The Diary of Queen Maria Carolina of Naples (1781-1785): New Evidence of Queenship at Court

This study focuses on the presentation and examination of the Journal of Queen Maria Carolina which recounts private events that occurred between the years 1781 and 1785. It is housed at the State Archives of Naples, Bourbon Archives, folder Folder 96. With the purpose of highlighting little-known aspects of the Queen’s personality, we conducted a thorough survey of her diary and took into account the following components: content, historical and topographical indications (place and writing) and peculiarities of rhetorical and formal order and the hierarchical arrangement of topics). We focused on the analysis and enhancement of the Queen’s public, political, social and cultural roles, while at the same time discussing the many aspects of her intimate life. In the pursuit of this goal, we focused on the Queen's moments in which her social–political commitments are connected to those of her familial setting.