Order of the Crown of Italy

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 Today the Order of the Crown has been replaced by the Order of Merit of Savoy and is still conferred on new knights by the current head of the house of Emanuele Filiberto, Prince of Venice.

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:

Order of Merit of Savoy

edit

The Order of Merit of Savoy was founded by Vittorio Emanuele, Prince of Naples, on 23 January 1988, „within the framework of the Civil Order of Savoy“. Current Grand Master is Emanuele Filiberto, Prince of Venice.[10]

The insignia are the same as those of the Civil Order, but with the white vitreous enamel of the Order of the Crown. The ribbon is blue with a broad white centre stripe.

The order has the same classes as the Order of the Crown, additionally a Gold Cross of Merit and a Silver Cross of Merit is awarded below the Knight's cross.

Recipients (amongst others)

edit

As of the year 2000 there are/were 1453 recipients of the Order of Merit.[11]

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. ^ Yorkshire Evening Post, 10 March 1933, p. 10, col. 5.
  5. ^ Illustrated London News, 30 September 1933, p. 34, col. 2.
  6. ^ Daily Herald, 13 January 1941, p. 2, cols. 2–3.
  7. ^ "Orders and Decorations, 1920" (in Japanese). p. 2.
  8. ^ "Judge E. B. Parker, Debt Expert, Dies". The Evening Star. 1929-10-30. p. 1. Retrieved 2024-01-13 – via Newspapers.com. 
  9. ^ "Brig. Gen. A. T. Smith Dies After Illness of Four Days". The Evening Star. Washington, DC. November 28, 1939. p. 2 – via GenealogyBank.com.
  10. ^ "REGISTERS". International Commission for Orders of Chivalry (in Italian). Retrieved 2022-09-22.
  11. ^ "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