Who was Ferdinand III of Lorraine
Ferdinand III was the second son of the Grand Duke of Tuscany, king of Hungary and Bohemia, Peter Leopold II of Habsburg-Lorraine. When in 1790 the latter became Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, Ferdinand took his place as Grand Duke of Tuscany.
Covered the title of Grand Duke up to 1799 when, despite the strong Italian resistance (especially the anti-French Viva Maria movement is remembered), Napoleon conquered Italy thus forcing Ferdinand III to fall back to Vienna.
When Napoleon was defeated in 1814, Ferdinando III immediately returned to Tuscany with his old title of Grand Duke. At this stage it shows good sense by implementing a completely mild restoration without purges of personnel operating in the French period, leaving in force some of the laws in civil and economic matters and seriously carrying ahead many public works such as, in fact, the reclamation of the Valdichiana .
The people of Arezzo have never shown affectionate towards the Tuscan sovereigns, but thanks to its commitment to give back to the population the precious fertile lands of the Valdichiana, Ferdinando II is certainly an exception.