1.
Maria Giovanna Clementi
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Maria Giovanna Clementi was an Italian painter, specializing in portraits. She was born in Turin, the daughter of a surgeon and her husband was Giuseppe Bartolomeo Clementi, about whom little is known. She trained in Turin with court painter Giovanni Battista Curlando, who advised her to specialize in portraits, in 1733 she resided with her husband in the palace of Count Carlo Giacinto Roero. Some documents show that at least since 1722, she worked for the court, painting portraits of members of the royal family of Savoy that were to be exchanged with other European courts
2.
King of Sardinia
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The following is a list of rulers of Sardinia, in particular, of the monarchs of the Kingdom of Sardinia and Corsica from 1323 and then of the Kingdom of Sardinia from 1479 to 1861. Owing to the absence of sources, little is known of the history of the Nuraghic civilization which constructed impressive megalithic structures between the 18th and the 12th centuries BCE. Greek colonization of the city of Olbia has been confirmed by recent archaeological excavations, Godas 533–535 According to Procopius, Godas was a Vandal governor of Sardinia who rebelled against his king, Gelimer, who ruled northern Africa and Sardinia. Procopius wrote that Godas behaved like a king, but it was a short-lived kingdom, Godas was defeated and killed after two years by an expedition from Carthage led by King Gelimers brother, Tzazo. Shortly afterwards, Roman troops sent by Emperor Justinianus and led by General Belisarius, totally annihilated the Vandal kingdom, before the Kingdom of Sardinia was founded, the rulers of the island were known as archons or judges. The island was organized into one judicatus from the 9th century, after the Muslim conquest of Sicily in the 9th century, the Byzantines could no longer defend their isolated far western province. In all likelihood a local noble family came to power, still identifying themselves as vassals of the Byzantines, of those rulers, only two names are known, Salusios and the protospatharios Turcoturios, who probably reigned some time in the 10th and 11th centuries. They were still linked to the Byzantines, both by a pact of ancient vassalage and from culturally, with the use of the Greek language. In the early 11th century, Muslims based in Spain attempted to conquer the island, the only records of that war are from Pisan and Genoese chronicles. The Christians won but afterwards the previous Sardinian kingdom had been undermined and was divided into four small judicati, Cagliari, Arborea, Gallura, List of judges of Arborea, c. 1070–1410 List of judges of Cagliari, c, 1060–1258 List of judges of Gallura, c. 1070–1288 List of judges of Logudoro, c, in 1249, he was captured by his enemies and imprisoned in Bologna, where he died 26 years later. None of these rulers had authority over the whole island. In 1269, a faction in Logudoro elected Philip of Sicily as king of all Sardinia. James II of Aragon received royal investiture from Pope Boniface VIII in 1297 as Rex Sardiniae et Corsicae, the Aragonese did not take possession of the island until 1323, after a victorious military campaign against the Pisans. However, the Sardinian royal title did not have a line of succession. Between 1410 and 1412 there was an interregnum, Sardinia was taken over by Habsburg troops in 1708 during the War of the Spanish Succession in the name of the Habsburg claimant to the Spanish throne, Charles III. At the end of the war, Sardinia remained in Charles possession and, Spanish forces invaded the kingdom in 1717 during the War of the Quadruple Alliance
3.
Charles Emmanuel III of Sardinia
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Charles Emmanuel III was the Duke of Savoy and King of Sardinia from 1730 until his death. He was born a Prince of Savoy in Turin to Victor Amadeus II of Savoy and his maternal grandparents were Prince Philippe of France and his first wife Princess Henrietta Anne, the youngest daughter of King Charles I of England and Henrietta Maria of France. From his birth he was styled as the Duke of Aosta, at the time of his birth, Charles Emmanuel was not the heir to the Duchy of Savoy, his older brother Prince Victor Amadeus John Philip, Prince of Piedmont, was the heir apparent. Charles Emmanuel was the second of three males that would be born to his parents and his older brother died in 1715 and Charles Emmanuel then became heir apparent. As a result of his aid in the War of the Spanish Succession, Victor Amadeus was forced to exchange Sicily for the less important kingdom of Sardinia in 1720 after objections from an alliance of four nations, including several of his former allies. Yet he retained his new title of King, however, Victor Amadeus in his late years was dominated by shyness and sadness, probably under the effect of some mental illness. In the end, on 3 September 1730, he abdicated and he was not loved by Victor Amadeus, and consequently received an incomplete education. He however acquired noteworthy knowledge in the field along his father. In summer,1731, after having recovered from a fatal illness. The old king was confined to the Castle of Rivoli, where he died without any further harm to Charles. In the War of the Polish Succession Charles Emmanuel sided with the French- backed king Stanislaw I, after the treaty of alliance signed in Turin, on 28 October 1733 he marched on Milan and occupied Lombardy without significant losses. However, when France tried to convince Philip V of Spain to join the coalition, he asked to receive Milan and this was not acceptable for Charles Emmanuel, as it would recreate a Spanish domination in Italy as it had been in the previous centuries. While negotiations continued about the matter, the Savoy-French-Spanish troops attacked Mantua under the command of Charles Emmanuel himself. Sure that in the end Mantua would be assigned to Spain, the Franco-Piedmontese army was victorious in two battles at Crocetta and Guastalla. In the end, when Austria and France signed a peace, in exchange, he was given some territories, including Langhe, Tortona and Novara. Charles Emmanuel was involved in the War of the Austrian Succession, in which he sided with Maria Theresa of Austria, with financial and naval support from England. After noteworthy but inconclusive initial successes, he had to face the French-Spanish invasion of Savoy and, after a failed allied attempt to conquer the Kingdom of Naples, when the enemy army invaded Piedmont, in 1744 he personally defended Cuneo against the Spanish-French besiegers. The following year, with some 20,000 men, he was facing an invasion of two armies with a total of some 60,000 troops, the important strongholds of Alessandria, Asti and Casale fell
4.
Charles Emmanuel IV of Sardinia
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Charles Emmanuel IV was King of Sardinia from 1796 to 1802. He abdicated in favour of his brother Victor Emmanuel I, carlo Emanuele Ferdinando Maria di Savoia was born in Turin, the eldest son of Victor Amadeus III, King of Sardinia and of his wife Infanta Maria Antonia Ferdinanda of Spain. From his birth to his own succession to the throne of Sardinia in 1796, in 1775, Charles Emmanuel married Marie Clotilde of France, the daughter of Louis, Dauphin of France and Princess Marie-Josèphe of Saxony, and sister of King Louis XVI of France. Although the union was arranged for political reasons, Charles Emmanuel and their attempts to have children, however, were unsuccessful. At the death of his father, Charles Emmanuel succeeded as King of Sardinia, the kingdom included not only the island of Sardinia, but also significant territories in northwest Italy including all of Piedmont. At his succession to the throne in 1796, Sardinia had been forced to conclude the disadvantageous Treaty of Paris with the French Republic, the following year he tried unsuccessfully to regain Piedmont. He and his wife lived in Rome and in Naples as guests of the wealthy Colonna family, on 7 March 1802 Charles Emmanuels wife Marie Clothilde died. He was so moved by her death that he decided to abdicate, Charles Emmanuel retained the personal title of King. He lived in Rome and in the town of Frascati. In Frascati he was a frequent guest of Henry Benedict Stuart, Cardinal Duke of York, last member of the Royal House of Stuart, who was his cousin. Charles was descended from Henrietta Anne Stuart, the youngest daughter of Charles I, when Henry died in 1807, Charles Emmanuel became the senior heir-general of King Charles I of England and Scotland. There is no evidence that Charles Emmanuel ever attempted to make a public claim to the title of King of England or Scotland. Indeed, in 1815 at the age of sixty-four Charles Emmanuel took simple vows in the Society of Jesus and he was never ordained to the priesthood, but lived the rest of his life at the Jesuit novitiate in Rome. Charles Emmanuel died at the Palazzo Colonna in Rome on 6 October 1819 and he is buried in the Church of SantAndrea al Quirinale
5.
Royal Palace of Turin
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The Royal Palace of Turin is a historic palace of the House of Savoy in the city of Turin in Northern Italy. It was originally built in the 16th century and was modernized by Christine Marie of France in the 17th century. The palace also includes the Palazzo Chiablese and the Chapel of the Holy Shroud, in 1946, the building became the property of the state and was turned into a museum. In 1997, it was placed on the UNESCO World Heritage Site list along with 13 other residences of the House of Savoy, construction of the palace was ordered by the Regent Maria Christina in 1645. She wanted a new residence for the court after her son returned from the civil war. The chosen location was the previous Bishops Palace, which had built in the middle of the new capital of Savoy, Turin, during the reign of Emmanuel Philibert. Its advantages included an open and sunny position, in addition to being close to buildings where the court met. The Duke was able to monitor the two entrances of the city from the Bishops Palace, the Bishops Palace in Turin was later captured by the French in 1536 and served as a residence of the French Viceroys of Savoy, who were appointed by Francis I of France. Opposite the Bishops Palace was the Palazzo Vecchio or the Palazzo di San Giovanni and this building, disparagingly known as Pasta con Tonno because of its architecture, was later replaced by the grand Ducal Palace. Thus the old Bishops Palace became the seat of power and was expanded by Emmanuel Philibert to house his ever growing collection of art, animals, marbles. Emmanuel Philibert died in Turin in August 1580 and the Savoyard throne was handed down to his son, Charles Emmanuel I and his son, the future Victor Amadeus I, Duke of Savoy, entered into a prestigious marriage when he married the French Princess Christine Marie of France. Their marriage took place in Paris at the Louvre in 1619, Victor Amadeus I succeeded to the Duchy of Savoy in 1630. He had previously spent his youth in Madrid at the court of his grandfather and his wife set the tone for Victor Amadeus Is reign. Christine Marie had the court moved from the palace in Turin to the Castello del Valentino. Many of Victor Amadeus I and Christine Maries children were born at Valentino, including Francis Hyacinth, Duke of Savoy and his successor Charles Emmanuel II, Duke of Savoy. Christine Marie became the regent of Savoy after the death of her husband in 1637 on behalf of her two sons, who succeeded as Dukes of Savoy. During the reign of Victor Amadeus II, the Daniel gallery was created and named after Daniel Seiter, Victor Amadeus II also had a collection of summer apartments built to look onto the court and a winter apartment overlooking the gardens. His wife was the niece of Louis XIV, born Anne Marie dOrléans, Louis XVs mother and aunt were born in the palace in 1685 and 1688, respectively
6.
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
7.
Duchy of Savoy
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From 1416 to 1860, the Duchy of Savoy was a state in Western Europe. It was created by Sigismund, King of the Romans, raised the County of Savoy into a duchy for Duke Amadeus VIII, the duchy was a subject of the Holy Roman Empire with a vote in the Imperial Diet. From the 16th century, it belonged to the Upper Rhenish Circle, during all its history, it was ruled by the House of Savoy. The Duchy is considered to be a part of the Savoyard state, the Duchy was created in 1416 following Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor, awarding the title Duke to Count Amadeus VIII. Being landlocked at its conception in 1388, the then-County of Savoy acquired a few kilometres of coastline around Nice, other than this expansion, the 14th century was generally a time of stagnation. Pressure from neighboring powers, particularly France, prevented development, which characterizes the rest of the Renaissance era for Savoy, the reign of Amadeus VIII was a turning point for the economy and the policy of the state, which deeply marked the history of the nation. His long reign was highlighted by wars, as well as reforms and edicts, the first was in 1434, when he chose to withdraw to the Château de Ripaille, where, living the life of a hermit, he founded the Order of St. Maurice. In 1439 he received an appointment as antipope which he accepted, the duke left the territory largely formed from the old Savoy domain. As a cultured and refined man, Duke Amadeus gave great importance to art, among others, he worked with the famous Giacomo Jaquerio) in literature and architecture, encouraging the entry of art to the Italian Piedmont. However, his first son Amedeo died prematurely in 1431, succeeded by his second son Louis, during this period, France was more or less free to control the affairs of Savoy, which bound Savoy to the crown in Paris. The Duchys economy suffered during these years, not only because of war, but also because of the administration by Violante. The future of the nation was entrusted to the hands of a boy, Philibert I and he was succeeded by Charles I, whose ascent to the throne seemed to promise a rebirth of the country. When Philibert II died in 1504, he was succeeded by Charles III the Good, since 1515, Savoy was occupied by foreign armies, and Francis I of France was just waiting for the opportunity to permanently annex the duchy of Savoy and its possessions. In 1536 Francis I ordered the occupation of the Duchy, which was invaded by a military contingent. Charles III realized too late the weakness of the state, however, the city was lost on April 3 of the same year. Charles III retired in Vercelli, trying to continue the fight, Emmanuel Philibert was the Duke who more than any influenced the future policy of Savoy, managing to put an end to the more than twenty-year long occupation. The Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis, signed in 1559, restored full autonomy for the duchy, from his military experience in Flanders, Emmanuel Philibert learned how to run an army, having won the famous Battle of St. Quentin. He was the first Duke of Savoy to establish a stable military apparatus that was not composed of mercenaries but rather by specially trained Savoyan soldiers
8.
Moncalieri Castle
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The Castle of Moncalieri is a palace in Moncalieri, Piedmont, in northern Italy. It is one of the Residences of the Royal House of Savoy listed by UNESCO as World Heritage Sites in 1997, the first structure was a fortress built by Thomas I of Savoy around 1100 on a hill, to command the main southern access to Turin. In the mid-15th century Yolanda of Valois, wife of Duke Amadeus IX, architect Carlo di Castellamonte enlarged the construction substantially, and the interiors were redesigned by him and other local artists. The castle was the site of the marriage between Maria Vittoria Francesca of Savoy to the Prince of Carignano and it was also the place where Maria Carolina of Savoy married Anthony of Saxony by proxy in 1781. It was the scene of the death of Maria Antonietta of Spain in 1785, Victor Amadeus would later die there in 1796. The castle was used extensively by the Savoyards, and was the first castle occupied in 1798 by the French armies, who retained it until 1814. Returned to Victor Emmanuel I of Sardinia and later to his distant nephew Charles Albert of Sardinia, Prince of Carignano, king Victor Emmanuel II preferred it to the Royal Palace of Turin, and had numerous apartments furnished according to his tastes. In 1849, it was from this palace that emerged the famous Proclamation of Moncalieri, written by Massimo DAzeglio, the palace was later was used by the Mother Queens and royal princesses. Since 1921 it has been the home of the 1st Battalion of the Carabinieri, on April 5,2008, a fire broke out in the castle, damaging one of the towers and the hall of the proclaim. The current structure of the castle is in the shape of a horseshoe facing south, with four square towers at each angle. The side sections have fived floors, brick walls and robust buttresses, two other minor buildings parallel the side sections and create two courts. The southern façade has a giardino allitaliana and two cylindrical towers, last remains of the 15th-century castle. The northern entrance has also a notable belvedere
9.
Basilica of Superga
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The Basilica of Superga is a church in the vicinity of Turin. It was built from 1717 to 1731 for Victor Amadeus II of Savoy, designed by Filippo Juvarra and this fulfilled a vow the duke had made during the Battle of Turin, after defeating the besieging French army within the War of the Spanish Succession. The architect alluded to earlier styles while adding a baroque touch, the church contains the tombs of many princes and kings of the House of Savoy, including the Monument to Carlo Emanuele III by Ignazio Collino and his brother Filippo. Under the church are the tombs of the Savoy family, including most of its members and this church by Juvarra is considered late Baroque-Classicism. The dome was completed in 1726 and resembles some elements of Michelangelos dome at St. Peters Basilica and this is no coincidence as Juvarra studied and worked in Rome for ten years prior to working in Turin. The temple front protrudes from a dome structure citing the Pantheon, the temple front is larger than typical proportions because the Superga is set upon this hill. It is also believed that Victor Amadeus wanted the basilica to rest on this hill as reminder of the power of the Savoy family as well as continue a line of sight to the castle in Rivolli. Later, the Stupinigi completed the triangle between the three residences of Savoy, the Royal Crypt of Superga is the burial place of the Savoy family. Victor Amadeus, having knelt down in front of an old prop, swore that, in case of victory, from dawn until the early hours of the afternoon of September 7 the armies clashed in the fields at Jaya and Madonna di Campagna. Piedmontese armies achieved victory over the French, the entrance of the basilica with its portico supported by eight columns. Vittorio Amedeo was crowned King of Sicily and he entrusted the design of this building to Filippo Juvarra. The mountain at which the Basilica is found was the site of the Superga air disaster of Grande Torino football team in 1949. The Royal crypt is the burial place of members of the House of Savoy, successively Dukes of Savoy, Kings of Sardinia. Two kings of Italy, Victor Emmanuel II and Umberto I have been interred in the Pantheon, Rome. The earlier generations of the House of Savoy as well as the last king of Italy, Umberto II, are buried in Hautecombe Abbey, padre Benedetto Marengo, La Basilica di Superga. Cenni storici del più grande monumento juvarriano, Tipografia Scarafaglio, Torino,1997 Reina Gabriele, Guadalupi Gianni, il Mausoleo dei Savoia, Omega,2008, ISBN 88-7241-528-4 official site
Media related to Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia at Wikimedia Commons
