King of Sardinia (1849?1861) and King of Italy (1861-1878)
Victor Emmanuel II
(
Italian
:
Vittorio Emanuele II
; full name:
Vittorio Emanuele Maria Alberto Eugenio Ferdinando Tommaso di
Savoia
; 14 March 1820 ? 9 January 1878) was
King of Sardinia
(also known as Piedmont-Sardinia) from 23 March 1849 until 17 March 1861,
[a]
when he assumed the title of
King of Italy
and became the first king of an independent,
united Italy
since the 6th century, a title he held until his death in 1878. Borrowing from the old
Latin
title
Pater Patriae
of the
Roman emperors
, the Italians gave him the epithet of
Father of the Fatherland
(
Italian
:
Padre della Patria
).
Born in
Turin
as the eldest son of
Charles Albert, Prince of Carignano
, and
Maria Theresa of Austria
, he fought in the
First Italian War of Independence
(1848?1849) before being made King of Sardinia following his father's abdication. He appointed
Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour
, as his Prime Minister, and he consolidated his position by suppressing the republican left. In 1855, he sent an
expeditionary corps
to side with French and British forces during the
Crimean War
; the deployment of Italian troops to the Crimea, and the gallantry shown by them in the
Battle of the Chernaya
(16 August 1855) and in the siege of Sevastopol led the Kingdom of Sardinia to be among the participants at the peace conference at the end of the war, where it could address the issue of the
Italian unification
to other European powers.
[1]
This allowed Victor Emmanuel to ally himself with
Napoleon III
, Emperor of France. France had supported Sardinia in the
Second Italian War of Independence
, resulting in liberating
Lombardy
from Austrian rule.
Victor Emmanuel supported the
Expedition of the Thousand
(1860?1861) led by
Giuseppe Garibaldi
, which resulted in the rapid fall of the
Kingdom of the Two Sicilies
in southern Italy. However, Victor Emmanuel halted Garibaldi when he appeared ready to attack
Rome
, still under the
Papal States
, as it was under French protection. In 1860, Tuscany, Modena, Parma and Romagna decided to side with Sardinia, and Victor Emmanuel then marched victoriously in the Marche and Umbria after the victorious
Battle of Castelfidardo
over the Papal forces. This led to his
excommunication
from the
Catholic Church
until 1878, just before his death in the same year. He subsequently met Garibaldi at
Teano
, receiving from him the control of southern Italy and becoming the first King of Italy on 17 March 1861.
In 1866, the
Third Italian War of Independence
allowed Italy to annex
Veneto
. In 1870, Victor Emmanuel also took advantage of the Prussian victory over France in the
Franco-Prussian War
to
conquer the Papal States
after the French withdrew. He entered Rome on 20 September 1870 and set up the new capital there on 2 July 1871. He died in Rome in 1878, and was buried in the
Pantheon
.
The Italian national
Victor Emmanuel II Monument
in Rome, containing the
Altare della Patria
, was built in his honour.
Biography
[
edit
]
Victor Emmanuel was born as the eldest son of
Carlo Alberto
Prince of Carignano, and
Maria Theresa of Austria
. His father succeeded a distant cousin as King of Sardinia in 1831. He lived for some years of his youth in
Florence
and showed an early interest in politics, the military, and sports. In 1842, he married his cousin,
Adelaide of Austria
. He was styled as the
Duke of Savoy
prior to becoming King of Sardinia.
He took part in the
First Italian War of Independence
(1848?1849) 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
in 1849 when his father abdicated the throne, after being defeated by the Austrians at the
Battle of Novara
. Victor Emmanuel was immediately able to obtain a rather favourable armistice at Vignale by the Austrian imperial army commander,
Radetzky
. The treaty, however, was not ratified by the Piedmontese
lower parliamentary house
, the Chamber of Deputies, and Victor Emmanuel retaliated by firing his Prime Minister, Claudio Gabriele de Launay, replacing him with
Massimo D'Azeglio
. 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 and infected race of canailles."
In 1852, he appointed
Count Camillo Benso of Cavour
("Count Cavour") as Prime Minister of Piedmont-Sardinia. This turned out to be a wise choice since Cavour was a political mastermind and a major player in the Italian unification in his own right. Victor Emmanuel II soon became the symbol of the "
Risorgimento
", the Italian unification movement of the 1850s and early 60s.
He was especially popular in the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia because of his respect for the new constitution and his liberal reforms.
Crimean War
[
edit
]
Following Victor Emmanuel's 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, France.
After successfully seeking British support and ingratiating himself with France and Napoleon III at the
Congress of Paris in 1856
at the end of the war, Count Cavour arranged a secret meeting with the French emperor. In 1858, they met at
Plombieres-les-Bains
(in
Lorraine
), where they agreed that if the French were to help Piedmont in its war against Austria, which still reigned over the
Kingdom of Lombardy?Venetia
in northern Italy, France would be awarded
Nice
and
Savoy
.
Wars of Italian Unification
[
edit
]
The Italo-French campaign against Austria in 1859 started successfully. However, sickened by the casualties of the war and worried about the mobilisation of Prussian troops, Napoleon III secretly made a treaty with
Franz Joseph of Austria
at
Villafranca
whereby Piedmont would only gain
Lombardy
. France did not as a result receive the promised Nice and Savoy, but Austria did keep
Venetia
, a major setback for the Piedmontese, in no small part because the treaty had been prepared without their knowledge. After several quarrels about the outcome of the war, Cavour resigned, and the king had to find other advisors. France indeed only gained Nice and Savoy after the
Treaty of Turin
was signed in March 1860, after Cavour had been reinstalled as Prime Minister, and a deal with the French was struck for plebiscites to take place in the Central Italian Duchies.
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 until 1878 when it was lifted just before his death. Then,
Giuseppe Garibaldi
conquered Sicily and Naples, and Piedmont-Sardinia grew even larger. On 17 March 1861, the Kingdom of Italy was officially established and Victor Emmanuel II became its king.
Victor Emmanuel supported
Giuseppe Garibaldi
's
Expedition of the Thousand
(1860?1861), 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
, as it was under French protection. In 1860, through local plebiscites, Tuscany, Modena, Parma and Romagna decided to side with Piedmont-Sardinia. Victor Emmanuel then marched victoriously in the
Marche
and
Umbria
after the victorious
battle of Castelfidardo
(1860) 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. He did not renumber himself after assuming the new royal title, however.
Turin
became the capital of the new state. Only
Lazio
,
Veneto
, and
Trentino
remained to be conquered.
Completion of the unification
[
edit
]
In 1866 Victor Emmanuel allied himself with
Prussia
in the
Third Italian War of Independence
. Although not victorious in the Italian theatre, he managed to receive Veneto after the Austrian defeat in Germany. The British Foreign Secretary, Lord Clarendon, visited Florence in December 1867 and reported to London after talking to various Italian politicians: "There is universal agreement that Victor Emmanuel is an imbecile; he is a dishonest man who tells lies to everyone; at this rate, he will end up losing his crown and ruining both Italy and his dynasty."
[3]
In 1870, after two failed attempts by Garibaldi, he also took advantage of the Prussian victory over France in the
Franco-Prussian War
to capture Rome after the French withdrew. He entered Rome on 20 September 1870 and set up the new capital there on 2 July 1871, after a temporary move to
Florence
in 1864. The new Royal residence was the
Quirinal Palace
.
The rest of Victor Emmanuel II's reign was much quieter. After the Kingdom of Italy was established he decided to continue on as King Victor Emmanuel II instead of Victor Emmanuel I of Italy. This was a terrible move as far as public relations went as it was not indicative of the fresh start that the Italian people wanted and suggested that Piedmont-Sardinia had taken over the Italian Peninsula, rather than unifying it. Despite this mishap, the remainder of Victor Emmanuel II's reign was consumed by wrapping up loose ends and dealing with economic and cultural issues. His role in day-to-day governing gradually dwindled, as it became increasingly apparent that a king could no longer keep a government in office against the will of Parliament. As a result, while the wording of the
Statuto Albertino
stipulating that ministers were solely responsible to the crown remained unchanged, in practice they were now responsible to Parliament.
Victor Emmanuel died in Rome in 1878, after meeting with the envoys of
Pope Pius IX
, who had reversed the excommunication, and received
last rites
. He was buried in the
Pantheon
. His successor was his son
Umberto I
.
[4]
Family and children
[
edit
]
In 1842 he married his paternal first cousin (aunt's daughter)
Adelaide of Austria
(1822?1855). With her, he had eight children:
[5]
In 1869 he married
morganatically
his principal mistress
Rosa Vercellana
(3 June 1833 ? 26 December 1885). Popularly known in
Piedmontese
as "Bela Rosin", she was born a commoner but made Countess of Mirafiori and Fontanafredda in 1858. Their offspring were:
- Vittoria Guerrieri (2 December 1848 ? 29 December 1905), married three times: to Giacomo Spinola, Luigi Spinola and Paolo DeSimone. She had issue.
- Emanuele Alberto Guerrieri (16 March 1851 ? 24 December 1894), Count of Mirafiori and Fontanafredda, married and had issue.
In addition to his morganatic second wife, Victor Emmanuel II had several other mistresses:
1)
Laura Bon
at Stupinigi, who bore him two children:
- Stillborn child (1852-1852).
- Emanuela of Roverbella (6 September 1853 ? 1896).
2) Baroness Vittoria Duplesis who bore him another daughter:
- Maria Savoiarda Projetti (1854?1885/1888).
3) Unknown mistress at Mondovi,
mother of:
- Donato Etna (1858?1938) who became a soldier during the First World War.
4) Virginia Rho at Turin, mother of two children:
- Vittorio di Rho (1861 ?
Turin
, 10 October 1913). He became a notable photographer.
- Maria Pia di Rho (25 February 1866 ?
Vienna
, 19 April 1947). Married to count Alessandro Montecuccoli.
5) Rosalinda Incoronata De Domenicis (1846?1916), mother of one daughter:
- Vittoria De Domenicis (1869?1935) who married doctor Alberto Benedetti (1870?1920), with issue.
6) Angela Rosa De Filippo, mother of:
- Actor Domenico Scarpetta (1876?1952)
Honours and arms
[
edit
]
Italian
[
edit
]
Foreign
[
edit
]
Arms
[
edit
]
|
|
|
Arms as knight of the
Golden Fleece
|
Coat of arms as King of Sardinia (1849?1861)
|
Greater coat of arms as King of Italy (1861?1878)
|
Ancestry
[
edit
]
Ancestors of Victor Emmanuel II
|
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|
See also
[
edit
]
Notes
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Arnold, Guy (2002).
Historical Dictionary of the Crimean War
. Scarecrow Press.
ISBN
9780810866133
.
- ^
Mack Smith, Denis
Italy and its Monarchy
, New Haven: Yale University Press, 1989 p. 42
- ^
"Excommunicating Politicians"
. 27 September 2004.
- ^
Genealogical data from the
Savoia
[
permanent dead link
]
page of the
Genealogie delle famiglie nobili italiane
website.
- ^
Luigi Cibrario (1869).
Notizia storica del nobilissimo ordine supremo della santissima Annunziata. Sunto degli statuti, catalogo dei cavalieri
. Eredi Botta. p. 107.
- ^
Almanacco Toscano per l'anno 1855
. Stamperia Granducale. 1840. p. 275.
- ^
Boettger, T. F.
"Chevaliers de la Toison d'Or - Knights of the Golden Fleece"
.
La Confrerie Amicale
. Retrieved
25 June
2019
.
- ^
"A Szent Istvan Rend tagjai"
Archived
22 December 2010 at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Großherzogtum Baden
(1865), "Großherzogliche Orden"
pp. 55
,
66
- ^
Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Konigreich Bayern
(1873), "Konigliche Orden" p.
8
- ^
Ferdinand Veldekens (1858).
Le livre d'or de l'ordre de Leopold et de la croix de fer
. lelong. p.
214
.
- ^
Jørgen Pedersen (2009).
Riddere af Elefantordenen, 1559?2009
(in Danish). Syddansk Universitetsforlag. p. 466.
ISBN
978-87-7674-434-2
.
- ^
"The Royal Order of Kamehameha"
.
crownofhawaii.com
. Official website of the Royal Family of Hawaii. Archived from
the original
on 28 February 2023
. Retrieved
2 December
2019
.
- ^
"Seccion IV: Ordenes del Imperio"
,
Almanaque imperial para el ano 1866
(in Spanish), 1866, p. 242
, retrieved
29 April
2020
- ^
"Koniglich Preussische Ordensliste"
,
Preussische Ordens-Liste
(in German),
1
, Berlin:
12
,
24
, 1877
- ^
Sachsen (1866).
Staatshandbuch fur den Freistaat Sachsen: 1865/66
. Heinrich. p. 4.
- ^
Sveriges statskalender
(in Swedish), 1877, p. 368
, retrieved
2 May
2020
– via runeberg.org
- ^
"Nichan ad-Dam, ou ordre du Sang, institue... - Lot 198"
.
- ^
Shaw, Wm. A. (1906)
The Knights of England
,
I
, London,
p. 59
Sources
[
edit
]
In Italian
[
edit
]
- Del Boca, Lorenzo (1998).
Maledetti Savoia
. Casale Monferrato: Piemme.
- Gasparetto, Pier Francesco (1984).
Vittorio Emanuele II
. Milan: Rusconi.
- Mack Smith, Denis (1995).
Vittorio Emanuele II
. Milan:
Mondadori
.
- Pinto, Paolo (1997).
Vittorio Emanuele II: il re avventuriero
. Milan: Mondadori.
- Rocca, Gianni (1993).
Avanti, Savoia!: miti e disfatte che fecero l'Italia, 1848?1866
. Milan: Mondadori.
External links
[
edit
]
Victor Emmanuel II
Born:
14 March 1820
Died:
9 January 1878
|
Regnal titles
|
Preceded by
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King of Sardinia
23 March 1849 ? 17 March 1861
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Succeeded by
|
Preceded by
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Duke of Savoy
23 March 1849 ? 9 January 1878
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Succeeded by
|
Vacant
Title last held by
Napoleon I
|
King of Italy
17 March 1861 ? 9 January 1878
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Succeeded by
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1st generation
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8th generation
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10th generation
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11th generation
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14th generation
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15th generation
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16th generation
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17th generation
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18th generation
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*member of a cadet branch of the House of Savoy
**
Prince of Savoy-Genoa
***
Prince of Savoy-Aosta
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