Nobility of Italy
Encyclopedia
Holy Roman Emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor is a term used by historians to denote a medieval ruler who, as German King, had also received the title of "Emperor of the Romans" from the Pope...
, the Holy See
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
, Kings of Italy
King of Italy
King of Italy is a title adopted by many rulers of the Italian peninsula after the fall of the Roman Empire...
or certain other Italian kings and sovereigns as members of a class of persons officially enjoying hereditary privileges which distinguished them from other persons and families. They often held lands as fiefs and sometimes were endowed with hereditary titles. Medieval "Italy" was a set of separate states until 1870 and had many royal bloodlines. Italian royal families were often related through marriage to each other and to other European royal families.
Pre-unification
Prior to Italian UnificationItalian unification
Italian unification was the political and social movement that agglomerated different states of the Italian peninsula into the single state of Italy in the 19th century...
, the existence of the Kingdom of Sardinia
Kingdom of Sardinia
The Kingdom of Sardinia consisted of the island of Sardinia first as a part of the Crown of Aragon and subsequently the Spanish Empire , and second as a part of the composite state of the House of Savoy . Its capital was originally Cagliari, in the south of the island, and later Turin, on the...
, the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies
Kingdom of the Two Sicilies
The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, commonly known as the Two Sicilies even before formally coming into being, was the largest and wealthiest of the Italian states before Italian unification...
(which before 1816 was split in Kingdom of Naples
Kingdom of Naples
The Kingdom of Naples, comprising the southern part of the Italian peninsula, was the remainder of the old Kingdom of Sicily after secession of the island of Sicily as a result of the Sicilian Vespers rebellion of 1282. Known to contemporaries as the Kingdom of Sicily, it is dubbed Kingdom of...
and Kingdom of Sicily
Kingdom of Sicily
The Kingdom of Sicily was a state that existed in the south of Italy from its founding by Roger II in 1130 until 1816. It was a successor state of the County of Sicily, which had been founded in 1071 during the Norman conquest of southern Italy...
), the Grand Duchy of Tuscany
Grand Duchy of Tuscany
The Grand Duchy of Tuscany was a central Italian monarchy that existed, with interruptions, from 1569 to 1859, replacing the Duchy of Florence. The grand duchy's capital was Florence...
, the Duchy of Parma
Duchy of Parma
The Duchy of Parma was created in 1545 from that part of the Duchy of Milan south of the Po River, as a fief for Pope Paul III's illegitimate son, Pier Luigi Farnese, centered on the city of Parma....
the Duchy of Modena, the Duchy of Savoy
Duchy of Savoy
From 1416 to 1847, the House of Savoy ruled the eponymous Duchy of Savoy . The Duchy was a state in the northern part of the Italian Peninsula, with some territories that are now in France. It was a continuation of the County of Savoy...
, the Duchy of Milan
Duchy of Milan
The Duchy of Milan , was created on the 1st of may 1395, when Gian Galeazzo Visconti, Lord of Milan, purchased a diploma for 100,000 Florins from King Wenceslaus. It was this diploma that installed, Gian Galeazzo as Duke of Milan and Count of Pavia...
, the Papal States
Papal States
The Papal State, State of the Church, or Pontifical States were among the major historical states of Italy from roughly the 6th century until the Italian peninsula was unified in 1861 by the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia .The Papal States comprised territories under...
, various republics and the Austrian and French dependencies in Northern Italy led to parallel nobilities with different traditions and rules.
Unification (1861-1870)
Piedmont
Piedmont is one of the 20 regions of Italy. It has an area of 25,402 square kilometres and a population of about 4.4 million. The capital of Piedmont is Turin. The main local language is Piedmontese. Occitan is also spoken by a minority in the Occitan Valleys situated in the Provinces of...
. The architect of Italian unification was Count Camillo Benso di Cavour, the Chief Minister of Victor Emmanuel. Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
itself remained for a further decade under the Papacy, and became part of the Kingdom of Italy only in 1870. In September of that year, invading Italian troops breached entered the city, and the ensuing occupation forced Pope Pius IX to his palace where he declared himself a prisoner in the Vatican until the Lateran Pacts of 1929.
Nobility in the Kingdom
Under the united Kingdom of ItalyKingdom of Italy (1861–1946)
The Kingdom of Italy was a state forged in 1861 by the unification of Italy under the influence of the Kingdom of Sardinia, which was its legal predecessor state...
a new national nobility, with an attempt (not wholly successful) to impose a uniform nobiliary law, was created, including male succession (although it was possible for ancient titles to be transferred to an heir in the female line by royal authority), and some acknowledgement by the King of Italy
King of Italy
King of Italy is a title adopted by many rulers of the Italian peninsula after the fall of the Roman Empire...
of titles conferred by Francis II
Francis II of the Two Sicilies
Francis II , was King of the Two Sicilies from 1859 to 1861. He was the last King of the Two Sicilies, as successive invasions by Giuseppe Garibaldi and Victor Emmanuel II of Sardinia ultimately brought an end to his rule, and marked the first major event of Italian unification...
of the Two Sicilies in exile by making new grants in the same name. Those nobles who maintained allegiance to the pope
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
became known as the Black Nobility
Black Nobility
The Black Nobility are Roman aristocratic families who sided with the Papacy under Pope Pius IX after the Savoy family-led army of the Kingdom of Italy entered Rome on September 20, 1870, overthrew the Pope and the Papal States, and took over the Apostolic Palace, and any nobles subsequently...
.
After the unification the kings of Italy continued to create titles of nobility to eminent Italians, this time with a validity for all of the Italian territory. For example, General Enrico Cialdini
Enrico Cialdini
Enrico Cialdini, Duca di Gaeta was an Italian soldier, politician and diplomat.-Biography:He was born at Castelvetro, in the province of Modena. In 1831 he took part in the insurrection at Modena, fleeing afterwards to Paris, whence he proceeded to Spain to fight against the Carlists...
was created Duca di Gaeta for his role during the unification. The practice continued until the 20th century, when nominations would be made by the Prime Minister and approved by the Crown. In the aftermath of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
most Italians who were ennobled received their titles through the Mussolini
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism....
government. Examples include General Armando Diaz
Armando Diaz
Armando Diaz, 1st Duca della Vittoria was an Italian general and a Marshal of Italy.Born in Naples, Diaz began his military career as a student at the Military Academy of Turin, where he became an artillery officer. He was a colonel commanding the 93rd infantry during the Italo-Turkish War, and...
(Duca della Vittoria), Admiral Paolo Thaon di Revel
Paolo Thaon di Revel
Paolo Emilio Thaon di Revel, 1st Duca del Mare was an Italian admiral of the Royal Italian Navy during World War I and later a politician....
(Duca del Mare), Commodore Luigi Rizzo
Luigi Rizzo
Luigi Rizzo, Conte di Grado e di Premuda was an Italian naval officer. He is famous for sinking the Austro-Hungarian battleship SMS Szent István in June 1918.-Biography:...
(Conte di Grado e di Premuda), Costanzo Ciano
Costanzo Ciano
Costanzo Ciano, 1st Count of Cortellazzo and Buccari was an Italian naval commander and politician. He was the father of Galeazzo Ciano....
(Conte di Cortellazzo i Buccari) and Cesare Maria de Vecchi
Cesare Maria De Vecchi
Cesare Maria De Vecchi, 1st Conte di Val Cismon was an Italian soldier, colonial administrator and Fascist politician.-Biography:...
(Conte di Val Cismon). Many of these were victory titles for services in World War I. The writer and aviator Gabriele d'Annunzio
Gabriele D'Annunzio
Gabriele D'Annunzio or d'Annunzio was an Italian poet, journalist, novelist, and dramatist...
was created Principe di Montenevoso in 1924, and the physicst, inventor and Nobel laureate
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
Guglielmo Marconi
Guglielmo Marconi
Guglielmo Marconi was an Italian inventor, known as the father of long distance radio transmission and for his development of Marconi's law and a radio telegraph system. Marconi is often credited as the inventor of radio, and indeed he shared the 1909 Nobel Prize in Physics with Karl Ferdinand...
was ennobled also in 1924 as Marchese Marconi.
in 1929, the Lateran Treaty acknowledged all Papal titles created before that date and undertook to give automatic recognition to titles conferred by the Holy See on Italian citizens in the future.
After the invasion of Abyssinia
Second Italo-Abyssinian War
The Second Italo–Abyssinian War was a colonial war that started in October 1935 and ended in May 1936. The war was fought between the armed forces of the Kingdom of Italy and the armed forces of the Ethiopian Empire...
the Mussolini government recommended further Italians to the king for titles of nobility. For example, Marshal Pietro Badoglio
Pietro Badoglio
Pietro Badoglio, 1st Duke of Addis Abeba, 1st Marquess of Sabotino was an Italian soldier and politician...
was created Marchese del Sabotino and later Duca di Addis Abeba
Duke of Addis Abeba
Duke of Addis Abeba is a hereditary title in the Italian nobility which was bestowed at the Italian conquest of Ethiopia as a victory title by King Victor Emmanuel III...
, and General Rodolfo Graziani
Rodolfo Graziani
Rodolfo Graziani, 1st Marquis of Neghelli , was an officer in the Italian Regio Esercito who led military expeditions in Africa before and during World War II.-Rise to prominence:...
became Marchese di Neghelli.
Republic of Italy
In 1946, the Kingdom of Italy was replaced by a republic. Under the Constitution of the Republic of Italy adopted in 1948, titles of nobility are not legally recognised.Titles of Nobility
The official ranks under the Kingdom of Italy (1871–1946) were:| Italian | Translation | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Masculine | Feminine | Masculine | Feminine |
| Re | Regina | King King - Centers of population :* King, Ontario, CanadaIn USA:* King, Indiana* King, North Carolina* King, Lincoln County, Wisconsin* King, Waupaca County, Wisconsin* King County, Washington- Moving-image works :Television:... |
Queen Queen consort A queen consort is the wife of a reigning king. A queen consort usually shares her husband's rank and holds the feminine equivalent of the king's monarchical titles. Historically, queens consort do not share the king regnant's political and military powers. Most queens in history were queens consort... |
| Principe | Principessa | Prince Prince Prince is a general term for a ruler, monarch or member of a monarch's or former monarch's family, and is a hereditary title in the nobility of some European states. The feminine equivalent is a princess... |
Princess Princess Princess is the feminine form of prince . Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or his daughters.... |
| Duca | Duchessa | Duke Duke A duke or duchess is a member of the nobility, historically of highest rank below the monarch, and historically controlling a duchy... |
Duchess |
| Marchese | Marchesa | Marquess Marquess A marquess or marquis is a nobleman of hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The term is also used to translate equivalent oriental styles, as in imperial China, Japan, and Vietnam... |
Marchioness Marchioness Marchioness could refer to:*A noblewoman with the rank of Marquess, or the wife of a Marquess.*The Marchioness, a pleasure boat that was sunk on the River Thames in 1989.... |
| Conte Conte Conte is a title of Italian nobility used in Italy and other Catholic European countries. The female form is contessa... |
Contessa | Count Count A count or countess is an aristocratic nobleman in European countries. The word count came into English from the French comte, itself from Latin comes—in its accusative comitem—meaning "companion", and later "companion of the emperor, delegate of the emperor". The adjective form of the word is... (Earl Earl An earl is a member of the nobility. The title is Anglo-Saxon, akin to the Scandinavian form jarl, and meant "chieftain", particularly a chieftain set to rule a territory in a king's stead. In Scandinavia, it became obsolete in the Middle Ages and was replaced with duke... ) |
Countess |
| Visconte | Viscontessa | Viscount Viscount A viscount or viscountess is a member of the European nobility whose comital title ranks usually, as in the British peerage, above a baron, below an earl or a count .-Etymology:... |
Viscountess |
| Barone | Baronessa | Baron Baron Baron is a title of nobility. The word baron comes from Old French baron, itself from Old High German and Latin baro meaning " man, warrior"; it merged with cognate Old English beorn meaning "nobleman"... |
Baroness Baroness Baroness is the female equivalent of the nobility title Baron.Baroness or The Baroness may also refer to:* Baroness , a metal band from Savannah, Georgia* Baroness , a fictional villain in the G.I... |
| Cavaliere (Cav.) | Hereditary Knight Bachelor Knight Bachelor The rank of Knight Bachelor is a part of the British honours system. It is the most basic rank of a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not as a member of one of the organised Orders of Chivalry... |
||
| Patrizio | Patrician | ||
| Nobili Nobiluomo (N.H.) | Nobildonna | Nobleman | |
This hierarchy resulted from the overlapping of those set by the pre-unitarian states, which were strongly different from each other. As a consequence, titles were not homogeneously distributed throughout the country and, respectively, in each region some title was completely absent.
The southern kingdoms of Naples, Sicily and Sardinia, as well as the Papal states, granted the ranks typical of monarchies such as Spain, France or England: Prince, Duke, Marquess, Count, Baron. The title of Viscount was not as frequently in Italy.
In Northern Italy and Tuscany the situation was more complex, because there were many kinds of authorities granting titles.
Typically, Italian comune
Comune
In Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.-Importance and function:...
s (also in the Kingdom of Naples
Kingdom of Naples
The Kingdom of Naples, comprising the southern part of the Italian peninsula, was the remainder of the old Kingdom of Sicily after secession of the island of Sicily as a result of the Sicilian Vespers rebellion of 1282. Known to contemporaries as the Kingdom of Sicily, it is dubbed Kingdom of...
) and Republics granted the title of Patrician, which was only regarded as a rank of nobility in Italy.
However, the Republic of Venice
Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice in Northeastern Italy. It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century until 1797. It was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in...
also granted feudal titles. In the two Republics of Venice and Genoa, the head of state had the title of Doge
Doge
Doge is a dialectal Italian word that descends from the Latin dux , meaning "leader", especially in a military context. The wife of a Doge is styled a Dogaressa....
, a variant form of Duca (Duke).
Until 1806, Northern Italy (except Venice) and Tuscany formed the Kingdom of Italy, belonging to the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
. The Emperor retained for himself the right of creating dukes and princes. The Northern Italian monarchs had received from the Emperor the right of granting the lower feudal titles (from Marquess downwards), since these monarchs often were princes and dukes themselves.
During Renaissance the monarchs conquered all the city-republics except Venice, Genoa, Lucca, San Marino and Ragusa. So, in most of Italy, patricians were integrated into the low ranks of aristocracy.
In the Middle Ages,
When in 1871 the King of Sardinia conquered the other Italian states, the Consulta Araldica
Consulta Araldica
The Consulta Araldica was a college instituted by royal decree on 10 October 1869 to advise the Italian government on noble titles, coats of arms and related matters. It was part of the Ministry of the Interior...
(the Italian college of arms) integrated these different and varied systems in the hierarchy described above.
Papal nobility
Throughout Italy, various influential families came to positions of power through the electionPapal conclave
A papal conclave is a meeting of the College of Cardinals convened to elect a Bishop of Rome, who then becomes the Pope during a period of vacancy in the papal office. The Pope is considered by Roman Catholics to be the apostolic successor of Saint Peter and earthly head of the Roman Catholic Church...
of a family member as Pope
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
or were elevated into the ranks of nobility through ecclesiastic promotion. These families freely intermarried with aristocratic nobility.
Like other noble families, those with both papal power and money were able to purchase comune
Comune
In Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.-Importance and function:...
s or other tracts of land and elevate family patriarchs and other relatives to noble titles. Hereditary patriarchs were appointed Duke, Marquis and even Prince of various 16th and 17th century principalities.
The period was famous for papal nepotism
Nepotism
Nepotism is favoritism granted to relatives regardless of merit. The word nepotism is from the Latin word nepos, nepotis , from which modern Romanian nepot and Italian nipote, "nephew" or "grandchild" are also descended....
and many families, such as the Barberini
Barberini
The Barberini are a family of the Italian nobility that rose to prominence in 17th century Rome. Their influence peaked with the election of Cardinal Maffeo Barberini to the papal throne in 1623, as Pope Urban VIII...
and Pamphili
Pamphili
The Pamphili are one of the papal families deeply entrenched in Roman Catholic Church, Roman and Italian politics of the 16th and 17th centuries ....
, benefited greatly from having a papal relative. Families that had previously been limited to agricultural or mercantile ventures found themselves, sometimes within only one or two generations, elevated to the social circles of Italian nobility when a relative was elected to the papal throne.
Modern Italy is dotted with the fruits of their success - various family palazzi remain standing today as a testament to their sometimes meteoric rise to power.
Italian Royal Palaces
- Palace of Caserta: residence of the King of the Two Sicilies.
- Royal Palace (Naples)Royal Palace (Naples)The Royal Palace is a palace in Naples, southern Italy. It is one of the four residences used by the Bourbon Kings of Naples during their rule of the Kingdom of Two Sicilies : one is in Caserta, another on the Capodimonte hill overlooking Naples, and the third is in Portici on the slopes of...
: residence of the King of the Two Sicilies. - Museo di CapodimonteMuseo di CapodimonteThe National Museum of Capodimonte is located in the Palace of Capodimonte, a grand Bourbon palazzo in Naples, Italy. The museum is the prime repository of Neapolitan painting and decorative art, with several important works from other Italian schools of painting, and some important Ancient Roman...
: residence of the King of the Two Sicilies. - Palazzo dei NormanniPalazzo dei NormanniThe Palazzo dei Normanni or Royal Palace of Palermo is a palace in Palermo, Italy. It was the seat of the Kings of Sicily during the Norman domination and served afterwards as the main seat of power for the subsequent rulers of Sicily...
: residence of the King of Sicily. - Residences of the Royal House of SavoyResidences of the Royal House of SavoyThe Residences of the Royal House of Savoy is a group of structures in Turin and its province, in Piedmont . Added to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites list in 1997, it includes the following patrimonies:-Residences:*In Turin:...
: residences of the King of Italy. - Palazzo Ducale di MantovaPalazzo Ducale di MantovaThe Palazzo Ducale di Mantova is a group of buildings in Mantua, Lombardy, northern Italy, built between the 14th and the 17th century mainly by the noble family of Gonzaga as their royal residence in the capital of their Duchy. The buildings are connected by corridors and galleries and are...
: residence of the Duke of Mantua. - Palazzo PittiPalazzo PittiThe Palazzo Pitti , in English sometimes called the Pitti Palace, is a vast mainly Renaissance palace in Florence, Italy. It is situated on the south side of the River Arno, a short distance from the Ponte Vecchio...
: residence of the Grandduke of Tuscany. - Castle of RacconigiCastle of RacconigiThe Royal Castle of Racconigi is a palace and landscape park in Racconigi, province of Cuneo, Italy. It was the official residence of the Carignano line of the House of Savoy, and is one of the Residences of the Royal House of Savoy included by UNESCO in the World Heritage Sites list.-History:The...
: residence of the Carignano line of the House of Savoy.
Italian Sovereign Houses
- House of SavoyHouse of SavoyThe House of Savoy was formed in the early 11th century in the historical Savoy region. Through gradual expansion, it grew from ruling a small county in that region to eventually rule the Kingdom of Italy from 1861 until the end of World War II, king of Croatia and King of Armenia...
: Kings of Italy, Kings of Sardinia, Dukes of Savoy, Princes of Piedmont - House of Este: Dukes of Ferrara, Modena and Reggio, counts of Polesine and Garfagnana
- House of Farnese: Dukes of Parma, Piacenza and Castro
- House of Bonaparte: King of Italy, King of Rome, King of Naples and Sicily, Emperor at the principality of Elba, Queen of Naples, Principi di Canino e di Musignano, Grand Duchess of Tuscany
- House of BourbonHouse of BourbonThe House of Bourbon is a European royal house, a branch of the Capetian dynasty . Bourbon kings first ruled Navarre and France in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Bourbon dynasty also held thrones in Spain, Naples, Sicily, and Parma...
: Kings of the Two Sicilies, Kings of Naples, Kings of Sicily, Dukes of Parma and Piacenza - House of Medici: Grand Dukes of Tuscany
- House of ViscontiHouse of ViscontiVisconti is the family name of two important Italian noble dynasties of the Middle Ages. There are two distinct Visconti families: The first one in the Republic of Pisa in the mid twelfth century who achieved prominence first in Pisa, then in Sardinia where they became rulers of Gallura...
: Dukes of Milan - House of SforzaHouse of SforzaSforza was a ruling family of Renaissance Italy, based in Milan.-History:The dynasty was founded by Muzio Attendolo , called Sforza , a condottiero from Romagna serving the Angevin kings of Naples...
: Dukes of Milan - House of GonzagaHouse of GonzagaThe Gonzaga family ruled Mantua in Northern Italy from 1328 to 1708.-History:In 1433, Gianfrancesco I assumed the title of Marquis of Mantua, and in 1530 Federico II received the title of Duke of Mantua. In 1531, the family acquired the Duchy of Monferrato through marriage...
: Dukes of Montferrat, Dukes of Mantua
Italian Papal Houses
- House of BarberiniBarberiniThe Barberini are a family of the Italian nobility that rose to prominence in 17th century Rome. Their influence peaked with the election of Cardinal Maffeo Barberini to the papal throne in 1623, as Pope Urban VIII...
- House of Borghese
- House of Borgia
- House of BorromeoHouse of BorromeoThe aristocratic Borromeo family, said to date from before the twelfth century, were counts of Arona from the mid-fifteenth century and played important roles in the politics of the Duchy of Milan and in the Catholic Reformation...
- House of Chigi
- House of Colonna
- House of Mattei
- House of OrsiniOrsini familyOrsini: the origin of learning.We love Mrs. Orsini forever! ~8F Social Studies 2011The Orsini family is an Italian noble family; it was one of the most influential princely families in medieval Italy and renaissance Rome...
- House of PamphiliPamphiliThe Pamphili are one of the papal families deeply entrenched in Roman Catholic Church, Roman and Italian politics of the 16th and 17th centuries ....
(later Doria-Pamphili-LandiDoria-Pamphili-LandiDoria-Pamphili-Landi is a princely Roman family of Genoese extraction. Legend has that the origins of the Doria family go back to the early 11th century, but the authentic pedigree is traced to Ansaldo d'Oria, consul of Genoa in the 12th century...
)
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