n.
Italian Francesco
born Jan. 16, 1836, Kingdom of Naples
died Dec. 27, 1894, Arco, Italy
King of the Two Sicilies (185960), the last of the Bourbon kings of Naples.
He succeeded his father, Ferdinand II , in 1859 and on his accession rejected proposals made by Count Cavour that he join Piedmont-Sardinia in the war against Austria and grant liberal reforms on its conclusion. Alarmed by the invasion of Sicily by Giuseppe de Garibaldi in 1860, Francis capitulated to the liberals in his kingdom and restored the constitution of 1848, granted freedom of the press, and promised new elections. It was too late to save the monarchy, however; the Bourbon forces were defeated by Garibaldi, and less than a month later Francis was deposed by a plebiscite. He then lived in exile in Rome and Paris.