house of Savoy dynasty of Western Europe that ruled Savoy and Piedmont from the 11th cent., the kingdom of Sicily from 1714 to 1718, the kingdom of Sardinia from 1720 to 1861, and the kingdom of Italy from 1861 to 1946. Collateral branches of the house of Savoy include that of Nemours.

Savoy and Piedmont

Its first important member was Count Humbert the Whitehanded, a powerful feudal lord of the kingdom of Arles (in SE France) in the 11th cent. He held possessions in Savoy and acquired, through marriage, several fiefs in Piedmont , including Turin . Through marriage, diplomacy, and conquest his successors expanded their holdings in France, Switzerland, and Italy, acquiring Bresse and Bugey, Chablais (on the south shore of the Lake of Geneva), Lower Valais , Gex, Ivrea , Pinerolo , Nice , parts of Vaud and of Geneva , and other seigniories and towns. Chambéry , acquired in 1232, became the seat of the counts, whose scattered possessions were gradually consolidated. Amadeus VIII acquired the ducal title in 1416. His son Louis (d. 1465) married Anne de Lusignan, titular heiress to the kingdoms of Jerusalem, Cyprus, and Armenia; these titles were later borne by ruling members of the house.

The expansion of Switzerland and the Italian Wars resulted in the temporary disintegration of the duchy. The Swiss took the lower Valais (1475) and Vaud (1536); Geneva became independent (1533); and the rest of the duchy was occupied (1536) by Francis I of France. In 1559, however, Duke Emmanuel Philibert , called Ironhead, obtained the restoration of his duchy—except the larger part of the Swiss conquests—under the Treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis. Emmanuel Philibert made Turin his capital, thus shifting the center of his duchy from France to Italy. The language and tone of the court, however, remained French until the late 18th cent. Emmanuel Philibert's son and successor, Charles Emmanuel I , unsuccessfully sought to reconquer Geneva. He gained (1601) the marquisate of Saluzzo in Piedmont from France in exchange for Bresse, Bugey, and Gex.

The Kingdom of Sicily

Charles Emmanuel I's successor, Victor Amadeus II , expanded his territories by advantageous alliances. In the War of the Spanish Succession he sided first with France, then with the forces of the Holy Roman emperor; by the peace of Utrecht (1713–14) he became king of Sicily and enlarged his Piedmontese territories. His cousin, Eugene of Savoy , headed the imperial forces in the war. Spain reconquered Sicily in 1718 but was forced by the Quadruple Alliance to cede Sardinia to Victor Amadeus in exchange for Sicily.

The Kingdom of Sardinia

After the acquisition of Sardinia, the political history of the dynasty became that of the kingdom of Sardinia (see Sardinia, kingdom of ) and of Italy. Victor Amadeus II was succeeded by Charles Emmanuel III (reigned 1730–73), Victor Amadeus III (reigned 1773–96), and Charles Emmanuel IV, who lost all but the island of Sardinia to Napoleon I and abdicated (1802) in favor of his brother, Victor Emmanuel I . Restored to his possessions in 1814, Victor Emmanuel I abdicated in 1821, after the outbreak of a revolution in Piedmont. His brother and successor, Charles Felix, died without issue in 1831, and the cadet line of Savoy-Carignano, descended from a younger son of Charles Emmanuel I, came to the throne in the person of Charles Albert .

The Kingdom of Italy

In Charles Albert's reign the house of Savoy became the center of the Risorgimento , the movement that led to the unification of Italy under his son, Victor Emmanuel II . Savoy itself, however, was ceded to France in 1860. Humbert I , who succeeded (1878) Victor Emmanuel II as king of Italy, was assassinated in 1900. His son and successor, Victor Emmanuel III , also took the titles emperor of Ethiopia (1936) and king of Albania (1939); after the Italian armistice (1943) with the Allies in World War II he delegated (1944) his powers to his son, who briefly ruled (1946) as Humbert II from Victor Emmanuel's abdication until the establishment of the Italian republic, when the family went into exile. Male members of the family were barred from entering Italy from 1948 to 2002.

A younger son of Victor Emmanuel II, Amadeus , was given the title duke of Aosta; he was king of Spain from 1870 to 1873. His ducal title descended to Emmanuel Philibert, duke of Aosta .

Bibliography

See E. L. Cox, The Eagles of Savoy (1974).

Savoy , Fr. Savoie, Alpine region of E France. The boundaries of old Savoy have changed with time, but presently the region comprises the departments of Savoie and Haute-Savoie . It is bounded on the N by Lake Geneva, on the W by the Rhône River, on the S by Dauphiné , and on the E by the Alpine crest on the Swiss and Italian borders. Chambéry is the historic capital of French Savoy. The region commands many important passes connecting France and Italy (notably the historic Little Saint Bernard and the Mont Cenis ) and includes the French portion of the highest Alpine peak, Mont Blanc . Agriculture and dairying have long been the region's chief occupations. Tourism is also important, and there are many spas, the most notable at Évian-les-Bains . Savoy was inhabited by the Allobroges at the time Julius Caesar conquered the region. It became part of the first kingdom of Burgundy (5th cent.) and later of the kingdom of Arles (10th cent.), after which it was ceded to the Holy Roman Empire. In the 11th cent., Humbert the Whitehanded, a lord of Arles, consolidated the various feudal territories of the region, and from then on the region's history is closely linked with the house of Savoy (see Savoy, house of ). Under Amadeus VIII, Savoy became (early 15th cent.) a duchy extending far into France, Italy, and Switzerland. By the beginning of the 16th cent. the rule of the dukes had grown weak, and Savoy fell under French and Swiss dominance. Emmanuel Philibert greatly restored the territory and fortunes of the region and moved the ducal residence to Turin (1559), after which Savoy became essentially an Italian rather than a French state. When Victor Amadeus II became king of Sardinia in 1713, Savoy became a part of that new state (see Sardinia, kingdom of ). Annexed by France in 1792, Savoy was returned to Sardinia in 1815. Finally, by the Treaty of Turin (1860), Piedmont , then the ruling part of Savoy, ceded French Savoy to France. The region was annexed after a plebiscite.

Savoy

A territory in what is now southeastern France that held a strategic position astride the Alpine passes that linked Italy and northern Europe and became an influential state during the Renaissance. The Savoy dynasty was founded in the eleventh century by Humbert aux Blanches Mains (White Hands), who extended his domain into northern Italy. Savoy established a parliament of nobles, clergy, and city representatives in 1264 and a lawmaking assembly in 1329. In 1416 Amadeus VIII, the Count of Savoy, was granted the titles of prince and Duke of the Holy Roman Empire by the Emperor Sigismund. The duchy was one of the first states in Europe to convene a regular assembly of representatives and write a constitution, known as the Statutes of Savoy, that set down the privileges of its three “estates” of nobility, clergy, and townspeople. In 1559 the capital was moved from Chambery to the northern Italian city of Turin. Savoy remained a prosperous and stable region, a refuge for many seeking shelter from the religious and political turmoil affecting France and Italy during the Renaissance.

See Also: France

Savoy Area of se France, bounded by Lake Geneva (n), the River Rhône (w), the Dauphiné (s), and the Alps of Italy and Switzerland (e); it includes the departments of Haute Savoie and Savoie. It was part of the first Burgundian kingdom, the kingdom of Arles and, in the 11th century, the Holy Roman Empire. In 1416 it became a duchy, incorporating parts of France, Switzerland, and Italy. An Italian state in the 16th century, it was part of the kingdom of Sardinia after 1713. France annexed Savoy in 1792. It returned to Sardinia in 1815, who finally ceded to France by the Treaty of Turin (1860).

Savoy European dynasty and ruling House of Savoy and Piedmont from the 11th century, Sardinia from 1720 to 1861 and Italy from 1861 to 1946. The dynasty was founded by Humbert the White-handed (d. c.1047), the first Count of Savoy. Their seat was Chambéry, France, from 1232 to 1559, when Emmanuel Philibert relocated to Turin. The House of Savoy led the Risorgimento movement, and Italy unified under Victor Emmanuel II.

Savoy, a short-lived but important periodical, edited by Arthur Symons, of which eight issues appeared in 1896, with contributions by Beardsley, Conrad, Dowson, and others.

savoy •ahoy, alloy, Amoy, annoy, boy, buoy, cloy, coy, destroy, employ, enjoy, Hanoi, hoi polloi, hoy, Illinois, joy, koi, oi, ploy, poi, Roy, savoy, soy, toy, trompe l'œil, troy