Dona Maria Pia was by birth an Italian princess of the House of Savoy and by marriage Queen of Portugal as the spouse of King Luís I of Portugal. On the day of her baptism, Pope Pius IX, her godfather, gave her a Golden Rose. Maria Pia was married to Luís on 6 October 1862 in Lisbon. She was the grand mistress of the Order of Saint Isabel. She was the third queen of the House of Savoy on the Portuguese throne, after Mafalda and Marie-Françoise of Savoy-Nemours.

Dom Luís I, known as the Popular was King of Portugal from 1861 to 1889. The second son of Queen Maria II and her consort, King Ferdinand, he acceded to the throne upon the death of his elder brother King Pedro V. He was a member of the ruling House of Braganza.