Royal office
This article is about the royal office in Italian-speaking monarchies. For the office in the United Kingdom, see
Lord-lieutenant
.
The Italian word
luogotenente
(
Italian:
[?lw??ote?n?nte]
; plural
luogotenenti
) is an etymological parallel to
lieutenant
, deriving from the Latin
locum tenens
"holding a place", i.e. someone who fills a position instead of another, as a substitute or deputy.
A
luogotenente
generally is a high-ranking individual in a monarchy who either is designated to assume royal powers up to and including the
regency
of the kingdom in the event of the absence of the monarch, or is designated to exercise monarchical powers in a particular territory of the kingdom under the overall authority of the monarch. Typically, the office held by a
luogotenente
is the
lieutenenancy of the king
or
lieutenancy of the kingdom
and the title of a person exercising the authority of a lieutenancy has included
king's lieutenant
,
lieutenant general
(not to be confused with the military rank of
lieutenant general
), and
lieutenant general of the kingdom
, but many variations many variations in the title of the office and of the officeholder have existed.
Luogotenente
also has had other uses, serving as a military or administrative title in some contexts.
Republic of Venice
[
edit
]
In the
Republic of Venice
, "
luogotenente
" was the title of a senior provincial governor, used alongside the titles of
duke
(
duca
) or
provveditore generale
("
governor-general
").
A
luogotenente
held office in:
Kingdom of Sicily
[
edit
]
Under the Swabians
[
edit
]
As early as the 13th century, lieutenancy existed in the
Kingdom of Sicily
, then ruled by the
Swabians
, when
Manfred
ruled
Sicily
as
regent
on behalf of his brother Conard II (often called
Conradin
) with the title of "
luogotenente
."
Under the Aragonese
[
edit
]
After the
Angevin period
, the
Aragonese
took on the commitment to keep the Kingdom of Sicily distinct from the
Kingdom of Aragon
, and the
King of Aragon
appointed a
luogotenente
who reigned in Sicily in his absence. As a result of this policy, when
Peter III
was recalled to Spain he left the lieutenancy in Sicily to
Alfonso III of Aragon
. After that,
James II of Aragon
was invested with the role of
luogotenente
.
Over the centuries, princes not of royal blood who performed functions in Sicily on behalf of the King of Aragon were given the title of "king's lieutenant."
Under the Bourbons
[
edit
]
The
Bourbon
King of Naples
Ferdinand IV
, who also was
King of Sicily
as Ferdinand III aolished the office of
Viceroy of Sicily
in 1803 and established the position of "Lieutenant General of Sicily."
Alessandro Filangieri
, Prince of Cuto, served as
luogotenente generale
("lieutenant general') from 1803 to 1806. When
Napoleon
invaded the
Kingdom of Naples
in 1806, Ferdinand fled to
Palermo
in Sicily and resumed direct rule of the Kingdom of Sicily.
In 1812, Ferdinand refused to grant a constitution to the Sicilian parliament and, in 1813, he practically abdicated his throne, fleeing to
Ficuzza
and appointing his son Francesco (
Francis, Duke of Calabria
) to serve as
luogotenente generale
. In this role, Francis served as regent in Sicily.
After the fall of Napoleon, Ferdinand was able to return to Naples as ruler of the
Kingdom of Naples
in May 1815. Ferdinand kept Francis in Sicily as
luogotenente
. Francis retained his lieutenancy in Sicily until 1820, even after the establishment in 1816 of the
Kingdom of the Two Sicilies
, which Ferdinand ruled as Ferdinand I.
Kingdom of the Two Sicilies
[
edit
]
In the
Kingdom of the Two Sicilies
, a
Luogotenente generale dei reali domini al di la del Faro
(
Lieutenant-general of the royal domains beyond the Lighthouse
) served as the governor of Sicily in accordiance with the Statute of 11 December 1816. Holders of the Sicilian lieutenancy after the establishment of thr Kingdom of the Two Sicilies were:
- 1816 Niccolo Filangieri, prince of Cuto
- 1817
Francis, duke of Calabria
- 1820 Diego Naselli d'Aragona
- 1820 ? 1821
Pietro Colletta
, then
Vito Nunziante
- 1821 Niccolo Filangieri, prince of Cuto
- 1824 ? 1830 Pietro Ugo, marchese delle Favare
- 1830 ? 1835
Prince Leopold, Count of Syracuse
- 1835 ? 1837 Antonio Lucchesi-Palli, prince of Campofranco
- 1840 ? 1848 Lt.-Gen. Luigi Nicola De Majo, duke of San Pietro
- 1848 ? 1855 General
Carlo Filangieri
, prince of
Satriano
, duke of
Taormina
- 1855 ? 1860 Paolo Ruffo, prince of
Castelcicala
[
sh
]
- 1860 General Ferdinando Lanza
Kingdom of France
[
edit
]
In the
Kingdom of France
, the
Count of Artois
, brother of the
King of France
, preceded the return of King
Louis XVIII
to Paris after the fall of
Napoleon
in 1814 and took the title of "lieutenant general of the kingdom." From 2 to 9 August 1830,
Duke
Louis Philippe
of
Orleans
assumed the title of lieutenant general of the kingdom.
Austrian Empire and Austria-Hungary
[
edit
]
In the
Austrian Empire
and its successor state
Austria-Hungary
,
Imperiale Regio Luogotenente
("Imperial Royal Lieutenant") was the official title for imperial and royal
stadtholders
in Austro-Hungarian crown lands using Italian as an official language, such as
Dalmatia
,
Lombardo-Venetia
(which had two
luogotenenti
, one each for
Lombardy
and
Veneto
),
Gorizia and Gradisca
,
Istria
, and the
Imperial Free City of Trieste
, with the latter three lands combined under the one
luogotenente
of the
Littoral
. The title was in use between 1849 and 1918. Its equivalents in other official languages of Austria-Hungary were
namjesnik
(in
Croatian
),
mistodr?itel
(in
Czech
),
Statthalter
(in German),
helytarto
(in
Hungarian
),
namiestnik
(in
Polish
), and
namesnik
(in
Slovenian
).
Kingdom of Sardinia
[
edit
]
In the
Kingdom of Sardinia
, which the
House of Savoy
ruled prior to the
unification of Italy
, it was customary to appoint a lieutenant general of the kingdom (
Italian
:
luogotenente generale del regno
), chosen from among members of the Savoy royal family to carry out some of the king's duties as
viceroy
while the king was away from his office to follow the army on the battlefield during war. In 1848, when during the
First Italian War of Independence
(1848?1849)
King of Sardinia
Charles Albert
(
Italian
:
Carlo Alberto
) reached the battlefield in
Lombardy
, Eugene Emmanuel of Savoy-Carignano (
Italian
:
Eugenio Emanuele di Savoia-Carignano
) was appointed "lieutenant general of the kingdom", a position he also held in 1849, when, after Charles Albert's defeat in the
Battle of Novara
, it fell to him to make the announcement that the defeated king had
abdicated
and the crown of Sardinia had passed to his son
Victor Emmanuel II
(
Italian
:
Vittorio Emanuele II
).
Kingdom of Italy
[
edit
]
King's lieutenant
[
edit
]
In the
Kingdom of Italy
,
unified
under the
House of Savoy
, the institution of the lieutenancy general of the king (
Italian
:
luogotenenza generale del re
) was not codified in law, but became over time a true constitutional custom,
[4]
finding application in the
unification of Italy
(
Italian
:
Risorgimento
) between 1859 and 1870 and during
World War I
, in which
Italy participated
from May 1915 to November 1918.
Lieutenancies in the unification of Italy
[
edit
]
As he had in 1848?1849 in the Kingdom of Sardinia, Eugene Emmanuel of Savoy-Carignano held the title of "lieutenant general of the kingdom" in 1859 when King Victor Emmanuel II took part in the
Second Italian War of Independence
.
Immediately after the new Kingdom of Italy issued decrees annexing pre-unification
Italian states
, it delegated the function of governing the territories of the former states in the name of the king to a decentralized constitutional body that served as the provisional government in each state. A "lieutenant of the king" served as the leader of each provisional government and oversaw the administration of the territory of each former state while awaiting its administrative unification with the kingdom. The title of "lieutenant of the king" fell to various figures in the annexed territories, such as that of the dictator or the royal commissioner that preceded the annexation.
A lieutenancy was established on the territory of the former
Grand Duchy of Tuscany
, where Eugene Emmanuel of Savoy-Carignano was appointed "king's lieutenant" when the Kingdom of Italy annexed the grand duchy in 22 March 1860. He held the position until February 1861.
In the former territories of the
Kingdom of the Two Sicilies
in Sicily, King Victor Emmanuel II appointed
Senator
Massimo Cordero di Montezemolo
as "Lieutenant General of the King in the Sicilian Provinces" in December 1860 at the end of
Giuseppe Garibaldi
's
dictatorship
in Sicily. Montezemolo led a Council of Lieutenancy in Sicily which held he powers of the central government of the Kingdom of Italy except for those of
Foreign Affairs
,
War
, and
the Navy
. Montezemolo was followed by
Alessandro Della Rovere
and then
Ignazio De Genova di Pettinengo
before the lieutenancy ceased in January 1862.
In the
Neapolitan provinces
of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, which included most of
Southern Italy
(
Italian
:
Mezzogiorno
), Victor Emmanuel II appointed
Luigi Carlo Farini
as lieutenant general of the king on 6 November 1860. Eugene Emmanuel of Savoy-Carignano succeeded him on 3 January 1861 and remained in
Naples
until the end of May 1861. Thereafter, General
Enrico Cialdini
served as lieutenant general in Naples from 15 July to 15 October 1861.
Eugene Emmanuel of Savoy-Carignano held the title of "lieutenant general of the kingdom" in 1866 when Victor Emmanuel II took part in the
Third Italian War of Independence
.
After the Kingdom of Italy
captured Rome
from the
Papal States
in September 1870, it established the "General Lieutenancy of the King for Rome and the Roman Provinces" with Royal Decree Number 5906 of 9 October 1870. It was headed by
Alfonso La Marmora
. It was abolished on 1 February 1871.
World War I
[
edit
]
When Italy entered
World War I
on the side of the
Allies
in May 1915, King
Victor Emmanuel III
(
Italian
:
Vittorio Emanuele III
) decided to leave for
the front
and entrusted some of his governmental functions to his uncle,
Prince Tommaso
of Savoy,
Duke of Genoa
, by a special decree of 25 May 1915.
[5]
As lieutenant general, Prince Tommasso carried out only formal and protocol functions in
Rome
without any role in substantive governance. However, during the war years royal decrees were called "lieutenant decrees" and bore the signature of Prince Tommasso rather than that of Victor Emmanuel III. The war ended on 11 November 1918, but Prince Tommasso's lieutenancy extended well beyond that: It was not until 7 July 1919 that Prince Tommasso returned to private life and the king to the full extent of his functions in accordance with Decree Number 1082 of 6 July 1919.
[6]
Italian protectorate of Albania
[
edit
]
Italy
conquered
the
Albanian Kingdom
in April 1939, establishing the
Italian protectorate of Albania
with Victor Emmanuel III as its king. In 1940, the Kingdom of Italy considered appointing
Prince Adalberto
, Duke of
Bergamo
, to act as king's lieutenant general in
Albania
, but no such appointment took place.
[7]
Lieutenant General of the Kingdom
[
edit
]
During
World War II
, Italy
surrendered
to the
Allies
on 8 September 1943 and
switched to the Allied side
. The Kingdom of Italy's support for
Italian fascism
before the surrender and its choices thereafter had made the
House of Savoy
unpopular in Italy by the spring of 1944, leading to growing sentiment for King Victor Emmanuel III's
abdication
and even for the replacement of the monarchy with a republic; in fact, the leaders of anti-
fascist
Italian political parties desired the abdication of Victor Emmanuel, the renunciation of the throne by his son
Crown prince
Umberto
, former
Prince of Piedmont
, and the immediate appointment of a civil
regent
. In the spring of 1944, Victor Emmanuel reached an compromise agreement ? supported by former president of the
Chamber of Deputies
and future
president
of the
Italian Republic
Enrico De Nicola
[8]
? with the
National Liberation Committee
(
Italian
:
Comitato di Liberazione Nazionale
), to "freeze" the institutional question about the future government of Italy until the end of World War II and the concurrent
Italian Civil War
between the Kingdom of Italy and the
Italian Social Republic
. Under this agreement, Victor Emmanuel III retired to private life on 5 June 1944, remaining king but appointing his son
Umberto
, former
Prince of Piedmont
and heir to the throne, to serve as regent, exercising the prerogatives of the sovereign without holding the title of king.
Although Victor Emmanuel's signed appointment decree contained the traditional wording "Appointment of HRH [His Royal Highness] Umberto of Savoy, Prince of Piedmont, as Lieutenant General of the King," Umberto assumed the title of "Lieutenant General of the Kingdom" (
Italian
:
Luogotenente generale del Regno
) instead of "King's Lieutenant," as always used in the past. This choice was made to underline both Umberto's greater powers as lieutenant ? unlike previous lieutenants, he was not subordinate to the king ? and that the maintenance of the monarchy or the transition to a republican regime would be implemented freely, without the need to consult with or remove the king.
[9]
The title of "Lieutenant General of the Kingdom," rather than of the king, also rooted Umberto's role more with the Italian state than with the monarchy.
After his appointment, Umberto split his role between lieutenant and crown prince: As lieutenant general he ruled Italy like a provisional
head of state
, while as crown prince he served as pretender to a throne now removed from automatic dynastic succession, pending resolution of the question of the institutional form of the future Italian state. In 1944 he signed Lieutenant Decree-Law Number 151/1944, which established that "after the liberation of the national territory" of Italy from the
Axis powers
and the
Italian Social Republic
"the institutional forms" of government would be "chosen by the Italian people, who for this purpose" would elect "by universal, direct, and secret suffrage, a
Constituent Assembly
to decide on the new
Constitution of the State
," extending the vote to women for the first time. As lieutenant, Umberto soon earned the trust of the Allies thanks to his choice of orienting the policies of the Italian monarchy toward pro-Western positions.
Umberto's lieutenancy lasted until 9 May 1946, when the result of post-World War II elections led Vittorio Emanuele III's advisors to induce him to abdicate in advance of the referendum on the future governance of the Italian state scheduled for 2 and 3 June 1946. The advisors hoped that his abdication would further distance the House of Savoy from Victor Emmanuel, who had favored the advent of the fascist
Mussolini government
, and increase the chance that the referendum would result in the preservation of the monarchy. When Victor Emmanuel abdicated, Umberto took the throne as King Umberto II, but the results of the June 1946 referendum favored the abolition of the monarchy and establishment of the Italian Republic, and Umberto II reigned only until 18 June 1946 before going into exile.
Sovereign Military Order of Malta
[
edit
]
In the
Sovereign Military Order of Malta
, the
Luogotenente
("Lieutenant") of the Grand Master is a knightly officer who is in daily command of the Grand Master's own regimental
company
, to which the
famigliari
(closest personal staff) belong. During periods when the order has no Grand Master ? such as during much of the 19th century, and at other times when no Grand Master can be elected ? the Lieutenant of the Grand Master can govern the order, although without the prerogatives of honor pertaining to a sovereign.
In the event of the incapacitaton, resignation, or death of the Grand Master, the Grand Commander of the order can serve as "Lieutenant
ad interim
, carrying out ordinary administrative duties pending the election of a new Grand Master or of the Lieutenant of the Grand Master if no Grand Master can be elected.
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Luogotenenza"
.
Treccani.it ? Enciclopedie on line
(in Italian). Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana
. Retrieved
20 April
2012
.
- ^
Royal Decree, 25 May 1915, Number 699, published in the
Gazzetta Ufficiale del Regno d'Italia n. 131
(
Official Gazette of the Kingdom of Italy No. 131
) of 26 May 1915, Extraordinary (in Italian).
- ^
Decree Number 1082 of 6 July 1919, published in the
Gazzetta Ufficiale del Regno d'Italia n. 160
(
Official Gazette of the Kingdom of Italy No. 160
) of 7 July 1919 (in Italian).
- ^
Vignoli (2006), p. 170.
- ^
U. Zanotti-Bianco (2011). Cinzia Cassani (ed.).
La mia Roma: diario 1943?1944
[
con un saggio introduttivo di Fabio Grassi Orsini
] (in Italian).
Manduria
, Italy: Lacaita. p. 241.
ISBN
978-88-6582-005-6
.
- ^
B. Croce annotava "di chi il luogotenente sara luogotenente? Di un Re che non e piu Re? Se il luogotenente si ammala o muore o non ne puo piu e da le dimissioni, chi nominera il luogotenente del Re, che non e piu Re?". B. Croce, Taccuini di Guerra 1943?1945, a cura di C. Cassani,
Milan
, Italy, Adelphi, 2004, p. 117 (in Italian).
Sources
[
edit
]