Savoy, house

Savoy, house of

Historic dynasty of Europe and the ruling house of Italy (1861–1946). Its founder was Umberto I the Whitehanded (d. 1048?), who held the county of Savoy and areas east of the Rhône River and south of Lake Geneva. His medieval successors, including Amadeus VI, added territory in the western Alps where France, Italy, and Switzerland converge. In 1416 the house was raised to ducal status in the Holy Roman Empire, after which it declined until the late 16th century. Although under French domination in the 17th century, the house under Victor Amadeus II acquired territory in northeastern Italy and attained the royal title, first of the kingdom of Sicily (1713), which he exchanged for Sardinia (1720). The house was powerful in the Risorgimento, and under the kings Victor Emmanuel I, Victor Emmanuel II, and Charles Albert it contributed to the 19th-century unification of Italy. It then lost its prominence, and the monarchs Umberto I and Victor Emmanuel III served mainly as figureheads until the vote for a republic in 1946 ended Savoy rule.