1.
Rome
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Rome is a special comune and the capital of Italy. Rome also serves as the capital of the Lazio region, with 2,873,598 residents in 1,285 km2, it is also the countrys largest and most populated comune and fourth-most populous city in the European Union by population within city limits. It is the center of the Metropolitan City of Rome, which has a population of 4.3 million residents, the city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, within Lazio, along the shores of the Tiber. Romes history spans more than 2,500 years, while Roman mythology dates the founding of Rome at only around 753 BC, the site has been inhabited for much longer, making it one of the oldest continuously occupied sites in Europe. The citys early population originated from a mix of Latins, Etruscans and it was first called The Eternal City by the Roman poet Tibullus in the 1st century BC, and the expression was also taken up by Ovid, Virgil, and Livy. Rome is also called the Caput Mundi, due to that, Rome became first one of the major centres of the Italian Renaissance, and then the birthplace of both the Baroque style and Neoclassicism. Famous artists, painters, sculptors and architects made Rome the centre of their activity, in 1871 Rome became the capital of the Kingdom of Italy, and in 1946 that of the Italian Republic. Rome has the status of a global city, Rome ranked in 2014 as the 14th-most-visited city in the world, 3rd most visited in the European Union, and the most popular tourist attraction in Italy. Its historic centre is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, monuments and museums such as the Vatican Museums and the Colosseum are among the worlds most visited tourist destinations with both locations receiving millions of tourists a year. Rome hosted the 1960 Summer Olympics and is the seat of United Nations Food, however, it is a possibility that the name Romulus was actually derived from Rome itself. As early as the 4th century, there have been alternate theories proposed on the origin of the name Roma. There is archaeological evidence of occupation of the Rome area from approximately 14,000 years ago. Evidence of stone tools, pottery and stone weapons attest to about 10,000 years of human presence, several excavations support the view that Rome grew from pastoral settlements on the Palatine Hill built above the area of the future Roman Forum. Between the end of the age and the beginning of the Iron age. However, none of them had yet an urban quality, nowadays, there is a wide consensus that the city was gradually born through the aggregation of several villages around the largest one, placed above the Palatine. All these happenings, which according to the excavations took place more or less around the mid of the 8th century BC. Despite recent excavations at the Palatine hill, the view that Rome has been indeed founded with an act of will as the legend suggests in the middle of the 8th century BC remains a fringe hypothesis. Traditional stories handed down by the ancient Romans themselves explain the earliest history of their city in terms of legend and myth
2.
Italy
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Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a unitary parliamentary republic in Europe. Located in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea, Italy shares open land borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, San Marino, Italy covers an area of 301,338 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal and Mediterranean climate. Due to its shape, it is referred to in Italy as lo Stivale. With 61 million inhabitants, it is the fourth most populous EU member state, the Italic tribe known as the Latins formed the Roman Kingdom, which eventually became a republic that conquered and assimilated other nearby civilisations. The legacy of the Roman Empire is widespread and can be observed in the distribution of civilian law, republican governments, Christianity. The Renaissance began in Italy and spread to the rest of Europe, bringing a renewed interest in humanism, science, exploration, Italian culture flourished at this time, producing famous scholars, artists and polymaths such as Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo, Michelangelo and Machiavelli. The weakened sovereigns soon fell victim to conquest by European powers such as France, Spain and Austria. Despite being one of the victors in World War I, Italy entered a period of economic crisis and social turmoil. The subsequent participation in World War II on the Axis side ended in defeat, economic destruction. Today, Italy has the third largest economy in the Eurozone and it has a very high level of human development and is ranked sixth in the world for life expectancy. The country plays a prominent role in regional and global economic, military, cultural and diplomatic affairs, as a reflection of its cultural wealth, Italy is home to 51 World Heritage Sites, the most in the world, and is the fifth most visited country. The assumptions on the etymology of the name Italia are very numerous, according to one of the more common explanations, the term Italia, from Latin, Italia, was borrowed through Greek from the Oscan Víteliú, meaning land of young cattle. The bull was a symbol of the southern Italic tribes and was often depicted goring the Roman wolf as a defiant symbol of free Italy during the Social War. Greek historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus states this account together with the legend that Italy was named after Italus, mentioned also by Aristotle and Thucydides. The name Italia originally applied only to a part of what is now Southern Italy – according to Antiochus of Syracuse, but by his time Oenotria and Italy had become synonymous, and the name also applied to most of Lucania as well. The Greeks gradually came to apply the name Italia to a larger region, excavations throughout Italy revealed a Neanderthal presence dating back to the Palaeolithic period, some 200,000 years ago, modern Humans arrived about 40,000 years ago. Other ancient Italian peoples of undetermined language families but of possible origins include the Rhaetian people and Cammuni. Also the Phoenicians established colonies on the coasts of Sardinia and Sicily, the Roman legacy has deeply influenced the Western civilisation, shaping most of the modern world
3.
Turin
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Turin is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region and was the first capital city of Italy. The city is located mainly on the bank of the Po River, in front of Susa Valley and surrounded by the western Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 892,649 while the population of the area is estimated by Eurostat to be 1.7 million inhabitants. The Turin metropolitan area is estimated by the OECD to have a population of 2.2 million, in 1997 a part of the historical center of Torino was inscribed in the World Heritage List under the name Residences of the Royal House of Savoy. Turin is well known for its Renaissance, Baroque, Rococo, Neo-classical, many of Turins public squares, castles, gardens and elegant palazzi such as Palazzo Madama, were built between the 16th and 18th centuries. This was after the capital of the Duchy of Savoy was moved to Turin from Chambery as part of the urban expansion, the city used to be a major European political center. Turin was Italys first capital city in 1861 and home to the House of Savoy, from 1563, it was the capital of the Duchy of Savoy, then of the Kingdom of Sardinia ruled by the Royal House of Savoy and finally the first capital of the unified Italy. Turin is sometimes called the cradle of Italian liberty for having been the birthplace and home of notable politicians and people who contributed to the Risorgimento, such as Cavour. The city currently hosts some of Italys best universities, colleges, academies, lycea and gymnasia, such as the University of Turin, founded in the 15th century, in addition, the city is home to museums such as the Museo Egizio and the Mole Antonelliana. Turins attractions make it one of the worlds top 250 tourist destinations, Turin is ranked third in Italy, after Milan and Rome, for economic strength. With a GDP of $58 billion, Turin is the worlds 78th richest city by purchasing power, as of 2010, the city has been ranked by GaWC as a Gamma World city. Turin is also home to much of the Italian automotive industry, the Taurini were an ancient Celto-Ligurian Alpine people, who occupied the upper valley of the Po River, in the center of modern Piedmont. In 218 BC, they were attacked by Hannibal as he was allied with their long-standing enemies, the Taurini chief town was captured by Hannibals forces after a three-day siege. As a people they are mentioned in history. It is believed that a Roman colony was established in 27 BC under the name of Castra Taurinorum, both Livy and Strabo mention the Taurinis country as including one of the passes of the Alps, which points to a wider use of the name in earlier times. In the 1st century BC, the Romans created a military camp, the typical Roman street grid can still be seen in the modern city, especially in the neighborhood known as the Quadrilatero Romano. Via Garibaldi traces the path of the Roman citys decumanus which began at the Porta Decumani. The Porta Palatina, on the side of the current city centre, is still preserved in a park near the Cathedral
4.
Dynasty
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A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a feudal or monarchical system but sometimes also appearing in elective republics. The dynastic family or lineage may be known as a house, historians periodize the histories of many sovereign states, such as Ancient Egypt, the Carolingian Empire and Imperial China, using a framework of successive dynasties. As such, the dynasty may be used to delimit the era during which the family reigned and to describe events, trends. The word dynasty itself is often dropped from such adjectival references, until the 19th century, it was taken for granted that a legitimate function of a monarch was to aggrandize his dynasty, that is, to increase the territory, wealth, and power of his family members. The longest-surviving dynasty in the world is the Imperial House of Japan, dynasties throughout the world have traditionally been reckoned patrilineally, such as under the Frankish Salic law. Succession through a daughter when permitted was considered to establish a new dynasty in her husbands ruling house, however, some states in Africa, determined descent matrilineally, while rulers have at other times adopted the name of their mothers dynasty when coming into her inheritance. It is also extended to unrelated people such as poets of the same school or various rosters of a single sports team. The word dynasty derives via Latin dynastia from Greek dynastéia, where it referred to power, dominion and it was the abstract noun of dynástēs, the agent noun of dynamis, power or ability, from dýnamai, to be able. A ruler in a dynasty is referred to as a dynast. For example, following his abdication, Edward VIII of the United Kingdom ceased to be a member of the House of Windsor. A dynastic marriage is one that complies with monarchical house law restrictions, the marriage of Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange, to Máxima Zorreguieta in 2002 was dynastic, for example, and their eldest child is expected to inherit the Dutch crown eventually. But the marriage of his younger brother Prince Friso to Mabel Wisse Smit in 2003 lacked government support, thus Friso forfeited his place in the order of succession, lost his title as a Prince of the Netherlands, and left his children without dynastic rights. In historical and monarchist references to formerly reigning families, a dynast is a member who would have had succession rights, were the monarchys rules still in force. Even since abolition of the Austrian monarchy, Max and his descendants have not been considered the rightful pretenders by Austrian monarchists, nor have they claimed that position. The term dynast is sometimes used only to refer to descendants of a realms monarchs. The term can therefore describe overlapping but distinct sets of people, yet he is not a male-line member of the royal family, and is therefore not a dynast of the House of Windsor. Thus, in 1999 he requested and obtained permission from Elizabeth II to marry the Roman Catholic Princess Caroline of Monaco. Yet a clause of the English Act of Settlement 1701 remained in effect at that time and that exclusion, too, ceased to apply on 26 March 2015, with retroactive effect for those who had been dynasts prior to triggering it by marriage to a Catholic
5.
House of Savoy
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The House of Savoy is one of the oldest royal families in the world, being founded in 1003 in the historical Savoy region. Through gradual expansion, it grew from ruling a small county in that region to the attainment of the rank of king in 1713, the Savoyard kings of Italy were Victor Emmanuel II, Umberto I, Victor Emmanuel III, and Umberto II. The last monarch ruled for a few weeks before being deposed following the Constitutional Referendum of 1946, the name derives from the historical region of Savoy in the Alpine region between what is now France and Italy. Over time, the House of Savoy expanded its territory and influence through judicious marriages, from rule of a small region on the French/Italian border, the dynastys realm included nearly all of the Italian Peninsula by the time of its deposition. The house descended from Humbert I, Count of Sabaudia, Humberts family are thought to have originated from near Magdeburg in Saxony, with the earliest recording of the family being two 10th century brothers, Amadeus and Humbert. Though Sabaudia was originally a county, later counts were diplomatically skilled. Two of Humberts sons were bishops at the Abbey of Saint Maurice on the River Rhone east of Lake Geneva and this diplomatic skill caused the great powers such as France, England, and Spain to take the counts opinions into account. Piedmont was later joined with Sabaudia, and the name evolved into Savoy, the people of Savoy were descended from the Celts and Romans. In 1494, Charles VIII of France passed through Savoy on his way to Italy and Naples, during the outbreak of the Italian war of 1521-1526, Emperor Charles V stationed imperial troops in Savoy. In 1536, Francis I of France invaded Savoy and Piedmont taking Turin by April of that year, Charles III, Duke of Savoy, fled to Vercelli. He served Philip II as Governor of the Netherlands from 1555 to 1559, in this capacity he led the Spanish invasion of northern France and won a victory at St. Quentin in 1557. He took advantage of various squabbles in Europe to slowly regain territory from both the French and the Spanish, including the city of Turin and he moved the capital of the duchy from Chambéry to Turin. The 17th century brought economic development to the Turin area. Charles Emmanuel II developed the port of Nice and built a road through the Alps towards France, and through skillful political manoeuvres territorial expansion continued. Savoy rule over Sicily lasted only seven years, the crown of Sicily, the prestige of being kings at last, and the wealth of Palermo helped strengthen the House of Savoy further. In 1720 they were forced to exchange Sicily for Sardinia as a result of the War of the Quadruple Alliance, on the mainland, the dynasty continued its expansionist policies as well. In 1798, Joubert occupied Turin and forced Charles Emmanuel IV to abdicate, eventually, in 1814 the kingdom was restored and enlarged with the addition of the former Republic of Genoa by the Congress of Vienna. In the meantime, nationalist figures such as Giuseppe Mazzini were influencing popular opinion, the Kingdom of Italy was the first Italian state to include the Italian Peninsula since the fall of the Roman Empire
6.
Victor Emmanuel III of Italy
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Victor Emmanuel III was the King of Italy from 29 July 1900 until his abdication on 9 May 1946. In addition, he claimed the thrones of Ethiopia and Albania as Emperor of Ethiopia and King of the Albanians, during his long reign, which began after the assassination of his father Umberto I, the Kingdom of Italy became involved in two World Wars. His reign also encompassed the birth, rise, and fall of Italian Fascism, Victor Emmanuel abdicated his throne in 1946 in favour of his son Umberto II, hoping to strengthen support for the monarchy against an ultimately successful referendum to abolish it. He then went in exile to Alexandria, Egypt, where he died and was buried the following year. He was called by the Italians Il Re soldato for having led his country during both the wars, and, after Italys victory in the First World War Il Re vittorioso. He was also nicknamed Sciaboletta due to his height of 1.53 m, Victor Emmanuel was born in Naples, Italy. He was the child of Umberto I, King of Italy. Margherita was the daughter of the Duke of Genoa, from birth until his accession, Victor Emmanuel was known by the title of the Prince of Naples. On 24 October 1896, Prince Victor Emmanuel married Princess Elena of Montenegro, on 29 July 1900, at the age of 30, Victor Emmanuel acceded to the throne upon his fathers assassination. The only advice that his father Umberto ever gave his heir was Remember, to be a king, all you need to know is how to sign your name, read a newspaper, and mount a horse. His early years showed evidence that, by the standards of the Savoy monarchy, indeed, even though his father was killed by an anarchist, the new King showed a commitment to constitutional freedoms. Though parliamentary rule had been established in Italy, the Statuto Albertino, or constitution. For instance, he had the right to appoint the Prime Minister even if the individual in question did not command majority support in the Chamber of Deputies, when World War I began, Italy at first remained neutral, despite being part of the Triple Alliance. However, in 1915, Italy signed several secret treaties committing her to enter the war on the side of the Triple Entente, most of the politicians opposed war, however, and the Italian Chamber of Deputies forced Prime Minister Antonio Salandra to resign. At this juncture, Victor Emmanuel declined Salandras resignation and personally made the decision for Italy to enter the war and he was well within his rights to do so under the Statuto. Popular demonstrations in favor of the war were staged in Rome, with 200,000 gathering on 16 May 1915 and it was at this time, the period of World War I, that the King enjoyed the genuine affection of the majority of his people. Still, during the war he received about 400 threatening letters from people of social background. The economic depression which followed World War I gave rise to much extremism among Italys sorely tried working classes and this caused the country as a whole to become politically unstable
7.
Elena of Montenegro
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Princess Elena Petrović-Njegoš of Montenegro nicknamed Jela was the daughter of King Nicholas I of Montenegro and his wife, Milena Vukotić. As wife of Victor Emmanuel III of Italy, she was Queen of Italy from 1900 until 1946 and she was born in Cetinje as daughter of Montenegrin Prince and future King Nicholas I and his wife Milena. At the age of 10 she went to the Institute for young ladies in Sankt Petersburg and she was very talented at painting and architecture. She designed the monument for Prince-Bishop Danilo I and her mother was so distressed with the fact that Elena had changed her religion that she refused to come to the wedding ceremony in Rome. She influenced her husband to lobby Benito Mussolini, Prime Minister of Italy, in 1943 she subsequently obtained the release from a German prison of her nephew, Prince Michael of Montenegro, and his wife, Geneviève. Prince Michael had been imprisoned after refusing to become King of Montenegro under the protection of Italy, on 29 July 1900, following his fathers assassination, Victor Emmanuel ascended the Italian throne. Officially, Elena assumed her husbands titles, she became Queen of Italy. On 28 December 1908 Messina was hit by a disastrous earthquake, Queen Elena helped with the rescuers, as some photographs show. This helped to increase her popularity within the country, during the First World War Elena worked as a nurse and, with the help of the Queen Mother, she turned Quirinal Palace and Villa Margherita into hospitals. To raise funds, she invented the signed photograph, which was sold at the charity desks, at the end of the war, she proposed to sell the crown treasures in order to pay the war debts. Elena was the first Inspector of the Voluntary Nurses for the Italian Red Cross from 1911 until 1921 and she studied medicine and was able to obtain a laurea honoris causa. She financed charitable institutions for people with encephalitis, tubercolosis, former soldiers and she was deeply involved in her fight against disease, and she promoted many efforts for the training of doctors, and for research against poliomyelitis, Parkinsons disease and cancer. On 15 April 1937 Pope Pius XII gave her the Golden Rose of Christianity, Pope Pius XII, in a condolence telegram sent to her son Umberto II for the queens death, defined her a Lady of charitable work. On 25 July 1943 Victor Emmanuel III had Benito Mussolini arrested, the king left Rome on 9 September to flee to Brindisi with the help of the Allies and Elena followed her husband in his escape. In contrast, on 23 September their daughter Mafalda was arrested by the Nazis and sent to Buchenwald concentration camp, following the war, on 9 May 1946 Victor Emmanuel III abdicated in favour of his son Umberto. The former king assumed the title of Count of Pollenzo, and went into exile to Egypt with Elena
8.
Umberto II of Italy
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Umberto II or Humbert II, was the last King of Italy, reigning for slightly over a month, from 9 May 1946 to 12 June 1946. However, he was de facto head of state from 1944 to 1946 and he was nicknamed the May King. Umberto was the son of the five children of King Victor Emmanuel III. In an effort to repair the image after the fall of Benito Mussolinis regime. As a referendum was in preparation on the abolition of the monarchy in 1946, however, the referendum passed, Italy was declared a republic, and Umberto lived out the rest of his life in exile in Cascais, Portugal. Umberto was born at the Castle of Racconigi in Piedmont and he was the third child, and the only son, of King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy and Queen Elena of Montenegro. As such, he became heir apparent upon his birth as the Italian throne was limited to male-line descendants only and he was the first cousin of King Alexander I of Yugoslavia. He was accorded with the title of Prince of Piedmont, which was formalised by Royal Decree on 29 September, Umberto was married in Rome on 8 January 1930 to Marie José of Belgium, daughter of King Albert I of Belgium. They had four children, Maria Pia Vittorio Emanuele Maria Gabriella Maria Beatrice As Prince of Piedmont, Umberto visited South America, with his preceptor, Bonaldi, he went to Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina and Chile. This trip was part of the plan of Fascism to link the Italian people living outside of Italy with their mother country. The Prince of Piedmont was educated for a career and in time became the commander in chief of the Northern Armies. However, his role was merely formal, the de facto belonging to Benito Mussolini. By mutual agreement, Umberto and Mussolini always kept a distance, an attempted assassination of the prince took place in Brussels on 24 October 1929, the day of the announcement of his betrothal to Princess Marie José. The Prince was about to lay a wreath on the Tomb of the Belgian Unknown Soldier at the foot of the Colonne du Congrès, with a cry of Down with Mussolini. The culprit, Fernando de Rosa, fired a shot that missed the Prince of Piedmont. De Rosa was arrested and under interrogation claimed to be a member of the Second International and his trial became a major political event, and although he was found guilty of attempted murder, he was given a light sentence of five years in prison. This sentence caused an uproar in Italy and a brief rift in Belgian-Italian relations. Following the Savoyards tradition, he kept apart from politics until he was finally named Lieutenant General of the Realm
9.
Pinerolo
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Pinerolo is a town and comune in Piedmont, northwestern Italy,50 kilometres southwest of Turin on the river Chisone. The Lemina torrent has its source at the boundary between Pinerolo and San Pietro Val di Lemina, the town of Pinerolo was one of the main crossroads in Italy, and was therefore one of the principal fortresses of the dukes of Savoy. Its military importance was the origin of the military school that still exists today. The fortress of Fenestrelle is nearby, later Pinerolo was ruled by the abbot nullius of Pinerolo who ran the abbey of Abbadia Alpina, even after the city had established itself as a municipality under the government of Thomas II of Savoy. From 1235, Amadeus IV of Savoy exercised over the town a kind of protectorate which became absolute in 1243, when French troops invaded Piedmont, Pinerolo was conquered and it remained under their control until 1574. With the treaty of Cherasco it again fell to France, the 2011 Tour de France featured a stage in the area. It is around Pinerolo that revolves the economy of the waldensian valleys, several industries have their base in this area, particularly mechanical, paper making, chemical and textile industries, and also absorb manpower from the nearby centres. Moreover, Pinerolo is the center of the surrounding mountain area. The agriculture and the breeding of the livestock are conducted with advanced techniques, the Man in the Iron Mask was imprisoned in Pinerolo starting from 1669. The venue Pinerolo Palaghiaccio hosted curling events at the 2006 Winter Olympics, the Uruguayan football team Peñarol takes its name from the Montevideo neighbourhood of Peñarol, which in turn takes its name from this town. Gap, France, since 1963 Traunstein, Germany, since 1986 San Francisco, Argentina, since 1996 Derventa, Bosnia and Herzegovina, since 2005 Diocese of Pinerolo
10.
Alexandria
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Alexandria is the second largest city and a major economic centre in Egypt, extending about 32 km along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country. Its low elevation on the Nile delta makes it vulnerable to rising sea levels. Alexandria is Egypts largest seaport, serving approximately 80% of Egypts imports and exports and it is an important industrial center because of its natural gas and oil pipelines from Suez. Alexandria is also an important tourist destination, Alexandria was founded around a small Ancient Egyptian town c.331 BC by Alexander the Great. Alexandria was the second most powerful city of the ancient world after Rome, Alexandria is believed to have been founded by Alexander the Great in April 331 BC as Ἀλεξάνδρεια. Alexanders chief architect for the project was Dinocrates, Alexandria was intended to supersede Naucratis as a Hellenistic center in Egypt, and to be the link between Greece and the rich Nile valley. The city and its museum attracted many of the greatest scholars, including Greeks, Jews, the city was later plundered and lost its significance. Just east of Alexandria, there was in ancient times marshland, as early as the 7th century BC, there existed important port cities of Canopus and Heracleion. The latter was rediscovered under water. An Egyptian city, Rhakotis, already existed on the shore also and it continued to exist as the Egyptian quarter of the city. A few months after the foundation, Alexander left Egypt and never returned to his city, after Alexanders departure, his viceroy, Cleomenes, continued the expansion. Although Cleomenes was mainly in charge of overseeing Alexandrias continuous development, the Heptastadion, inheriting the trade of ruined Tyre and becoming the center of the new commerce between Europe and the Arabian and Indian East, the city grew in less than a generation to be larger than Carthage. In a century, Alexandria had become the largest city in the world and and it became Egypts main Greek city, with Greek people from diverse backgrounds. Alexandria was not only a center of Hellenism, but was home to the largest urban Jewish community in the world. The Septuagint, a Greek version of the Tanakh, was produced there, in AD115, large parts of Alexandria were destroyed during the Kitos War, which gave Hadrian and his architect, Decriannus, an opportunity to rebuild it. On 21 July 365, Alexandria was devastated by a tsunami, the Islamic prophet, Muhammads first interaction with the people of Egypt occurred in 628, during the Expedition of Zaid ibn Haritha. He sent Hatib bin Abi Baltaeh with a letter to the king of Egypt and Alexandria called Muqawqis In the letter Muhammad said, I invite you to accept Islam, Allah the sublime, shall reward you doubly. But if you refuse to do so, you bear the burden of the transgression of all the Copts
11.
Quirinal Palace
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It is located on the Quirinal Hill, the highest of the seven hills of Rome. It has housed thirty Popes, four Kings of Italy and twelve presidents of the Italian Republic, the palace extends for an area of 110,500 square metres and is the ninth-largest palace in the world in terms of area. By way of comparison, the White House in the United States is one-twentieth of its size, the current site of the palace has been in use since Roman times, as excavations in the gardens testify. On this hill, the Romans built temples to several deities, from Flora to Quirinus, during the reign of Constantine the last complex of Roman baths was built here, as the statues of the twins Castor and Pollux taming the horses decorating the fountain in the square testify. The Quirinal, being the highest hill in Rome, was sought after and became a popular spot for the Roman patricians. An example of those are the remains of a villa in the Quirinal gardens, the palace, located on the Via del Quirinale and facing onto the Piazza del Quirinale, was built in 1583 by Pope Gregory XIII as a papal summer residence. On the site, there was already a small villa owned by the Carafa family, the pope commissioned the architect Ottaviano Mascherino to build a palace with porticoed parallel wings and an internal court. To the latter, a tower was added according to a project by Carlo Maderno. Pope Paul V commissioned the completion of the work on the building of the palace. The Palace was also used as the location for papal conclaves in 1823,1829,1831 and it served as a papal residence and housed the central offices responsible for the civil government of the Papal States until 1870. In September 1870, what was left of the Papal States was overthrown, about five months later, in 1871, Rome became the capital of the new Kingdom of Italy. The monarchy was abolished in 1946 and the Palace became the residence and workplace for the Presidents of the Italian Republic. Still, some declined the Colle residence and kept their usual Roman residence, for example, the façade was designed by Domenico Fontana. Its Great Chapel was designed by Carlo Maderno and it contains frescos by Guido Reni, but the most famous fresco is the Blessing Christ by Melozzo da Forlì, placed over the stairs. Its grounds include a set of gardens laid out in the 17th century. The palace, in its totality has 1,200 rooms, within the Quirinals gardens lies the famous water organ built between 1997 and 1999 by Barthélemy Formentelli based on the characteristics of the previous nineteenth century organ. The organ is fed by a waterfall with a jump of 18 meters and has a keyboard of 41 notes with a first short octave. Overall, the Quirinals gardens measure a 4 hectares, under the gardens, through a trap door one can reach the archaeological excavations that have unearthed the remains of the original temple to the god Quirinus and some insulae of the imperial age
12.
Athens
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Athens is the capital and largest city of Greece. In modern times, Athens is a cosmopolitan metropolis and central to economic, financial, industrial, maritime. In 2015, Athens was ranked the worlds 29th richest city by purchasing power, Athens is recognised as a global city because of its location and its importance in shipping, finance, commerce, media, entertainment, arts, international trade, culture, education and tourism. It is one of the biggest economic centres in southeastern Europe, with a financial sector. The municipality of Athens had a population of 664,046 within its limits. The urban area of Athens extends beyond its administrative city limits. According to Eurostat in 2011, the Functional urban areas of Athens was the 9th most populous FUA in the European Union, Athens is also the southernmost capital on the European mainland. The city also retains Roman and Byzantine monuments, as well as a number of Ottoman monuments. Athens is home to two UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the Acropolis of Athens and the medieval Daphni Monastery, Athens was the host city of the first modern-day Olympic Games in 1896, and 108 years later it welcomed home the 2004 Summer Olympics. In Ancient Greek, the name of the city was Ἀθῆναι a plural, in earlier Greek, such as Homeric Greek, the name had been current in the singular form though, as Ἀθήνη. It was possibly rendered in the later on, like those of Θῆβαι and Μυκῆναι. During the medieval period the name of the city was rendered once again in the singular as Ἀθήνα, an etiological myth explaining how Athens has acquired its name was well known among ancient Athenians and even became the theme of the sculpture on the West pediment of the Parthenon. The goddess of wisdom, Athena, and the god of the seas, Poseidon had many disagreements, in an attempt to compel the people, Poseidon created a salt water spring by striking the ground with his trident, symbolizing naval power. However, when Athena created the tree, symbolizing peace and prosperity. Different etymologies, now rejected, were proposed during the 19th century. Christian Lobeck proposed as the root of the name the word ἄθος or ἄνθος meaning flower, ludwig von Döderlein proposed the stem of the verb θάω, stem θη- to denote Athens as having fertile soil. In classical literature, the city was referred to as the City of the Violet Crown, first documented in Pindars ἰοστέφανοι Ἀθᾶναι. In medieval texts, variant names include Setines, Satine, and Astines, today the caption η πρωτεύουσα, the capital, has become somewhat common
13.
Verona
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Verona is a city on the Adige river in Veneto, Italy, with approximately 265,000 inhabitants and one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the second largest city municipality in the region and the third largest in northeast Italy, the metropolitan area of Verona covers an area of 1,426 km2 and has a population of 714,274 inhabitants. Three of Shakespeares plays are set in Verona, Romeo and Juliet, The Two Gentlemen of Verona and it is unknown if Shakespeare ever visited Verona or Italy at all, but his plays have lured many visitors to Verona and surrounding cities many times over. The city has been awarded World Heritage Site status by UNESCO because of its structure and architecture. According to a theory that considers the geographical position of the city, Verona is short for Versus Romae which means In the direction of Rome because as italian people say All roads lead to Rome. The exclamation Vae Romae if understood in Latin means Alas Rome, in fact, to express distress or denounce a disgrace ancient Romans used the Latin interjection vae. So, you explain the famous poem by William Shakespeare There is no world without Verona walls, But purgatory, torture. Hence-banished is banishd from the world, And worlds exile is death, the writer would express a Roman concept through its character named Romeo, a name that invokes Rome, according to which the city of Verona was a boundary between the Roman world and barbaric one. Verona was a place of passage and to horses, for those who wanted to go and had walked the Via Claudia Augusta. So the expression Vae Romae Alas Rome would indicate spirit of the place, another theory is that it is connected to the river. Vera was a name of the river Adige before the adoption of the current name, as in many similar instances in Europe the name of the town is formed with the addition of suffix -ona which means settlement over. The city was sometimes known as Welsch-Bern in German. The precise details of Veronas early history remain a mystery, one theory is it was a city of the Euganei, who were obliged to give it up to the Cenomani. With the conquest of the Valley of the Po the Veronese territory became Roman, Verona became a Roman colonia in 89 BC, and then a municipium in 49 BC when its citizens were ascribed to the Roman tribe Poblilia or Publicia. The city became important because it was at the intersection of several roads, stilicho defeated Alaric and his Visigoths here in 403. But, after Verona was conquered by the Ostrogoths in 489, theoderic the Great was said to have built a palace there. It remained under the power of the Goths throughout the Gothic War, except for a day in 541. The defections that took place among the Byzantine generals with regard to the booty made it possible for the Goths to regain possession of the city, in 552 Valerian vainly endeavored to enter the city, but it was only when they were fully overthrown that the Goths surrendered it
14.
Kingdom of Italy
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The state was founded as a result of the unification of Italy under the influence of the Kingdom of Sardinia, which can be considered its legal predecessor state. Italy declared war on Austria in alliance with Prussia in 1866, Italian troops entered Rome in 1870, ending more than one thousand years of Papal temporal power. Italy entered into a Triple Alliance with Germany and Austria-Hungary in 1882, victory in the war gave Italy a permanent seat in the Council of the League of Nations. Fascist Italy is the era of National Fascist Party rule from 1922 to 1943 with Benito Mussolini as head of government, according to Payne, Fascist regime passed through several relatively distinct phases. The first phase was nominally a continuation of the parliamentary system, then came the second phase, the construction of the Fascist dictatorship proper from 1925 to 1929. The third phase, with activism, was 1929–34. The war itself was the phase with its disasters and defeats. Italy was allied with Nazi Germany in World War II until 1943 and it switched sides to the Allies after ousting Mussolini and shutting down the Fascist party in areas controlled by the Allied invaders. Shortly after the war, civil discontent led to the referendum of 1946 on whether Italy would remain a monarchy or become a republic. Italians decided to abandon the monarchy and form the Italian Republic, the Kingdom of Italy claimed all of the territory which is modern-day Italy. The development of the Kingdoms territory progressed under Italian re-unification until 1870, the state for a long period of time did not include Trieste or Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, which are in Italy today, and only annexed them in 1919. After the Second World War, the borders of present-day Italy were founded, the Kingdom of Italy was theoretically a constitutional monarchy. Executive power belonged to the monarch, as executed through appointed ministers, two chambers of parliament restricted the monarchs power—an appointive Senate and an elective Chamber of Deputies. The kingdoms constitution was the Statuto Albertino, the governing document of the Kingdom of Sardinia. In theory, ministers were responsible to the king. However, in practice, it was impossible for an Italian government to stay in office without the support of Parliament, members of the Chamber of Deputies were elected by plurality voting system elections in uninominal districts. A candidate needed the support of 50% of those voting, and of 25% of all enrolled voters, if not all seats were filled on the first ballot, a runoff was held shortly afterwards for the remaining vacancies. After a brief multinominal experimentation in 1882, proportional representation into large, regional, Socialists became the major party, but they were unable to form a government in a parliament split into three different factions, with Christian Populists and classical liberals
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Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus
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Its headquarters are situated at the Lierna Castle in Lombardy, Italy. Its current Grand Master is Vittorio Emanuele, Prince of Naples, since 1983, albeit contested by his cousin and throne rival Prince Amedeo, the order was formerly awarded by the Kingdom of Italy with the heads of the House of Savoy as the Kings of Italy. Originally a chivalric order of nature, it was restricted to subjects of noble families with proofs of at least eight noble great-grandparents. The orders military and noble nature was and is combined with a Roman Catholic character. The order is estimated to include around 2,000 members around the world, the undisputed continuation of the Order of St. Lazarus is in the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus, which continues under the pretenders to the Italian Crown. Both crosses from its two forerunners are still existent in the insignia of their subsequent successor, todays Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus, founded by amalgation in 1572. From its inception, the order was concerned with the relief of leprosy and it became rich, its practices dubious, and its funds eventually abused. With the fall of Acre in 1291, the Knights of Saint Lazarus emigrated from the Holy Land and Egypt and settled in France and, in 1311, in the 16th century, the order declined in credibility and wealth. With papal support, the Duke of Savoy became Grand Master in 1572, before its transfer to the House of Savoy, the Order of Saint Lazarus maintained a number of leper hospitals, including an institution in the Italian city of Capua. The Order of Saint Maurice was established in 1434 by Amedeo VIII of Savoy, during his stay in the Ripaglia hermitage near Thonon, from its beginning, it was a military order. The order declined, but in 1572 was reestablished by Pope Pius V at the instigation of the then-Duke of Savoy, in 1572, Pope Gregory XIII united the Order of Saint Lazarus in perpetuity with the Crown of Savoy. The pope gave him authority over the vacant commanderies everywhere, except in the states of the King of Spain, in England and Germany, these commanderies were suppressed by the Protestant reformation. The new organisation was charged to defend the Holy See as well as continue to assist lepers, the war galleys of the order fought against the Ottoman Empire and the Barbary pirates. When leprosy again broke out, the order founded a hospital in Aosta in 1773, after Italy became a republic in 1946, the order was effectively replaced by the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic. Since 1951 it has not been recognised by the Italian state. The House of Savoy in exile continues to bestow the order on recipients eminent in the service, science, art, letters, trade. Eventually, it became a requirement for a person to have received the Order of Saints Maurice. The generally accepted Grand Master of the order is Vittorio Emanuele, Prince of Naples, however, some of Vittorio Emanules policies as Grand Master have generated controversy
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Sovereign Military Order of Malta
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It was founded as the Knights Hospitaller circa 1099 in Jerusalem, Kingdom of Jerusalem, by the Blessed Gerard, making it the worlds oldest surviving chivalric order. It operated from Cyprus, Rhodes, Malta, over which it was sovereign until the French occupation, the order venerates as its patroness Mary, mother of Jesus, under the title Our Lady of Mount Philermos. The Order retains sovereignty under international law, including United Nations permanent observer status, issuing its own passports, currency, the orders military corps, three brigades, are stationed throughout Italy, liaisoned with the Italian Armed Forces. Through its worldwide relief corps, Malteser International, the order aids victims of disasters, epidemics. In several countries, including France, Germany and Ireland, local associations of the order are important providers of emergency services. In the ecclesiastical heraldry of the Roman Catholic Church, the Order of Malta is one of two orders whose insignia may be displayed in a clerical coat of arms. The shield is surrounded with a rosary for professed knights. Members may also display the Maltese cross behind their shield instead of the ribbon, in order to protect its heritage against frauds, the order has legally registered 16 versions of its names and emblems in some 100 countries. The birth of the dates back to around 1048. The Order of St. John of Jerusalem–the monastic community that ran the hospital for the pilgrims in the Holy Land–became independent under the guidance of its founder, by virtue of the Papal Bull, the hospital became an order exempt from the control of the local church. All the Knights were religious, bound by the three vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. The order thus added the task of defending the faith to that of its hospitaller mission, as time went on, the order adopted the white eight-pointed Cross that is still its symbol today. The eight points represent the eight beatitudes that Jesus pronounced in his Sermon on the Mount, when the last Christian stronghold in the Holy Land fell after the Siege of Acre in 1291, the order settled first in Cyprus. In 1310, led by Grand Master Fra Foulques de Villaret, in the early 14th century, the institutions of the Order and the knights who came to Rhodes from every corner of Europe were grouped according to the languages they spoke. Each Langue included Priories or Grand Priories, Bailiwicks, and Commanderies, the Order was governed by its Grand Master, the Prince of Rhodes, and its Council. The senior positions of the Order were given to representatives of different Langues, after six months of siege and fierce combat against the fleet and army of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, the Knights were forced to surrender in 1523 and left Rhodes with military honours. The Reformation which split Western Europe into Protestant and Roman Catholic states affected the knights as well, in several countries, including England, Scotland and Sweden, the order was disestablished. In others, including the Netherlands and Germany, entire bailiwicks or commanderies experienced religious conversions and it was established that the order should remain neutral in any war between Christian nations
17.
Charles Albert of Sardinia
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Charles Albert, also called The Hesitant for his variable political lines, was the King of Sardinia from 1831 to 1849. His name is bound up with the first Italian constitution, the Albertine Statute, and he abdicated after his forces were defeated by the Imperial Austrian army at the Battle of Novara, and died in exile soon thereafter. He was born in Turin in October 1798, to Charles Emmanuel, Prince of Carignano and he was the third cousin once removed of Victor Amadeus III, and the next male-line heir after the three sons of Victor Amadeus. When Charles Albert was born in 1798, none of his cousins had a son and he was educated in the intellectually liberal atmosphere of Geneva, then in Paris during the First French Empire of Napoleon Bonaparte. Napoleon named him a lieutenant of dragoons in 1814, after the final fall of Napoleon the following year, Charles Albert returned to Turin. Two mentors were entrusted with countering the dangerous ideas about national liberation Charles had learned in France, however, he continued to display some sympathies with the liberals. In 1821, as regent for the Kingdom in the absence of the new king, Charles Felix, Charles Felix sent him to Spain, to serve with the French army that King Louis XVIII of France sent to suppress the liberal revolution there and restore Ferdinand VII. He distinguished himself at the Battle of Trocadero in 1823, which gained him the favour of the leading conservative European power, the Austrian Empire, Charles Albert succeeded his cousin Charles Felix to the throne of Sardinia in 1831. Although an Italian patriot who allegedly was opposed to the Austrian hegemony and domination in Northern Italy and he introduced a series of reforms following the many Revolutions of 1830 that convulsed Europe. He abolished domestic customs and trade barriers within the Kingdom, supported the arts and sciences, and promulgated the Statuto Albertino, during the Revolutions of 1848, he agreed to a constitutional regime which remained in place for the century that the Kingdom of Italy lasted. The same year he declared war on Austria, the small army of Piedmont was supported by volunteers from the whole of Italy. However, after his initial victories lost him the support of the Pope and the other Italian rulers, he was defeated at Custoza, under the increasing influence of the Republicans in Piedmont, he resumed the war the next year. But the Piedmontese were again defeated, at Novara, rather than redrawing the Statute, he abdicated in favor of his son, Victor Emmanuel, and went into exile in Portugal. He died at Porto the same year and his remains were transferred to the Royal Basilica of Superga, outside Turin. Friedrich Engels, Among the indigenous princes, the one enemy of Italian freedom was and is Charles Albert. Italians should bear in mind and repeat every hour the old saying, God watch over my friends, from Ferdinand of the House of Bourbon, there is nothing to fear, he has for a long time been discredited. Charles Albert on the other hand calls himself pompously the liberator of Italy while on the people he is supposed to be liberating he imposes as a condition the yoke of his rule. In 1817, Charles Albert married his cousin once removed, Maria Theresa of Austria, the youngest daughter of Ferdinand III, Grand Duke of Tuscany
18.
Victor Emmanuel II of Italy
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The Italians gave him the epithet Father of the Fatherland. Victor Emmanuel was born the eldest son of Charles Albert, Prince of Carignano and his father succeeded a distant cousin as King of Sardinia-Piedmont in 1831. He lived for years of his youth in Florence and showed an early interest in politics, the military. In 1842, he married his cousin Adelaide of Austria and he was styled as the Duke of Savoy prior to becoming King of Sardinia-Piedmont. He took part in the First Italian War of Independence under his father King Charles Albert, fighting in the front line at the battles of Pastrengo, Santa Lucia, Goito and Custoza. He became King of Sardinia-Piedmont in 1849 when his father abdicated the throne after a military defeat by the Austrians at the Battle of Novara. Victor Emmanuel was immediately able to obtain a rather favorable armistice at Vignale by the Austrian imperial army commander Radetzky, after new elections, the peace with Austria was accepted by the new Chamber of Deputies. In 1849 Victor Emmanuel also fiercely suppressed a revolt in Genoa, defining the rebels as a vile, in 1852, he appointed Count Camillo Benso of Cavour as Prime Minister of Piedmont-Sardinia. This turned out to be a choice, since Cavour was a political mastermind. Victor Emmanuel II soon became the symbol of the Risorgimento, the Italian unification movement of the 1850s and he was especially popular in the Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont because of his respect for the new constitution and his liberal reforms. Following Victor Emmanuels advice, Cavour joined Britain and France in the Crimean War against Russia, Cavour was reluctant to go to war due to the power of Russia at the time and the expense of doing so. Victor Emmanuel, however, was convinced of the rewards to be gained from the alliance created with Britain and, more importantly, the Italo-French campaign against Austria in 1859 started successfully. After several quarrels about the outcome of the war, Cavour resigned, later that same year, Victor Emmanuel II sent his forces to fight the papal army at Castelfidardo and drove the Pope into Vatican City. His success at these goals led him to be excommunicated from the Catholic Church, then, Giuseppe Garibaldi conquered Sicily and Naples, and Sardinia-Piedmont grew even larger. On 17 March 1861 the Kingdom of Italy was officially established, Victor Emmanuel supported Giuseppe Garibaldis Expedition of the Thousand, which resulted in the rapid fall of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies in southern Italy. However, the king halted Garibaldi when he appeared ready to attack Rome, still under the Papal States, in 1860, through local plebiscites, Tuscany, Modena, Parma and Romagna decided to side with Sardinia-Piedmont. Victor Emmanuel then marched victoriously in the Marche and Umbria after the battle of Castelfidardo over the Papal forces. The king subsequently met with Garibaldi at Teano, receiving from him the control of southern Italy, another series of plebiscites in the occupied lands resulted in the proclamation of Victor Emmanuel as the first King of Italy by the new Parliament of unified Italy, on 17 March 1861
19.
Umberto I of Italy
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It can also refer to Humbert I, Count of Savoy and to Humbert I of Viennois, Dauphin of the Viennois. Umberto I, nicknamed the Good, was the King of Italy from 9 January 1878 until his assassination on 29 July 1900. Umbertos reign saw Italy attempt colonial expansion into the Horn of Africa, successfully gaining Eritrea, in 1882, he approved the Triple Alliance with the German Empire and Austria-Hungary. He was deeply loathed in leftist circles because of his conservatism and he was especially hated by anarchists, who attempted an assassination on him during the first year of his reign. He was killed by another anarchist, Gaetano Bresci, two years after the Bava-Beccaris massacre. The son of Victor Emmanuel II and Archduchess Adelaide of Austria, Umberto was born in Turin and his education was entrusted to, amongst others, Massimo Taparelli, marquis dAzeglio and Pasquale Stanislao Mancini. From March 1858 he had a career in the Sardinian army. It proved difficult to find any royal bride for either of the sons of king Victor Emmanuel II and their conflict with the papacy did not help these matters. Not many eligible Catholic royal brides were easily available for young Umberto. At first, Umberto was to marry Archduchess Mathilde of Austria, on 21 April 1868 Umberto married his first cousin, Margherita Teresa Giovanna, Princess of Savoy. Their only son was Victor Emmanuel, prince of Naples, the King warded off the blow with his sabre, but Cairoli, in attempting to defend him, was severely wounded in the thigh. The would-be assassin was condemned to death, even though the law allowed the death penalty if the King was killed. The King commuted the sentence to one of penal servitude for life, passanante would later die in a psychiatric institution. In foreign policy Umberto I approved the Triple Alliance with Austria-Hungary and Germany, repeatedly visiting Vienna, many in Italy, however, viewed with hostility an alliance with their former Austrian enemies, who were still occupying areas claimed by Italy. Umberto was also favorably disposed towards the policy of colonial expansion inaugurated in 1885 by the occupation of Massawa in Eritrea, Italy expanded into Somalia in the 1880s as well. In the summer of 1900, Italian forces were part of the Eight-Nation Alliance which participated in the Boxer Rebellion in Imperial China, through the Boxer Protocol, signed after Umbertos death, the Kingdom of Italy gained a concession territory in Tientsin. Umbertos attitude towards the Holy See was uncompromising, in an 1886 telegram, he declared Rome untouchable and affirmed the permanence of the Italian possession of the Eternal City. The reign of Umberto I was a time of social upheaval, the protesters included the young Benito Mussolini, then a member of the socialist party
20.
Archduke Rainer Joseph of Austria
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Rainer Joseph of Austria was a Viceroy of the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia from 1818 to 1848. He was also an Archduke of Austria, Prince Royal of Hungary, Rainer was a son of Emperor Leopold II and Empress Maria Luisa, and was thus a younger brother of Emperor Franz I. Although Rainer suffered from a form of epilepsy, this did not visibly interfere with his military career. Rainer served as Viceroy of the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia from 1818 to 1848, the position made Rainer and his wife the head of the Austrian court at Milan. Rainer politics were unpopular, the Italians resented him for their lack of political freedom. But only a few later, Ficquelmont was recall to Vienna to assume the leadership of the Council of war as the Revolutions of 1848 started. Archduke Rainers mistakes as well as the lack of understanding between Rainer and Feldmarschall Graf Radetzky, were blamed for the disasters of the Italian Revolution of 1848 and he married at Prague on 28 May 1820 Princess Elisabeth of Savoy. She was the sister of the Prince of Carignano, who would in 1831 become King of Sardinia as King Charles Albert and she was also a granddaughter of the late former Duke of the Baltic principality of Courland. Although his children, except Adelheid, are buried in the Imperial Crypt in Vienna, he, through his daughter Adelaide, Rainer is an ancestor of the entire royal family of Italy which reigned from 1861 to 1946. 30 September 1783 –11 August 1804 His Royal Highness Archduke Ranier Joseph of Austria 11 August 1804 –16 January 1853 His Imperial & Royal Highness Archduke Ranier Joseph of Austria
21.
Adelaide of Austria
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Adelaide of Austria was the Queen of Sardinia by marriage to Victor Emmanuel II of Sardinia, future King of Italy, from 1849 until 1855 when she died as a result of childbirth. She was the mother of Umberto I of Italy and she was born at the Royal Palace of Milan to Rainer Joseph of Austria and his wife Elisabeth of Savoy. Named Adelaide, or known as Adele in the family, she held the title of Archduchess of Austria and her father was the Viceroy of Lombardy-Venetia and was a son of Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor and Maria Luisa of Spain. Her mother was a member of the House of Savoy and a daughter of the Prince of Carignano and her younger brother Archduke Rainer Ferdinand later acted as Minister President of Austria. Both of her brothers contracted morganatic marriages, on 12 April 1842, at the Palazzina di caccia di Stupinigi, she married Victor Emmanuel of Savoy. The marriage was used to cement relations between the House of Savoy and that of the House of Habsburg but was viewed by people of the time to increase Austrian power in Italy. Victor Emmanuel was her first cousin and heir apparent to the King of Sardinia and he was styled the Duke of Savoy prior to succession. Adelaide thus took on the style of Duchess of Savoy and she maintained her style of Imperial & Royal Highness till she became Queen. Her husbands mother Maria Theresa of Austria retained great influence over her son throughout his life and her mother-in-law was also her first cousin, both she and Adelaide being grandchildren of Emperor Leopold II. Adelaide and her husband of thirteen years had eight children, four of these went on to have further progeny. Her husband had various extramarital affairs throughout the marriage, Adelaide was a quiet and pious woman and had had a strict upbringing. She was a wife and frequently would give to charity. In March 1849 her father-in-law King Charles Albert abdicated after the events of the Revolutions of 1848 and her husband succeeded as Victor Emmanuel II of Sardinia. During her tenure as queen consort she had three children all of which died in infancy. On 8 January 1855 she gave birth to a son who was styled the Count of Genevois, days later Queen Maria Theresa died on 12 January 1855. Adelaide went to the queens funeral on 16 January and returning to the palace caught a cold. She died four days later at the Royal Palace of Turin having had an attack of Gastroenteritis. Another story says that Adelaide died of her burns after stepping on a match set fire to her clothes
22.
Margherita of Savoy
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Princess Margherita of Savoy, was the Queen consort of the Kingdom of Italy by marriage to Umberto I. Margherita was born to Prince Ferdinand, Duke of Genoa and Princess Elisabeth of Saxony and her father died in 1855, and her mother remarried morganatically to Major Nicholas Rapallo. She was educated by countess Clelia Monticelli di Casalrosso and her Austrian governess Rosa Arbesser, reportedly, she was given a more advanced education than most princesses at the time, and displayed a great deal of intellectual curiosity. As a person, she was described as sensitive, proud and with a force of will without being hard. To her appearance, she was described as a tall, stately blonde, initially, she was suggested to marry prince Charles of Romania. After the wedding, the crown prince settled in Naples. On 11 November 1869, Margherita gave birth to Victor Emmanuel, Prince of Naples, later Victor Emmanuel III of Italy and their son was therefore to remain their only child. Margherita was raised with the idea of monarchy with the ideal of enlightened despotism. She became an asset in this role with her ability to say and do the right things to effectively arouse public enthusiasm. In January 1871, after the unification of Italy and the proclamation of Rome as the capital of Italy. Margherita became queen of Italy upon the succession of Umberto to the throne 9 January 1878, in the critical situation that year, with the king and the pope as well as an assassination attempt against the new king, Umberto reportedly asked Margherita of politic advise. She founded cultural institutions, notably the Società del Quartetto, Queen Margherita also fostered loyalty toward the monarchy by social and charitable work. She frequently visited and acted as the benefactor of hospitals, schools and institutions for children, the queen, however, was close to her son and strengthen her relation to him even further after his wedding. Queen Margherita was also involved in affairs, viewing democracy as a potential threat to the monarchy. As a nationalist, she did not hesitate to support First Italo-Ethiopian War in 1896, in contrast to Umberto, as a center figure of the conservative forces, she supported the repressive actions toward the rioters in Milan in 1898, which lead to the Bava-Beccaris massacre. At 4,554 metres the Capanna Regina Margherita, remains the highest hut in Europe, Margherita later accepted the position of Honorary President of the Ladies Alpine Club. On 29 July 1900 Umberto I, after the murders by anarchists Giovanni Passannante and Pietro Acciarito, was killed by another anarchist. Margherita was met with an amount of sympathy as the widow of an assassinated monarch
23.
John of Saxony
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John was a King of Saxony and a member of the House of Wettin. He was born in Dresden, the son of Maximilian, Prince of Saxony—younger son of the Elector Frederick Christian of Saxony—by his first wife, Caroline of Bourbon. During most of his life, John stood little chance of inheriting the Saxon Crown, he was preceded by his father, however, in 1822 Clement died unmarried in Italy, and John was now only preceded in the line of succession by his older brother Frederick Augustus. Johns older brother became King Frederick Augustus II in 1836, now he was the first in line of succession to the throne, the King, married twice, was childless. John remained as heir presumptive during all the reign of his brother, John became King of Saxony after the death of his brother Frederick Augustus II on 9 August 1854. The Judiciary Organization of 1855, the extension of the railroad network, under his government, came the acceptance of the French Commercial Treaty and the acknowledgment of a contract with Italy. He exerted himself under influence of his minister Friedrich Ferdinand von Beust for the Great Germany Solution of the imperial arrangement, in 1866 Saxony fought on the Austrian side in the Austro-Prussian War. Finally, after the defeat of the Battle of Königgrätz, Saxony joined the North German Confederation, the King died two years later, aged seventy-one. Beyond his political work, Johann was busy with literature, under the pseudonym Philalethes he translated to German the Dantes Divine Comedy, some parts of this work were placed in the Schloss Weesenstein. The Dresden district of Johannstadt was named after him, in Munich on 10 November 1822 and again in Dresden on 21 November 1822, Johann married with the Princess Amalia of Bavaria, daughter of King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria. They had nine children, Maria Auguste Fredericka Karoline Ludovike Amalie Maximiliane Franziska Nepomucena Xaveria, Frederick Augustus Albert Anton Ferdinand Joseph Karl Maria Baptist Nepomuk Wilhelm Xaver Georg Fidelis, King Albert of Saxony. Frederick Augustus Ernst Ferdinand Wilhelm Ludwig Anton Nepomuk Maria Baptist Xaver Vincenz, Frederick Augustus Georg Ludwig Wilhelm Maximilian Karl Maria Nepomuk Baptist Xaver Cyriacus Romanus, King Georg of Saxony. Maria Sidonia Ludovica Mathilde Wilhelmine Auguste Xaveria Baptista Nepomucena Veronica Hyacinthia Deodata, Anna Maria Maximiliane Stephania Karoline Johanna Luisa Xaveria Nepomucena Aloysia Benedicta, known as Anna, married on 24 November 1856 to Ferdinand IV, Grand Duke of Tuscany. Margarete Karoline Fredericka Cecilie Auguste Amalie Josephine Elisabeth Maria Johanna, known as Margarete, married on 4 November 1856 to Archduke Carl Ludwig of Austria, King John of Saxony died at Pillnitz. Works by or about John of Saxony at Internet Archive Works by John of Saxony at LibriVox
24.
Princess Elizabeth of Saxony
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Elisabeth of Saxony was a Princess of Saxony who married the second son of the King of Sardinia. She was the mother of Margherita, Queen of Italy and she was born in Dresden, capital of Saxony, as daughter of King John of Saxony and his wife Amalie Auguste of Bavaria. Her paternal grandparents were Prince Maximilian of Saxony and Carolina of Parma and her maternal grandparents were King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria and Karoline of Baden. On 22 April 1850, she married, in Dresden Cathedral, Prince Ferdinand, 1st Duke of Genoa, second son of King Charles Albert of Sardinia and Maria Theresa of Austria and their marriage was a dynastic arrangement, and it was generally held to be loveless. The couple had two children, On 10 February 1855 her husband died in Turin, leaving Elizabeth a widow at the age of 25, before her second year of widowhood had ended, she remarried on 4 October 1856 with her chamberlain Niccolò, Marchese Rapallo. They married secretly, before her period of mourning was over. This act so infuritated her brother-in-law Victor Emmanuel II of Italy that he ordered her into virtual exile, in 1882, her second husband committed suicide. Court gossip had often hinted that their marriage was unhappy, elisabeth had no children from her second marriage. Elisabeth suffered an attack of apoplexy in 1910, which caused her health to quickly deteriorate and she died on 14 August 1912
25.
Princess Amalie Auguste of Bavaria
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Amalie Auguste was a Princess of Bavaria and Queen of Saxony. Amalie was the child of King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria. She was the twin sister of Elizabeth Louise, later Queen of Prussia as wife of Frederick William IV of Prussia. Three other sisters married King Frederick Augustus II of Saxony, Archduke Franz Karl of Austria and Maximilian Joseph, in 1851 Amalie Auguste became chairman of Womens Association of Dresden, an organisation founded by her sister, the then queen. In 1859 she reorganized it as the Zentralausschuß obererzgebirgischen und der vogtländischen Frauenvereine and established a basis for it. Amalie Auguste married on 22 November 1822 Prince John of Saxony, John and Amelia had nine children, Marie Auguste Friederike Albert. Married Princess Carola, daughter of Crown Prince Gustav of Sweden Maria Elisabeth, married first Ferdinando, Prince of Savoy and Sardinia, and second Niccolò, Marchese Rapallo. Married Infanta Maria Anna of Portugal Maria Sidonia Anna, married Ferdinand IV, Grand Duke of Tuscany. Married her cousin Archduke Carl Ludwig of Austria, married her cousin Karl-Theodor, Duke in Bavaria
26.
Nicholas I of Montenegro
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Nikola I Petrović-Njegoš was the ruler of Montenegro from 1860 to 1918, reigning as sovereign prince from 1860 to 1910 and as king from 1910 to 1918. Nikola was born in the village of Njeguši, the ancient home of the reigning House of Petrović and his father, Mirko Petrović-Njegoš, a celebrated Montenegrin warrior, was elder brother to Danilo I of Montenegro, who left no male offspring. A change was introduced by Danilo I, who declined the episcopal office, Mirko Petrović-Njegoš having renounced his claim to the throne, his son was nominated heir-presumptive, and the old system of succession was thus accidentally continued. The princess was an ardent francophile, and at her suggestion the young heir-presumptive of the vladikas was sent to the Lycée Louis-le-Grand in Paris, Nikola was a member of the United Serbian Youth during its existence. Nikola was still in Paris when, in consequence of the assassination of his uncle Danilo I, in November 1860 he married Milena, daughter of the vojvoda Petar Vukotić. In the period of peace which followed Nikola carried out a series of military, administrative, the country was embroiled in a series of wars with the Ottoman Empire between 1862 and 1878. In 1867 he met the emperor Napoleon III at Paris, and in 1868 he undertook a journey to Russia and he afterwards visited the courts of Berlin and Vienna. In 1871 Prince Dolgorukov arrived at Montenegro on a mission from the tsar. In 1876 Nikola declared war against Turkey, his reputation was enhanced by the ensuing campaign. The war resulted in an extension of the Montenegrin frontier. He justified the war as a revenge for the Battle of Kosovo, in 1876 he sent a message to the Montenegrins in Herzegovina, Under Murad I the Serbian Tsardom was destroyed, under Murad V it has to rise again. This is my wish and wish of all of us as well as the wish of almighty God, the independence of Montenegro was recognised at the Congress of Berlin in 1878 and in the succeeding decades Montenegro enjoyed considerable prosperity and stability. Education, communications and the army expanded greatly, in 1900 Nikola took the style of Royal Highness. Although it wasnt said openly, it was thought that the Petrović dynasty would achieve, all procedures of King Nikola shows that he himself believed that. He gave Montenegro its first constitution in 1905 following pressure from a population eager for more freedom and he also introduced west-European style press freedom and criminal law codes. In 1906, he introduced Montenegrin currency, the perper, on 28 August 1910, during the celebration of his jubilee, he assumed the title of king, in accordance with a petition from the Skupština. He was at the same time gazetted field-marshal in the Russian army, when the Balkan Wars broke out in 1912 King Nikola was one of the most enthusiastic of the allies. He wanted to drive the Ottomans completely out of Europe and he defied the Powers and captured Scutari despite the fact that they blockaded the whole coast of Montenegro
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Princess Elena of Montenegro
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Princess Elena Petrović-Njegoš of Montenegro nicknamed Jela was the daughter of King Nicholas I of Montenegro and his wife, Milena Vukotić. As wife of Victor Emmanuel III of Italy, she was Queen of Italy from 1900 until 1946 and she was born in Cetinje as daughter of Montenegrin Prince and future King Nicholas I and his wife Milena. At the age of 10 she went to the Institute for young ladies in Sankt Petersburg and she was very talented at painting and architecture. She designed the monument for Prince-Bishop Danilo I and her mother was so distressed with the fact that Elena had changed her religion that she refused to come to the wedding ceremony in Rome. She influenced her husband to lobby Benito Mussolini, Prime Minister of Italy, in 1943 she subsequently obtained the release from a German prison of her nephew, Prince Michael of Montenegro, and his wife, Geneviève. Prince Michael had been imprisoned after refusing to become King of Montenegro under the protection of Italy, on 29 July 1900, following his fathers assassination, Victor Emmanuel ascended the Italian throne. Officially, Elena assumed her husbands titles, she became Queen of Italy. On 28 December 1908 Messina was hit by a disastrous earthquake, Queen Elena helped with the rescuers, as some photographs show. This helped to increase her popularity within the country, during the First World War Elena worked as a nurse and, with the help of the Queen Mother, she turned Quirinal Palace and Villa Margherita into hospitals. To raise funds, she invented the signed photograph, which was sold at the charity desks, at the end of the war, she proposed to sell the crown treasures in order to pay the war debts. Elena was the first Inspector of the Voluntary Nurses for the Italian Red Cross from 1911 until 1921 and she studied medicine and was able to obtain a laurea honoris causa. She financed charitable institutions for people with encephalitis, tubercolosis, former soldiers and she was deeply involved in her fight against disease, and she promoted many efforts for the training of doctors, and for research against poliomyelitis, Parkinsons disease and cancer. On 15 April 1937 Pope Pius XII gave her the Golden Rose of Christianity, Pope Pius XII, in a condolence telegram sent to her son Umberto II for the queens death, defined her a Lady of charitable work. On 25 July 1943 Victor Emmanuel III had Benito Mussolini arrested, the king left Rome on 9 September to flee to Brindisi with the help of the Allies and Elena followed her husband in his escape. In contrast, on 23 September their daughter Mafalda was arrested by the Nazis and sent to Buchenwald concentration camp, following the war, on 9 May 1946 Victor Emmanuel III abdicated in favour of his son Umberto. The former king assumed the title of Count of Pollenzo, and went into exile to Egypt with Elena
28.
Margaret of Savoy, Duchess of Anjou
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Margaret of Savoy, was a daughter of Amadeus VIII of Savoy and Mary of Burgundy. By her three marriages, she held a number of titles, including Duchess of Anjou, Duchess of Calabria, Countess of Maine, Countess of the Palatinate. Margaret was one of seven born to Amadeus VIII, Count of Savoy. A few of her siblings included Louis, Duke of Savoy and Mary and her paternal grandparents were Amadeus VII, Count of Savoy and Bonne of Berry. Her maternal grandparents were Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy and Margaret III, Margaret married firstly Louis, Duke of Anjou, the titular King of Naples. He was a son of Louis II of Anjou and Yolande of Aragon and their first marriage contract is dated on 31 Mar 1431. She became known as the Duchess of Anjou and they had no children, and he died in 1434. In 1445, Margaret next married Louis IV, Count Palatine of the Rhine and he was a son of Louis III, Elector Palatine and his second wife Matilda of Savoy. Margaret became Countess of the Palatinate through this alliance and their marriage lasted only four years, as Louis died on 13 August 1449. They had one son, Philip, Elector Palatine, thirdly, she married in Stuttgart 11 November 1453 Ulrich V, Count of Württemberg. They were both the others third spouses and she added the title Countess of Württemberg to her many titles through this alliance. From this marriage they had the children, Margaret, married 23 April 1469 to Count Philip I of Eppstein-Königstein. Philippine, married 22 April/4 June 1470 to Count James II of Horn, helene, married in Waldenburg 26 February 1476 to Count Kraft VI of Hohenlohe-Neuenstein. Margaret died on 30 September 1479
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Margaret of Savoy, Countess of Saint-Pol
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Margaret of Savoy, also known as Marguerite de Savoie or Margherita di Savoia, was the eldest surviving daughter of Louis, Duke of Savoy. She was the wife of Margrave John IV of Montferrat and later the wife of Pierre II de Luxembourg, Count of Saint-Pol, of Brienne, de Ligny, Marle, margarets numerous descendants included Mary, Queen of Scots, and King Henry IV of France. Margaret was born in April 1439 in Turin, Italy, the eldest surviving daughter and one of the nineteen children of Louis, Duke of Savoy and Anne de Lusignan, Princess of Cyprus. In December 1458 at Casale, she married her first husband, John IV, Margrave of Montferrat and he was a condottiere for the Republic of Venice during the Wars in Lombardy which were a series of conflicts fought between Venice and Milan, and their various allies. Margaret brought a dowry of 100,000 scudi, and in return received Trino, Morano, Borgo San Martino, the marriage was childless, although he fathered several illegitimate children. He died on 19 January 1464, leaving her a widow at the age of twenty-five. Marie married secondly, François de Bourbon, Count of Vendôme, by whom she had six children including Charles de Bourbon, Duke of Vendôme, Mary, Queen of Scots, King Henry IV of France, and the Lorraine Dukes of Guise were Maries direct descendants. Françoise of Luxembourg, Dame dEnghien, married Philip of Cleves-Ravenstein, Captain General of Flanders, margaret died at Bruges on 9 March 1483, less than six months after her husband Pierre, and she was buried at the Abbey of Happlaincourt. Margaret was survived by her two daughters, Marie and Françoise, her three sons having died in early infancy. Charles Cawley, Medieval Lands, Savoy Charles Cawley, Medieval Lands, Champagne, Nobility www. Worldroots. com, Descendants of Amadeus III of Savoy, Leo van de Pas
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Charlotte of Savoy
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Charlotte of Savoy was queen of France as the second spouse of Louis XI. She served as regent during the absence in 1465, and was a member of the royal regency council during her sons minority in 1483. She was a daughter of Louis, Duke of Savoy and Anne of Cyprus and her maternal grandparents were Janus of Cyprus and Charlotte de Bourbon-La Marche. Her maternal grandmother, for whom she was named, was a daughter of John I, Count of La Marche. She was one of 19 children,14 of whom survived infancy, on 11 March 1443, when Charlotte was just over a year old, she was betrothed to Frederick of Saxony, eldest son of Frederick II, Elector of Saxony. For reasons unknown, the betrothal was annulled, less than eight years later on 14 February 1451, Charlotte married Louis, Dauphin of France, eldest son of Charles VII of France and Marie of Anjou. The bride was nine years old and the groom twenty-seven, the marriage, which had taken place without the consent of the French king, was Louis second, his first spouse, Margaret of Scotland, had died childless in 1445. Upon her marriage, Charlotte became Dauphine of France, on 22 July 1461, Charlotte became Queen of France. The following year, she became ill and was close to death by August 1462. Although she recovered, her health was weakened, Louis XI did not keep much of a representational court life. Charlotte was interested in literature and praised for the taste and excellence of her personal library and she left a collection of about one hundred manuscripts, which would become the genesis of the Bibliothèque nationale of France. Charlotte served as regent in September 1465, Charlotte was widowed in 1483, when Louis XI was succeeded by their son Charles VIII, who was still a minor. In practice, her daughter Anne took control over France as regent during the minority of Charles, Charlotte died on 1 December 1483 in Amboise, just a few months after her spouses death. She is buried with him in the Notre-Dame de Cléry Basilica in Cléry-Saint-André in the arrondissement of Orléans, Charlotte became the mother of eight children, but only three survived infancy. Joan, who was briefly Queen of France as the first spouse of Louis XII Francis Charles VIII, Francis Upon the death of her daughter, Anne, Charlottes line became extinct, her granddaughter, Suzanne having died in 1521 without surviving issue
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Bona of Savoy
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Bona of Savoy, Duchess of Milan was the second spouse of Galeazzo Maria Sforza, Duke of Milan and a member of the noble Italian House of Savoy. She served as regent of Milan during the minority of her son 1476–1481, born in Avigliana, Turin, Bona was a daughter of Louis, Duke of Savoy and Anne de Lusignan of Cyprus. She was one of nineteen children and her many siblings included, Amadeus IX of Savoy, Philip II, Duke of Savoy, Louis of Savoy, Count of Geneva, Marguerite of Savoy and Charlotte of Savoy, who married King Louis XI. In 1464, Bona was to have been betrothed to Edward IV of England and she married Galeazzo Maria Sforza on 9 May 1468. Hermes Maria Sforza, Marquis of Tortona, bianca Maria Sforza, in January 1474, married firstly Philibert I, Duke of Savoy, on 16 March 1494, married secondly, Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I, she had no issue by her two husbands. Anna Maria Sforza, married Alfonso I dEste, later Duke of Ferrara, bonas husband was assassinated, on 26 December 1476 at the age of 32 by three young noblemen on the porch of the cathedral church of San Stefano in Milan. Galeazzo was succeeded after his 10-year reign by his 7-year-old son Gian Galeazzo Sforza under the regency of Bona, but dissensions soon arose between the regent and her brother-in-law, Ludovico Maria Sforza, nicknamed Il Moro. In the first encounter Bona and her chief counsellor, Cicco Simonetta, were victorious, in order to obtain his re-admission, Ludovico, took advantage of the rivalry between Tassino and Simonetta. The fall and execution of Simonetta followed, from 1479 the real government of Milan lay in the hands of Ludovico, whose power was further secured in 1480, when he seized his nephew Gian, deprived him of the duchy and assumed control. Consequently, Bona was obliged to leave Milan and Ludovico was left to rule unchallenged, Bona of Savoy commissioned the Sforza Book of Hours manuscript, which was painted in about 1490 by a famous court artist, Giovan Pietro Birago. She used the book, which contained devotional texts and is considered to be one of the most outstanding treasures of the Italian Renaissance
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Louise of Savoy
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Louise of Savoy was a French noblewoman, Duchess suo jure of Auvergne and Bourbon, Duchess of Nemours, and the mother of King Francis I of France. She was politically active and served as the Regent of France in 1515, in 1525–1526, Louise of Savoy was born at Pont-dAin, the eldest daughter of Philip II, Duke of Savoy and his first wife, Margaret of Bourbon. Her brother, Philibert II, Duke of Savoy, succeeded her father as ruler of the duchy and he was, in turn, succeeded by their half-brother Charles III, Duke of Savoy. Because her mother died when she was seven, she was brought up by Anne de Beaujeu. At Amboise she met Margaret of Austria, who was betrothed to the young king, at age eleven, Louise married Charles of Orléans, Count of Angoulême, on 16 February 1488 in Paris. She only began living with him when she was fifteen, though, despite her husband having two mistresses, the marriage was not unhappy and they shared a love for books. The household of Charles was presided over by his châtelaine Antoinette de Polignac, Dame de Combronde, Antoinette became Louises lady-in-waiting and confidante. Her children were raised alongside Louises own, Charles had another illegitimate daughter, Souveraine, by Jeanne le Conte, who also lived in the Angoulême chateau. She would later arrange marriages for her husbands illegitimate children and their first child, Marguerite, was born on 11 April 1492, their second child, Francis, was born on 12 September 1494. When her husband fell ill after going out riding in the winter of 1495, she nursed him, when she was widowed at the young age of 19, Louise deftly maneuvered her children into a position that would secure for each of them a promising future. Though they remained in Cognac for two years, she moved her family to court at the ascension of King Louis XII, Louise had a keen awareness for the intricacies of politics and diplomacy, and was deeply interested in the advances of arts and sciences in Renaissance Italy. She made certain that her children were educated in the spirit of the Italian Renaissance, also helped by her Italian confessor and she commissioned books specifically for them and she taught Francis Italian and Spanish. When Louis XII became ill in 1505, he determined that Francis should succeed him and he recovered and Francis became a favourite of the king, who eventually gave him his daughter Claude of France in marriage on 8 May 1514. Following the marriage, Louis XII designated Francis as his heir, with the death of Louis XII on 1 January 1515, Francis became king of France. On 4 February 1515, Louise was named Duchess of Angoulême and this led her in rivalry against Charles III, Duke of Bourbon, Suzannes widower, whom she proposed to marry in order to settle the Bourbon inheritance issue. When her suit was rejected by Charles, Louise instigated efforts to undermine him. This led to Charles exile and his attempt to regain his lost status by waging war against the King and he died in 1527 having failed to regain his lost lands and titles. Louise recovered Auvergne from confiscations and became duchess in the name of her son, Louise of Savoy remained politically active on behalf of her son in the early years of his reign especially
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Margaret of Savoy, Vicereine of Portugal
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Margaret of Savoy was the last Habsburg Vicereine of Portugal. In Portuguese she is known as Duquesa de Mântua, being by marriage the Duchess of Mantua and she was born in Turin, as the fifth child of Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy and Infanta Catherine Micaela of Spain, the daughter of Philip II of Spain. She was married to the future Francis IV, Duke of Mantua, the wedding was celebrated in Turin. In 1612 Margarets husband succeeded his father, Vincent I, as Duke of Mantua and their marriage produced three children, but only one daughter, Maria, survived childhood. Indeed, it had brought to the Mantuan princely dynasty by the marriage of Margherita Paleologa, Margravine of Montferrat. Accordingly, Marias claims were asserted and Dowager Duchess Margaret required to be made her regent in Montferrat, Duchess Margarets daughter Maria was in 1627 married to Charles, the eldest son of the distant Gonzaga heir-male, in order to join two of the Mantuan claims. They had to war, but in the end their line prevailed and they commanded universal recognition as Dukes of Mantua. She had ancestral links to Portugal, two of her great-grandmothers had been daughters of king Manuel I of Portugal. In 1635, after the demise of the Count of Basto, she was named by her cousin Philip IV of Spain Vicereine of Portugal, at the time in a union with Spain. As a result of the Portuguese revolution of 1640, Vasconcelos was assassinated, the Portuguese proclaimed the duke of Braganza as their new king. Margaret was surrounded in her headquarters in Lisbon, and her support collapsing, at her death, both her grandchildren had already produced great-grandchildren for her. Margaret had three children Maria, married Charles II Gonzaga, duke of Nevers, in 1627
34.
Isabella of Savoy
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Isabella of Savoy was a daughter of Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy and Catherine Michelle of Spain. Her maternal grandparents where Philip II of Spain and Elisabeth of Valois, her grandparents were Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy and Margaret of France. She was the Hereditary Princess of Modena, dying before her husband succeeded to the Duchy of Modena in 1628. Isabella was born in Turin to Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy and his wife Infanta Catherine Michelle of Spain, in Turin on 22 February 1608 she married Alfonso, Hereditary Prince of Modena, this was a happy marriage, Alfonso was loving and loyal towards his wife. Within two years Isabella bore Alfonso a son, Francesco who would one day succeed his father as Duke of Modena, when Isabella died on 28 August 1626 Alfonso was heartbroken, he never remarried and died in 1644. She died as a result of childbirth and before her husband became duke so she was never Duchess of Modena
35.
Princess Luisa Cristina of Savoy
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Princess Luisa Cristina of Savoy was a Princess of Savoy by birth and the eldest daughter of Victor Amadeus I, Duke of Savoy. She married her uncle Prince Maurice of Savoy but had no children and she was the owner of the future Villa della Regina. She was a first cousin of Louis XIV of France and Charles II of England, Luisa Cristina was born at the Castello del Valentino in Turin. She was the eldest daughter of the future Victor Amadeus I, Duke of Savoy and her birth was greeted with excitement as prior to her birth, her parents had lost a son and heir and were expecting another son. However, being a female and due to the salic law, Luisa Cristina was said to have been illegitimate and the fruit of her mothers supposed affair with a French courtier named Pommeuse. As a child, two of her brothers succeeded their father who became ruler of Savoy in 1630 and her father died in 1637 and was succeeded quickly by her brother Francis Hyacinth who died in 1638 and was followed by another brother Charles Emmanuel II. Her mother took over a regency which was disputed by her uncles Thomas Francis, Prince of Carignano, the two brothers conspired against Christine Marie claiming the regency between the two of them causing a war in Savoy. The war resulted in Thomas Francis and Maurice fleeing to Spain for support which came to nothing and her mother was soon victorious in the ensuing wars thanks to French support in the form of her brother, Louis XIII. Returning to Savoy, Luisa Cristina was soon engaged to Maurice as part of a reconciliation between Christine Marie, Luisa Cristina married Maurice in Turin on 18 August 1642. Maurice had previously been a cardinal and had to receive permission from Pope Urban VIII who consented to the match, the thirteen-year-old bride and forty-nine-year-old Maurice moved to Nice where Maurice was the governor of the city – another part of the reconciliation. Her husband died in 1657 of a stroke leaving Luisa Cristina a widow aged twenty seven and her husband willed her his large art collection as well as his huge debts. In Turin she lived at her husbands villa outside Turin and she also did much to improve the structure under the direction of Amedeo di Castellamonte. She also commissioned Guarino Guarini to carry out works on churches in Savoy, Luisa Cristina died at the villa and left the property to her nephews consort, the French born Anne Marie dOrléans
36.
Princess Margaret Yolande of Savoy
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Margaret Yolande of Savoy was Princess of Savoy from birth and later Duchess consort of Parma. A proposed bride for her first cousin Louis XIV of France, she later married Ranuccio Farnese, son of the late Odoardo Farnese and she died in childbirth in 1663. Margherita Violante was the child born to Victor Amadeus I, Duke of Savoy and his wife Christine Marie of France, daughter of Henry IV of France. She was born at the Castello del Valentino in the Duchy of Savoy which had ruled by her family since 1416. Her father died in October 1637, when she was just two years old, as such, her oldest surviving brother Prince Francis Hyacinth succeeded as Duke of Savoy. Her mother was thus Regent of Savoy, Margherita Violante grew up at a time when her two uncles Prince Maurice and his younger brother Prince Thomas of Savoy disputed the power of their sister-in-law, and her French entourage. The first of her siblings to marry was her eldest sister Princess Luisa Cristina who was married their uncle Maurice of Savoy in 1642 and her younger sister, Henriette Adelaide of Savoy married in 1650 to Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria. Margherita Violante was in competition with the Spanish court who had presented the Infanta Maria Teresa of Austria as another proposed bride, Maria Teresa was a daughter of Elisabeth of France, another sister of Louis XIII and Christine. The French entourage included the Dowager Queen, Louis XIV, Philippe dAnjou, la Grande Mademoiselle, the French were impressed by her appearance despite saying her skin was too tanned. They also said she was a quiet girl, upon hearing of this meeting at Lyon, Philip IV is said to have said the marriage would not happen. The match, great for Savoy, was never to be, Louis XIV married Maria Teresa, Margherita Violante herself would remain unmarried till 1660. Her chosen husband would be the reigning Duke of Parma Ranuccio Farnese, the two would marry in Turin on 29 April 1660. The couple had two children who died, the first was a stillborn daughter, the second was a son who live only one day. Margherita Violante and her husband started to reconstruct the Ducal Palace of Colorno and it was at the Ducal Palace that she died giving birth to her second son. She was buried at the Sanctuary of Santa Maria della Steccata in the centre of Parma, after her death, her husband married two princesses of Modena Isabella dEste and then her sister Maria dEste. The only surviving child of Isabella was Odoardo Farnese, father of the future Elisabeth Farnese, the son born to Maria Francesco Farnese, later Duke of Parma, continued the work at Colorno dying in 1727
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Princess Henriette Adelaide of Savoy
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Henriette Adelaide of Savoy, was the wife of the Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria. She had much influence in her adopted country and with her husband did much to improve the welfare of the Electorate of Bavaria. Born at the Castello del Valentino in Turin, she was the older of twin girls, on 7 October 1637 she lost her father Victor Amadeus I, Duke of Savoy, when she was just one year old. Her mother, Christine of France, was the daughter of Henry IV of France, after the death of her father, her mother served as Regent of Savoy on behalf of two of Henriette Adelaides brothers, Francis Hyacinth, then Charles Emmanuel II after the older brother died. Her uncles Prince Maurice of Savoy and Thomas Francis, Prince of Carignano, intrigued against their sister-in-law, when the first heir Francis Hyacinth died in 1638, the brothers Maurice and Thomas started the Piedmontese Civil War with Spanish support. The two parties in the war were known as the principisti and madamisti, with the support of her brother, King Louis XIII of France, Marie Christine was able to defeat the challenge to her rule. On 8 December 1650 Henriette married Ferdinand Maria, heir to the Electorate of Bavaria future, the next year he became Elector upon the death of his father Maximilian. Henriette Adelaide had a influence on Bavarian foreign affairs in favor of France. This led to an alliance between France and Bavaria against Austria, one of the results of the alliance was the marriage of Henriettes eldest daughter Maria Anna and her cousin Louis, Dauphin of France, in 1680. She had a role in the building of Nymphenburg Palace. Many Italian artists were invited to Munich, and she also introduced Italian opera to the court of Bavaria, Maria Anna Victoria of Bavaria married Louis, Dauphin of France, and had issue, the present King of Spain descends from her. Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria, married Maria Antonia of Austria and had issue, joseph Clemens of Bavaria Elector and Archbishop of Cologne. Violante Beatrix of Bavaria married Ferdinando de Medici, Grand Prince of Tuscany, in addition, the Electress suffered three miscarriages, in June 1661, March 1664 and 1674. 50, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1905, pp. 198–200, cornelia Kemp, Das Herzkabinett der Kurfürstin Henriette Adelaide in der Münchner Residenz. Eine preziöse Liebeskonzeption und ihre Ikonographie Münchner Jahrbuch der bildenden Kunst 33,1982, ISSN 0077-1899, reinhold Baumstark, Abbild und Überhöhung in der höfischen Malerei unter Henriette Adelaide und dem jungen Max Emanuel Hubert Glaser, Kurfürst Max Emanuel. I, Zur Geschichte und Kunstgeschichte der Max-Emanuel-Zeit, hirmer, Munich 1976, ISBN 3-7774-2790-X, pp. 171–205. Else Strobl, Adelheid, Neue Deutsche Biographie,1, Berlin, Duncker & Humblot, pp. 58–59, Media related to Princess Henriette Adelaide of Savoy at Wikimedia Commons
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Princess Louise of Savoy
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Louise of Savoy was a Savoyard Princess by birth. She was the mother of Louis, Margrave of Baden-Baden, the chief commander of the Imperial army. Louise was born at the Hôtel de Soissons in Paris, the Hôtel was the birthplace of her mother, a granddaughter of Louis de Bourbon, an uncle of Henry IV of France. Her father was Prince Thomas Francis of Savoy, the son of the Duke of Savoy and his Spanish wife. She married Margrave Ferdinand Maximilian of Baden-Baden on 15 March 1653 at the Église Saint-Sulpice, Paris, the church was near the Hôtel de Soissons. The marriage contract was signed on the day and is today preserved in the Parisian Institut de France. This marriage was negotiated by other than the famous Cardinal Mazarin. Her husband was the Hereditary Prince of Baden-Baden, this meant that he was the Heir apparent of his father Wilhelm, Margrave of Baden-Baden. Marriages between German and Savoyard nobles were common in an era when many Savoyard nobles lived in German states notably Baden itself, louise Christine of Savoy refused to leave the refined French court and follow her husband to Baden-Baden. Louise Christine gave birth to a son on April 8,1655 named Louis William of Baden-Baden and he was named after the French King Louis XIV, who was his godfather. Ferdinand Maximilian then abducted his son from Paris and brought him to Baden-Baden, Ferdinand ordered a Savoyard man named Charles Maurice de Lassolaye, who had access to the Hôtel de Soissons, to smuggle his three-month-old son out of Paris and take him to be raised in Baden-Baden. As a consequence Louis William was not raised by his mother and she died in Paris aged 61. Her descendants included the present Henri dOrléans, French pretender, the Prince Napoléon, Duarte Pio, Duke of Braganza and she is also an ancestor of the ruling Juan Carlos I of Spain, Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg and Albert II of Belgium
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Marie Jeanne Baptiste of Savoy-Nemours
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Marie Jeanne of Savoy was born a Princess of Savoy and became the Duchess of Savoy by marriage. First married by proxy to Charles of Lorraine in 1662, Lorraine soon refused to recognise the union and she married Charles Emmanuel II, Duke of Savoy in 1665 who was her kinsman. The mother of the future Victor Amadeus II of Sardinia who saw the elevation of the House of Savoy to kings and she acted as Regent of Savoy from 1675 in the name of her son Victor Amadeus II, who was her husbands successor. Her regency officially ended in 1680, but she maintained power until her son banished her from further influence in the state in 1684 and she left a considerable architectural legacy in Turin, and was responsible for the remodelling of the Palazzo Madama, which was her private residence. At the time of her death she was the mother of the King of Sardinia as well as grandmother of two other kings, Louis I of Spain and Louis XV of France. Marie Jeanne Baptiste de Savoie was born at the Hôtel de Nemours in Paris, through her mother, Marie Jeanne was a great grand daughter of Henry IV of France via her father César de Bourbon, Légitimé de France, whose mother was Gabrielle dEstrées. This made her a half-first-cousin once removed of Louis XIV and a relation to most Catholic royalty at that time and she was a member of the Nemours cadet branch of the House of Savoy, which had settled in France in the sixteenth century. Marie Jeanne grew up with her sister Marie Françoise, Mademoiselle dAumale who was born in 1646 and she was styled as Mademoiselle de Nemours prior to marriage. As a young girl she frequented the salon of the famous Madame de La Fayette who later introduced Marie Jeanne into correspondence with Madame de Sévigné and these relationships would give her insight to the French court during her years as regent. Her father died in 1652, killed in a duel with his brother-in-law François, for the next several years she and her family were under the guardianship of her paternal uncle Henri II the new Duke of Nemours, though Marie Jeanne had inherited many of her fathers income sources. At Henris death in 1659 the duchy of Nemours reverted to the crown, with two young daughters, her mother Élisabeth looked to her maternal family for support in getting them properly settled. Élisabeths mother was a princess of Lorraine and her family wanted a match with Charles Emmanuel II, Duke of Savoy, who was the son of Christine Marie of France. Christine Marie summoned Marie Jeanne, her mother, and sister to Turin in 1659 for inspection, Charles Emmanuel showed a keen interest in Marie Jeanne as a potential wife. However, his mother had been warned by Cardinal Mazarin of Marie Jeannes ambitious nature, Christine Marie arranged a marriage between her son and Françoise Madeleine dOrléans, who proved suitably docile for the controlling mother. This wedding took place in 1663, having returned to France, Mademoiselle de Nemours caught the attention of the dashing Prince Charles of Lorraine, heir of the Duke of Lorraine. The court of Portugal had previously requested her hand in marriage, Charles rank was similar to that of the Duke of Savoy and the match was pursued by Marie Jeannes mother. She became engaged to Charles on 4 February 1662, the match was a popular one with the French court, and the union was supported by Queen Anne. However, when the Treaty of Montmartre was signed two days later, the duchies of Lorraine and Bar were surrendered to Louis XIV and this left the duke of Lorraine landless, and drove him to join the imperial court
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Maria Francisca of Savoy
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Maria Francisca of Savoy was twice queen consort of Portugal as the spouse of two Portuguese kings. She first became queen of Portugal at the age of 20 on the day of her marriage to Afonso VI, since the marriage was never consummated, she was able to obtain an annulment. On 28 March 1668, she married Afonsos brother, the Infante Peter, Duke of Beja, Maria Francisca became queen of Portugal for the second time when Peter succeeded his brother as Peter II in 1683. She herself died later that year, Maria Francisca was born in Paris as the younger daughter of Charles Amadeus, Duke of Nemours, and Élisabeth de Bourbon. Elisabeth was a granddaughter of Henry IV of France and his mistress Gabrielle dEstrées and her only surviving sibling was Marie Jeanne of Savoy. Prior to marriage she was styled Mademoiselle dAumale, a derived from the duchy of Aumale which was a property of her father. She departed from La Rochelle aboard the Vendôme, upon her arrival in Portugal, she became known as Maria Francisca Isabel de Sabóia. She was deeply disappointed with her new life at the court of Portugal, the wedding with King Afonso took place on 2 August 1666. She soon saw fit to participate in a coup that ended the government of Luís de Vasconcelos e Sousa, 3rd Count of Castelo Melhor, in cooperation with her brother-in-law. As the Portuguese Restoration War continued, the incapable King Afonso VI became dominated by members of the nobility. The queen began an affair with her brother-in-law, Peter, queen Maria Francisca and the kings brother Peter sponsored a revolt that forced the king to abdicate his powers and consent to an exile in Terceira in the Azores. She was revolted at her impotent and fat husband King Afonso, months after her annulment, Maria Francisca married the Infante Peter, now the Prince Regent of Portugal. In 1669 she gave birth to a daughter, Isabel Luísa Josefa of Portugal, the Braganza dynasty was at the brink of extinction, and Peter needed heirs, yet Maria Francisca was unable to produce further issue. When Afonso died in 1683, Peter succeeded him as Peter II of Portugal and Maria Francisca became queen again —, Maria Franciscas only child, the Infanta Isabel Luísa, died unmarried at age 22. Peter remarried to Maria Sofia of the Palatinate, who produced the much-needed heir and she was first buried at the Convent of the Francesinhas, then moved in 1912 to the Braganzas Pantheon at the Monastery of São Vicente de Fora. Maria Giovanna Battista of Savoy-Nemours, daughter, consort, and Regent of Savoy, queenship in Europe 1660-1815, The Role of the Consort
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Maria Luisa of Savoy
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Maria Luisa of Savoy was a Savoyard princess and the first wife of Philip V of Spain. She acted as Regent of Spain and had influence over her husband. She is closely associated with Princesse des Ursins, throughout her life, Maria Luisa remained close to her older sister Maria Adelaide who later married Louis, Duke of Burgundy, the eldest grandson of Louis XIV. In her youth, Maria Luisa was described as playful and fun loving and had received a good education, Philip V of Spain, a French prince, was recently crowned King of Spain upon the death of childless Charles II. In order to enforce his authority over Spain due to his French birth, Philip V decided to maintain ties with Victor Amadeus II. Maria Luisa was wed by proxy to Philip V on 12 September 1701 at the age of thirteen and was escorted to Nice. While in Nice, she was greeted by Pope Clement XI who gave her the Golden Rose on 20 September as a gift for the young princess. Within a week, she sailed from Nice for Antibes and was taken to Barcelona, the official marriage took place on 2 November 1701. The Princesse des Ursins was a member of the household of the Queen and she would maintain great influence over Maria Luisa as her Camarera mayor de Palacio, chief of the household to the young queen, who was still a child. As Philip V, contrary to the custom of the time, actually shared a bedroom with Maria Luisa and she was also said to be very beautiful and intelligent. Unlike what was normal for a Spanish monarch, he slept in her bed the entire night. In 1702, Philip V was obliged to leave Spain to fight in Naples as part of the ongoing War of Spanish Succession, during her husbands absence, Maria Luisa acted as Regent from Madrid. She was praised as a ruler, having successfully implemented various changes in government and insisted upon all complaints being investigated. Her leadership encouraged the reorganization in the junta and, in doing this, inspiring people, despite being only fourteen at that time, Maria Luisas effective regency made her admired in Madrid and throughout Spain. After her husbands return in 1703, she resumed her role as queen consort, in 1704, the Princesse des Ursins was exiled at the order of Louis XIV, devastating Maria Luisa. However, in 1705, the Princesse returned to Madrid, much to the joy of the young queen, Maria Luisa gave birth to the couples first child, Infante Luis Felipe in 1707. Maria Luisa gave birth to three children, two of whom would survive infancy. Towards the end of her life, the Queen became ill and she eventually died from the effects of tuberculosis on 14 February 1714
House of Savoy: Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus[1][2]
