Bronte (1787–1873) (who lived with her husband Samuel Hood, 2nd Baron Bridport at Cricket St Thomas in Somerset) who visited once very briefly in 1830s or 1840s but was appalled by the primitive state of the countryside and the entire absence of roads, which necessitated her travelling from Bronte to Maniace by mule litter. During the politically unsettled time of the Risorgimento and following the 1860 uprising in Bronte (Fatti di Bronte) by the Communista faction, which resulted in the slaughter of 16 supporters of the ducal party, including the duchy's notary and his son, the Duchess in 1861, in an effort to calm the situation, ceded about half of the 15,000 hectare estate to the Commune of Bronte. Alexander Nelson Hood, 4th Duke of Bronte, 1st Viscount Bridport (1814–1904) The 3rd Duchess's son Alexander Nelson Hood, 4th Duke of Bronte, 1st Viscount Bridport (1814–1904) visited twice, during his mother's lifetime, in 1864 and 1868, accompanied by his wife and some of his children. Sir Alexander Nelson Hood, 5th Duke of Bronte (1854–1937) The 4th Duke bequeathed the duchy to his 4th son Sir Alexander Nelson Hood, 5th Duke of Bronte (1854–1937) ("Alec"), who aged 14 had been on the 1868 visit. He was sent by his father to Maniace in 1873 aged 19 to manage the estate, being known there during his father's lifetime as the Duchino ("little duke"). On his father's death he was bequeathed the dukedom, becoming the 5th Duke. "Discreetly homosexual" and a "great admirer of Mussolini and the Fascist regime", he was well-respected and liked by the inhabitants, and spent six months of each year resident in Maniace until his old age. He was thus the first of his family to make the Castello di Maniace his home. He built himself a palatial villa named La Falconara at Taormina on the coast, 40 km to the east on the other side of Etna, already well-populated with fellow British expatriates and visitors, and with his close friend and frequent guest the writer Robert Hichens he helped to establish Taormina as a "holiday resort for wealthy homosexuals from Northern Europe". His English career was as a courtier to King George V, whom he entertained at La Falconara in April 1925. He died unmarried, and was ultimately buried at Maniace in the ducal cemetery, created by him. Rowland Nelson Hood, 6th Duke of Bronte, 3rd Viscount Bridport (1911–1969)