Antoine Amedee Marie Vincent Amat Manca de Vallombrosa, The
Marquis de Mores was born in Paris, France on June 14, 1858. The
son of a French nobleman, he was of French, Spanish and Italian
heritage. The Manca family received the original title and lands
on the island of Sardinia as reward for military service to the
king of Spain. The Marquis’ grandfather was exiled to France for
failing to stop a palace revolt against King Felix Albert of
Sardinia in the 1820's. He married a French noblewoman who was
related to the French king, Henry IV. Even though his
landholdings were restored in 1832, he spent most of his time in
Paris. Their son, Richard Manca took the title Duc de
Vallombrosa. At the age of twenty-two, he led an expedition
across India from Bombay to Cashmere and earned the Cross of the
Commander of the Order of St. Maurice and St. Lazare. He married
the daughter of the Duc de Cars, a lieutenant general in the
French army and one of the top commanders in the conquest of
Algiers. Their son, Antoine was