Marițica Bibescu, born Maria Văcărescu, also known as Marițica Ghica (August 1, 1815 – September 27, 1859), was the Princess-consort of Wallachia between September 1845 and June 1848. A boyaress by birth, she belonged to the Văcărescu family. Her father Nicolae, her grandfather Ienăchiță and her uncle Alecu were politicians and professional writers; Marițica herself was an unpublished poet. She was orphaned as a child, but was looked after by her relatives and her family friends, including Prince Alexandru II Ghica and philanthropist Zoe Brâncoveanu. Described by period sources as exceptionally beautiful, if also vain and ambitious, she married in 1834 the Prince's brother, Spatharios Costache Ghica. Her adoptive clan, the Ghicas, remained the leading Wallachian family until late 1842, when Alexandru II was deposed by the Ottoman Empire.
Marițica's influence peaked again after the princely election of 1842–1843. Though her husband failed in his bid for the throne, Marițica became mistress of the winner, Gheorghe Bibescu, bearing him a child. Her third cousin, Gheorghe was at the time married to her godmother Zoe Brâncoveanu. Choosing to ignore public outrage, he finally obtained a divorce in 1844. The following year, he and Marițica were married in Focșani, a town situated on Wallachia's border with Moldavia. This was a lavish ceremony attended by Moldavian Prince Mihail Sturdza, who was their new godfather. Nevertheless, it had only partial recognition from the Wallachian Orthodox Church hierarchy. At odds with Metropolitan Neofit II, Gheorghe appealed to the Ecumenical Patriarch, and obtained approval after replacing Germanus IV with Meletius III. His effort included bribing the Ottoman Divan to depose Germanus.
Policy disagreements between the conservative Gheorghe and liberal groups fed the Wallachian Revolution of 1848. During these events, Marițica remained by her husband's side, and was possibly present when he survived an assassination attempt. The couple eventually escaped Wallachia and settled in the Austrian Empire; the revolution was crushed by the Ottoman and Russian Empires, and the throne was handed to Marițica's brother-in-law, Barbu Dimitrie Știrbei. She and Gheorghe lived in Istanbul, and later in Paris, where Gheorghe continued to press for his recognition as Prince, as well as for union between Wallachia and Moldavia. His political career in Wallachia was resumed after the Crimean War, but his prospects of becoming Prince were ended during the electoral battles of 1859; his rival, Alexandru Ioan Cuza, was in a position to unite the two countries.
The same year, Marițica died of cancer in Paris. She was survived by five children from two marriages, including a son, Mihai Ghica, who died without heirs of his own, in 1926. Her female descendants married into several houses of European nobility, including Montesquiou, Rasponi-Murat, Courval, and Faucigny-Lucinge. In the arts, Marițica is remembered as a promoter of the Romanian dress, and a muse to painters Carol Szathmari and Constantin Lecca. Also a literary patron, she was the aunt of two other female writers, Elena Văcărescu and Dora d'Istria, as well as the stepgrandmother of poet Anna de Noailles. Marițica's grandson Léon de Montesquiou was a founding member and doctrinaire of Action Française.
Biography Origins and childhood Born on August 15, 1815, in the Wallachian capital of Bucharest,Badea-Păun, p. 43 the future Princess was commonly known by the hypocorisms "Marițica" and "Marița". Maria belonged to the Văcărescu family, and thus to the urban boyardom of Wallachia; she was the eldest of several daughters born to Vornic Nicolae Văcărescu and his wife, Alexandra "Luxița" Băleanu.Lăcusteanu & Crutzescu, p. 257 The Văcărescu family legend linked them to the mythical Radu Negru, and also to the Romanian nobility in Transylvania. They portrayed themselves as owners of Făgăraș Citadel, which came to be depicted on their coat of arms—however, this connection remains historically unattested (see Boyar of Fogaras).Călinescu, p. 111; Iftimi, pp. 22, 190–191; Opaschi, pp. 537, 548. See also Popescu-Cadem, p. 10 Their boyar lineage was more likely named after Văcărești in Dâmbovița County, and can only be attested back to the 1570s.Opaschi, pp. 537–539 During that period and into the 1800s, Wallachia and Moldavia (as the Danubian Principalities) were vassal states of the Ottoman Empire. One of Marițica's ancestors, Negoiță Văcărescu, a Wallachian envoy and hostage to the Sublime Porte, was boiled to death in 1668.Opaschi, p. 538 Her great-great-grandfather Ianache Văcărescu served under Prince Constantin Brâncoveanu during the Pruth River Campaign, and was executed alongside him by the Ottomans.Andronescu et al., p. 26; Călinescu, pp. 65–66; Popescu-Cadem, p. 10
Nicolae was an elegiac poet, born to writer Ienăchiță Văcărescu and his third wife, Ecaterina Caragea.Călinescu, p. 69; Popescu-Cadem, p. 19 According to tradition, Ienăchiță was poisoned in 1797 by Prince Alexander Mourouzis, having allegedly courted Princess-consort Zoe.Popescu-Cadem, pp. 10–14 His other children included Alecu Văcărescu, born to an earlier wife, Elena Rizo. Himself a poet and social critic, Alecu died mysteriously in 1799, after having been singled out for repression by Prince Mourouzis.Călinescu, pp. 66–69; Opaschi, pp. 539–540; Popescu-Cadem, pp. 15–18 He left a son, Iancu (Ioan) Văcărescu, who was also a noted poet. Through this connection, Marițica was aunt of the fashion journalist Claymoor and great-aunt of writer Elena Văcărescu.Călinescu, p. 983; Popescu-Cadem, pp. 25–27, 29–31 Through grandmother Ecaterina, Marițica descended from the Caradjas, a prominent family of Greek Phanariotes; her great-grandfather was Nicolae Caradja, who served as Wallachian Prince in 1782–1783.Călinescu, pp. 66, 69; Opaschi, pp. 544–545 and Figure IV
Although her father had a congenital hunchback, which prompted him to live in relative seclusion,Popescu-Cadem, p. 19 Marițica became a Wallachian belle, described in contemporary sources as "jewel-like" and "blonde like a seraph".Lăcusteanu & Crutzescu, p. 260 As noted by scholar Constanța Vintilă-Ghițulescu, her beauty standards reflected 19th-century conventions, which valued sedentary lifestyles: diarist Nicolae Golescu commented that she was "quite plump and quite gentle".Vintilă-Ghițulescu, Patimă..., p. 215 Various records also note that, like her paternal family, she had a talent for writing poetry; her work remains unpublished. She spent some of her childhood abroad, forced out by the revolutionary unrest of 1821. The Văcărescus escaped into the Principality of Transylvania (part of the Austrian Empire), finding temporary refuge at Corona (Brașov).Caratașu, pp. 391–392; Popescu-Cadem, p. 19 They later returned to Wallachia, but Nicolae died soon after, possibly while making a return trip to Șcheii Brașovului. Luxița still lived in Corona in 1826, when she attempted to settle her husband's debts by mortgaging her land in Băneasa.Caratașu, p. 391
Ghica marriage
The Russo-Turkish War of 1828 signaled a Westernizing epoch for the Danubian Principalities. Both countries remained under Ottoman suzerainty but were directly governed by the Russian Empire. This Regulamentul Organic era, which increased the prestige of lesser boyars, allowed the orphaned youth to focus her efforts on social climbing. A first-hand witness to her matrimonial ascent, Colonel Grigore Lăcusteanu mentions her "superlative pride".Lăcusteanu & Crutzescu, p. 143 Her "vanity" and "unbound cupidity" were noted by the memoirist I. G. Valentineanu, while historian Constantin Gane portrayed her as "quite ambitious". Marițica's first husband was Costache Ghica (1797–1852), a member of the powerful Ghica family. Their wedding took place in Bucharest, on July 29, 1834. Reportedly, it had the blessing of the Băleanu family, but not of Luxița herself.Andronescu et al., p. 70
This arrangement also made her the sister-in-law of two Wallachian Princes: Grigore IV Ghica, who had reigned in 1822–1828, and his half-brother, Alexandru II Ghica, who took the throne in 1829.Iosipescu & Ionescu, pp. 39–42, 45; Lăcusteanu & Crutzescu, pp. 235–236, 250, 257 The latter pledged himself as the couple's godfather during the wedding ceremony, while their godmother was philanthropist Zoe Brâncoveanu,Andronescu et al., pp. 70–71 "one of the richest women in either Danubian Principality." Roxana Roseti, Vlad Teodorescu, "Prințul rătăcitor", in Jurnalul Național, March 20, 2010 Under his brothers' regimes, Costache had become a Spatharios and Colonel of the Wallachian militia, organized under Russian supervision; he also served terms as Ban (or Caimacam) of Oltenia (1827–1828, 1830, 1838), alternating with his other half-brother, Mihalache Ghica.Lăcusteanu & Crutzescu, pp. 236, 250. See also Iosipescu & Ionescu, p. 41 Mihalache was married to another famous beauty, Catinca Faca-Ghica. The first-ever Romanian woman to have translated an entire book,Iosipescu & Ionescu, p. 45 she was also known for her infidelities, and was for a while the mistress of Baron Üxküll, a Russian hussar.Lăcusteanu & Crutzescu, pp. 120–121, 250; Vintilă-Ghițulescu, Evgheniți..., p. 98 According to writer Cezar Bolliac, Marițica and Catinca were "the most beautiful pair of sisters-in-law that have been graced upon in Bucharest society during this day".Bogdan-Duică (1906), p. 211 Through her connection with Mihalache and Catinca, Marițica became the aunt of another female writer, Dora d'Istria.Bogdan-Duică (1906), p. 211; Călinescu, p. 383; Florea, p. 134; Iosipescu & Ionescu, p. 45; Lăcusteanu & Crutzescu, p. 250; Rizo-Rangabé, pp. 49, 52
The family inhabited an eclectic Ghica manor in Bucharest, located just outside Cișmigiu Gardens. Four children were born to the couple in 1835–1842: daughters Constanța, Pulcheria, and Alexandrina, and son Mihai Ghica. Emanuel Bădescu, "Teatrul Lyric și istoria casei spătarului Ghica", in Ziarul Financiar, October 17, 2014Mihai Sorin Rădulescu, "Genealogii. Umbre românești la Ravenna", in România Literară, Nr. 48/2008Rizo-Rangabé, p. 49 Various period witnesses argue that Costache was unfit for his administrative and military roles, to the point of discrediting his brother's government.Iosipescu & Ionescu, p. 41 French diplomat Félix Colson describes him as "excessively urbane, with the mannerisms of our own dandies; [...] lacking character, petrified in his prejudice, always satisfied with himself".Lăcusteanu & Crutzescu, p. 236 Lăcusteanu owed his military career to Costache, who extended him a paternal protection, virtually adopting him.Lăcusteanu & Crutzescu, pp. 51–53, 61–62 Nevertheless, in his memoirs he dismisses Ghica as a "non-entity", arguing that actual control over the Wallachian militia was being exercised by a corrupt Russian appointee, Alexandr Banov.Lăcusteanu & Crutzescu, pp. 60–61