Leopold II
(1747-1792)

Grand Duke of Tuscany (1765-1790) and Holy Roman Emperor (1790-1792)

Died aged c. 45

Leopold II (Peter Leopold Josef Anton Joachim Pius Gotthard; 5 May 1747 – 1 March 1792) was Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary and Bohemia, and Archduke of Austria from 1790 to 1792, and Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1765 to 1790. He was a son of Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, Emperor Francis I, and the brother of Marie Antoinette, Queen of France, Maria Carolina, Queen of Naples, Maria Amalia, Duchess of Parma, and Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor. Leopold was a moderate proponent of enlightened absolutism. He granted the Academy of Georgofili his protection. Unusually for his time, he opposed capital punishment and abolished it in Tuscany in 1786 during his rule there, making it the first nation in modern history to do so. Despite his brief reign, he is highly regarded. The historian Paul W. Schroeder called him "one of the most shrewd and sensible monarchs ever to wear a crown".

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Commemorated on 2 plaques

Petrus Leopoldus Franc AVG F Austriacus MDE AD Urbis Suae decus et ad incrementa artium optimarum Museum Mediceum Operibus ampliatis copiisque avctis Ordinandum et splendidiore cultu exornand curavit Anno MDCCLXXXIX

English translation: Peter Francis Leopold of Austria AVG F MDE to honor its own capital and to increase the fine arts Museum Mediceum works enrich forces avctae arrangements and glittering ornaments adorn cured year 1789 [Google Translate]

Uffizi Gallery, Florence, Italy where they was

Petro Leopoldo Archiduci Austria Francisci I Lotharincii Caes Aug Filio Magno Etruria Duci Paterni in Senense Lycaeum Animi Non minus quam Regiae potestatis haeredi Imperium Feliciter Ineunti Antonius Eques Barcaglius Rector Pos an MDCCLXVI Ferdinandus III Etruriae Suae votis Tandem redditus Dum apud s Vigilii aedes novum lycaeum instituit Hoc vetus ad bonas artes Excolendas fovendas augendas Senensibus Largitur Anno MDCCCXVI

English translation: Petrus Leopold, Archduke of Austria, Francis 1 Lotharincii AES Aug son of a great Tuscany led ancestral Senense Lyceum is not less than the seat of power to an empire successfully entering Anthony Knight Barcaglius Guide Pos or 1766 Ferrante 3 Tuscany his hopes at last While at S Vigilii house the new Lycaeum institute this in developing his skills to good old foster increased Siena bestoweth 1816 [Google Translate]

Via della Sapienza, Siena, Italy where they was