Italy Notables Team

Profile managers: Frank Santoro [send private message], Chris Ferraiolo [send private message], and Italy Project WikiTree [send private message]

The Italian Monarchy

After the deposition of the last Western Emperor in 476 CE, a leader named Odoacer was appointed Dux Italiae (“Duke of Italy”) by the Byzantine Emperor Zeno. The Germanic foederati, along with a significant portion of the Italic Roman army, later proclaimed Odoacer as Rex Italiae (“King of Italy”). In 493 CE, the Ostrogothic king Theoderic the Great defeated Odoacer and established a new dynasty of kings in Italy. Ostrogothic rule continued until the Byzantine Empire reconquered Italy in 552 CE.

In 568 CE, the Lombards entered the Italian peninsula, aiming to create a barbarian kingdom independent of the Byzantine Empire. They ruled over most of Italy until 774 CE, when Charlemagne and the Franks defeated the Lombards, deposing their king. After the breakup of the Frankish empire, Otto I added Italy to the Holy Roman Empire and continued using the title Rex Italicorum (“King of the Italians”). The last monarch to use this title was Henry II (1004–1024). Subsequent emperors retained the title “king of Italy”. In 1805, Napoleon I was crowned with the Iron Crown of Lombardy at the Milan Cathedral and the following year, Holy Roman Emperor Francis II abdicated his imperial title. From Napoleon’s deposition in 1814 until the Italian Unification in 1861, there was no Italian monarch with an overarching title.

The modern Kingdom of Italy emerged on 17 Mar 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Sardinia was proclaimed King of Italy. The House of Savoy would play a key role in the Risorgimento, the decades-long process of unifying the various states of the Italian Peninsula into a single nation. Over the next 85 years, the House of Savoy would provide Italy with four monarchs: Victor Emmanuel II, Umberto I, Victor Emmanuel IIII, and Umberto II.

Following World War II and the defeat of the Axis powers, Italy held a referendum on the future of its monarchy. In hope of salvaging his family's claim to the throne, Victor Emmanuel abdicated in favor of his son, Umberto II in May 1946. The following month, the people voted, and on 12 Jun 1946, the Italian monarchy came to an end.

Notable	Born	Died	Title	Reign	Photo	Status
Umberto II	1904	1983	Last King of Italy	9 May – 12 June 1946		Connected

Note: Although King Umberto II is connected to the Global Family Tree, there is still a great deal of work to be done on the profiles of other Royal Family members.

Italian Notables

Notable	Born	Died	Claim to Fame	Photo	Status
Marco Polo	1254	1324	Explorer		Not Connected
Dante Alighieri	1265	1321	Writer		Not Connected
Cristoforo Colombo	1451	1502	Explorer		Connected
Leonardo DiVinci	1452	1519	Inventor		Not Connected
Michelangelo Buonarotti	1475	1564	Painter		Not Connected
Donatello	1475	1466	Painter		Not Connected
Raphael	1483	1520	Painter		Not Connected
Galileo Galilei	1564	1642	Astronomer		Not Connected
Antonio Vivaldi	1678	1741	Composer		Not Connected
Maria Montessori	1870	1952	Educator		Connected
Guccio Gucci	1881	1953	Fashion Designer		Not Connected
Enzo Ferrari	1898	1988	Racecar Driver		Not Connected
Federico Fellini	1920	1993	Filmmaker		Not Connected
Sophia Loren	1934	Living	Actress		Connected
Luciano Pavarottii	1935	2007	Opera Singer		Not Connected

For additional Italian notables see: Category: Italy, Notables

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