Princess Silvia, Duchess of Aosta

Princess Silvia, Duchess of Aosta (née Silvia Paternò di Spedalotto; born 31 December 1953) is the daughter of Vincenzo Paternò di Spedalotto, 6th Marchese di Regiovanni, and his wife Rosanna Bellardo e Ferraris. Prior to marriage she was styled Silvia Ottavia Costanza Maria Paternò di Spedalotto dei marchesi di Regiovanni.

Silvia is the second wife of Amedeo, 5th Duke of Aosta, a claimant to the Italian throne, and head of a cadet branch of the House of Savoy. She married the duke at the Villa Spedalotto in 1987, a couple of months after the Roman Catholic Church annulled his first marriage, which had been dissolved civilly since 1982. Silvia and her husband live in the village of San Rocco near the town of Castiglion Fibocchi in Tuscany (about fifteen kilometres northwest of Arezzo). The couple have no children together, although her husband has children by his first wife and by extramarital relationships, including an acknowledged daughter born (2006) during their marriage.

Since the declaration by her husband in 2006 that he claims the title Duke of Savoy (the title borne by the head of the dynasty until 1713), Silvia Paternò di Spedalotto uses the title "Duchess of Savoy" and "Duchess of Aosta", while retaining the style of Royal Highness.

External links

• photograph of Silvia Paternò di Spedalotto