Order of the Crown of Italy

Summary

The Order of the Crown of Italy (Italian: Ordine della Corona d'Italia or OCI) was founded as a national order in 1868 by King Vittorio Emanuele II, to commemorate the unification of Italy in 1861.[1] It was awarded in five degrees for civilian and military merit. Today the Order of the Crown has been replaced by the Order of Merit of Savoy and is still conferred on new knights by the current head of the house of Vittorio Emanuele, Prince of Naples.

Order of the Crown of Italy
Ordine della Corona d'Italia
Star of the Grand Cordon set of the Order
Awarded by

The Head of the Italian Royal Family
TypeDynastic Order of Knighthood
Established20 February 1868
Royal houseHouse of Savoy
EligibilityMilitary, civilian
Awarded forMeritorious Service or Achievement
StatusRarely constituted
FounderKing Victor Emmanuel II
Grand MasterPrince Emanuele Filiberto, Prince of Venice
Chairman of the CouncilVacant
GradesKnight Grand Cross
Grand Officer
Commander
Officer
Knight
Precedence
Next (higher)Royal Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus
Next (lower)Royal Civil Order of Savoy
Royal Military Order of Savoy

Ribbon bar

The order has been suppressed by law since the foundation of the Republic in 1946. However, Umberto II did not abdicate his position as fons honorum and it remained under his Grand Mastership as a dynastic order. While the continued use of those decorations conferred prior to 1951 is permitted in Italy, the crowns on the ribbons issued before 1946 must be substituted for as many five pointed stars on military uniforms.[2]

Grades edit

The various degrees of the order, with corresponding ribbons, were as follows:

Ribbon Class (English) Class (Italian) Manner of wear
  Knight Grand Cross Cavaliere di Gran Croce decorati del Grande Cordone Badge on sash on right shoulder, plus star on left chest
  Grand Officer Grande Ufficiale dell'Ordine della Corona d'Italia Star on left chest
  Commander Commendatore dell'Ordine della Corona d'Italia Badge on necklet
  Officer Ufficiale dell'Ordine della Corona d'Italia Badge on ribbon with rosette on left chest
  Knight Cavaliere dell'Ordine della Corona d'Italia Badge on ribbon on left chest

Insignia edit

 
Medals
 
 
 
 
 
Kingdom of Italy
 
Knight
 
Officer
 
Commander
 
Grand Officer
 
Knight Grand Cross
Italian Republic and Savoy House
 
Knight
 
Officer
 
Commander
 
Grand Officer
 
Knight Grand Cross

Members edit

Members of the order have included:

Non-order merit awards edit

- Gold cross - Silver cross

Grand Masters of the order edit

Emanuele Filiberto, Prince of Venice, Duke of Savoy

Additional information edit

According to International Commission for Orders of Chivalry the Order of Merit is also known as the Merit of Savoy

Under their section: chivalric institutions founded by the head of a formerly reigning dynasty, the Order has been defined as the following since their 2016 register:[8]

ITALY

House of Savoy (Catholic)

Merit of Savoy

Founded: H.R.H. Crown Prince Vittorio Emanuele of Savoy, Prince of Piedmont and Prince of Naples 23 January 1988.

Ribbon: Blue with a broad white centre stripe.

Grand Master: H.R.H. Crown Prince Vittorio Emanuele of Savoy, Prince of Piedmont and Prince of Naples (Vittorio Emanuele IV, Titular King of Italy) (b. 1937).

Order of Merit of Savoy Recipients (amongst others) edit

As of the year 2000 there are/were 1453 recipients of the Order of Merit.[9]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Founded by Royal Decree No. 4251 of 20 February 1868, renewed by Royal Decree No. 4850 of 24 January 1869, Royal Magistral Decree of 17 November 1907 and Royal Decree No. 276 of 16 March 1911
  2. ^ Ordini Cavallereschi del Regno d'Italia Archived 2006-05-07 at the Wayback Machine Corpo della Nobiltà Italiana (retrieved 10 September 2009)
  3. ^ Tremblay, Yves (2005). "BAYLOCK, HARRY WOODBURN". Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Vol. 15. University of Toronto/Université Laval. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  4. ^ "Orders and Decorations, 1920" (in Japanese). p. 2.
  5. ^ "Judge E. B. Parker, Debt Expert, Dies". The Evening Star. 1929-10-30. p. 1. Retrieved 2024-01-13 – via Newspapers.com. 
  6. ^ "Brig. Gen. A. T. Smith Dies After Illness of Four Days". The Evening Star. Washington, DC. November 28, 1939. p. 2 – via GenealogyBank.com.
  7. ^ "WILLIAM VERBECK, EDUCATOR, IS DEAD; General and Former Commander of New York National Guard, Succumbs at 69.HEADED MANLIUS SCHOOL In 1927 He Was Made Commander of Crown of Italy--Received Citizenship by Legislative Act". The New York Times. 1930-08-25. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-11-24.
  8. ^ "REGISTERS". International Commission for Orders of Chivalry (in Italian). Retrieved 2022-09-22.
  9. ^ "Zoppi, Count Vittorio, (23 Feb. 1898–6 May 1967), Knight Grand Cross Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana", Who Was Who, Oxford University Press, 2007-12-01, doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.u48869, retrieved 2022-09-20