The House of Savoia (Casa Savoia)

The House of Savoia was the royal family of Italy from March 17, 1861, when Vittorio Emanuele II, king of Sardinia, was proclaimed "by the grace of God king of Italy", to June 13 1946, when Umberto II, fourth king of Italy, left Italy (without formally abdicating) following a referendum in favor of a Republic. The kings of Italy were Vittorio Emanuele II (died Jan 9, 1878), his son Umberto I (assassinated Juy 29, 1900), Vittorio Emanuele III (abdicated May 9, 1946, died December 28, 1947) and Umberto II (died March 18, 1983).

The counts of Savoia trace their lineage to Umberto Biancamano (Humbert aux Mains Blanches) in the 10th c., considered by some to be descended from the house of Saxony. The arms of Savoia Modern (Gules a cross argent) first appear in 1263 with Pietro II. He was the maternal uncle of Eleanor of Provence, wife of Henry III of England, and spent some time in England as earl of Richmond. He assumed the cross in 1241 and brought it back to Savoia with him when he succeeded his nephew Bonifacio.

In 1416 Amedeo VIII was made duke of Savoia by the Emperor Sigismond I. His son Ludovico I married Anne de Lusignan in 1433 and through her the later dukes of Savoia claimed the kingdoms of Cyprus, Jerusalem and Armenia. In 1713 Vittorio Amedeo II was made king of Sicily by the treaty of Utrecht, but he later exchanged Sicily for Sardinia and the royal title was confirmed by the treaty of Cambrai in 1720. In 1815 the treaty of Vienna granted Genoa to the house of Savoia.

The unification of Italy was made to the benefit of the House of Savoia, which ruled over Sardinia, Piedmont and Genoa, in 1859-61. In 1860, it ceded Savoia and Nice to France. In 1866, Venetia was taken from Austria, and in 1870 the Papal States were annexed.

The House of Savoia straddles Italian and French history; its roots are in French-speaking Savoie and it moved its capital to Torino in the late 16th century. Some branches such as Savoie-Nemours and Savoie-Soissons were at the court of France. Since this page is devoted to Italian heraldry, the names are systematically given in their Italian form.

Arms of the Casa Savoia

The arms of the House of Savoia changed often over time. Here are a few of the configurations that were in use. (The blasons of the individual quarters are listed below).

Here are the blazons of the quarters used in the above arms:

Supporters: two lions or.
Crest: a lion's head guardant between two wings or. (Supporters and crest adopted by Emanuele Filiberto (1559-80).
Order of the Santissima Annunziata, founded in 1362 by Amedeo VI of Savoia.
The arms, supporters and crest within a royal pavilion surmounted by a royal crown and the standard of Savoia (adopted by Carlo Emanuele I, 1580-1630).

After unification the arms of Savoie were considerably simplified, reduced to Gules a cross argent. The supporters, crown, crest and collar were kept (1870). The heir apparent was prince of Piedmont and bore a label azure. Currently the son of the last king Umberto II (1904-83) is Vittorio Emanuele, duke of Savoia, prince of Naples (born 1937), and his son Emanuele Filiberto (born 1972) is prince of Piedmont and Venice.

Junior branches