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Prince Vittorio Emanuele, Count of Turin

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Prince Vittorio Emanuele
Count of Turin
Vittorio Emanuele in 1895
Vittorio Emanuele in 1895
Born 24 November 1870
Turin, Kingdom of Italy
Died 10 October 1946 (aged 75)
Brussels, Belgium
Names
Vittorio Emanuele Torino Giovanni Maria di Savoia-Aosta
House Savoy
Father Amadeo I of Spain
Mother Maria Vittoria del Pozzo della Cisterna

Prince Vittorio Emanuele of Savoy-Aosta, Infante of Spain, Count of Turin (24 November 1870 – 10 October 1946) was a grandchild of King Victor Emmanuel II and a member of the House of Savoy. He was a cousin of Victor Emmanuel III.

Early life

Vittorio Emanuele was born in Turin just before his father Prince Amadeo of Savoy, Duke of Aosta was about to leave for Spain where he had been elected king. His mother was Maria Vittoria del Pozzo della Cisterna, the eldest and only surviving child of Carlo Emanuele dal Pozzo, 5th Prince of Cisterna, and of his Belgian wife, Countess Louise de Mérode-Westerloo.[1] With his father's accession to the Spanish throne he gained the additional title Infante of Spain.[2]

The duel

In 1897 Vittorio Emanuele challenged Prince Henri of Orléans to a duel, after Henri described, in several articles in the newspaper Le Figaro, the Italian soldiers being held captive in Ethiopia during the First Italo–Ethiopian War as cowards. The dispute was widely echoed in Italy and Europe. It was agreed on the use of the sword as weapon of choice, as the Italians thought duels with pistols, favored by the French, were worthy of betrayed husbands, not of princes of royal blood.[3]

The duel with swords, directed by the Count Leontiev and the Count Avogadro, lasting 26 minutes, took place at 5:00 am on 15 August 1897 in the Bois de Marechaux at Vaucresson, France. Vittorio Emanuele defeated Henri after five reprises.[4] Henri received a serious wound to his right abdomen, and the doctors of both parties considered the injury serious enough to put him in a state of obvious inferiority, causing the end of the duel and making Vittorio Emanuele famous in Europe.

The public response for Vittorio Emanuele in Italy was triumphant. In Turin King Umberto I welcomed him saying, "I want to be the first to congratulate you with all my heart on the example you set and the success you scored".[5]

Later years

In April 1898 Vittorio Emanuele set out on a tour of world.[6] His first stop was New York City in the United States of America. After spending a day at the Newport Country Club he presented the club with a silver cup which is presented to the winner of the annual Count of Turin golf tournament.[7] After his stay in the United States he visited China and Japan on the next leg of his world tour.[8]

Vittorio Emanuele pursued a career in the Royal Italian Army and became the Commander in Chief of the Italian Cavalry.[9] He held this position during the First World War.[10] Following the armistice he was awarded the Croix de guerre by France.[11]

In 1913, The Count was among various candidates proposed for the throne of the newly independent Albania.[12]

Death

Vittorio Emanuele died in Brussels four months after the proclamation of the Italian Republic.[13] He was the last surviving son of Amedeo I. His body was buried, until 1968, in the Merode-mausoleum in Everberg, Belgium.[14] Aftrwards, his grave was transferred to the Basilica di Superga in Turin, Italy.[15]

Ancestry

Honours and awards

References

  1. Back to citation https://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/93538
  2. Back to citation Almanach de Gotha. 1872. p. 29.
  3. Back to citation "Un duello per l'Italia". Torino. 1952.
  4. Back to citation "Verbale dello scontro tra il Conte di Torino e il Principe Enrico d'Orléans". Torino. 1897.
  5. Back to citation "Prince Henri in a Duel". New York Times. 1897-08-17. p. 9.
  6. Back to citation "Count of Turin to Travel". New York Times. 1898-04-14. p. 1.
  7. Back to citation McNamara, Kevin (2006-06-27). "U.S. Women's Open: Ike, JFK and Tiger left their mark here". The Providence Journal. Retrieved 2008-06-03.
  8. Back to citation "The Count of Turin Here". New York Times. 1898-05-04. p. 12.
  9. Back to citation "Praise Italy's Cavalry". New York Times. 1912-11-21. p. 5.
  10. Back to citation "Extols The Bravery of Italian Cavalry". New York Times. 1917-11-24. p. 3.
  11. Back to citation "France Honors Gen. Gough". New York Times. 1918-11-27. p. 10.
  12. Back to citation Fischer, Bernd Jürgen (1984). King Zog and the Struggle for Stability in Albania. East European Monographs. p. 8. ISBN 978-0-88033-051-0.
  13. Back to citation https://drouot.com/en/l/30639350-black-and-white-photograph-of-victor-emmanuel-of-savoy-aosta
  14. Back to citation http://www.royaltyguide.nl/families/fam-S/savoye/savoyaosta.htm
  15. Back to citation http://www.royaltyguide.nl/countries/italy/turin/superga.htm
  16. Back to citation occurrence 16.0 Back to citation occurrence 16.1 Back to citation occurrence 16.2 Italia: Ministero dell'interno (1900). Calendario generale del Regno d'Italia. Unione tipografico-editrice. pp. 53, 55, 67.
  17. Back to citation "Schwarzer Adler-orden", Königlich Preussische Ordensliste (in German), vol. 1, Berlin, 1895, p. 5 – via hathitrust.org
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