich, Dr. Sergio Maffettone, a ceremony dedicated to the memory of Maria Sophia Amalia was held in the Senate Hall of the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität. Born in Munich and laid to rest in Naples as Queen of the Two Sicilies, her life and legacy were solemnly commemorated on this occasion.

Representing the Royal House of Bourbon Two Sicilies was the Head of the Royal House, H.R.H. Prince Carlo, Duke of Castro and Grand Master of the Dynastic Orders. Representing the House of Wittelsbach were the Head of the House, H.R.H. Prince Franz, Duke of Bavaria, accompanied by H.R.H. Prince Leopold and H.R.H. Princess Sophie.

During the ceremony, the figure of Princess Maria Sophia, Duchess in Bavaria—who became Queen of the Two Sicilies following her marriage to H.M. King Francis II of Bourbon—was solemnly recalled. Particular emphasis was placed on her courageous and decisive role in the defense of the Fortress of Gaeta in 1860, which earned her the epithet “Heroine of Gaeta”. After a long period of exile, she found her final resting place in 1984 in the Bourbon family tomb at the Basilica of Santa Chiara in Naples.

The event also represented a significant moment of encounter between the Heads of the House of Wittelsbach and the House of Bourbon Two Sicilies, marked by the conferment by the Duke of Castro of the title of Knight of the Illustrious Royal Order of Saint Januarius upon the Duke of Bavaria, formerly Bailiff Knight Grand Cross of Justice with Collar of the Constantinian Order of Saint George, thereby further strengthening the historic and longstanding ties between the two Royal Houses.