VICTOR EMMANUEL II

From the Savoy dynasty. King of Sardinia in 1849-1861 it. King of Italy 1861-1878 Son of Charles Albert and Teresa of Tuscany. Woman: 1) from 1842 Adelaide, daughter of the Archduke René of Austria (b. 1822, died 1855); 2) since 1869 Rosa, Countess of Mirifiori (born 1833, died 1885). Genus. 1820 Died 9 Jan. 1878

Victor Emmanuel took the Sardinian throne after the abdication of his father and the defeats suffered by the Piedmontese troops in the war with the Austrians. Having assumed power, he first of all hastened to conclude a truce with the Austrian command. By this he aroused such indignation throughout the country that the deputies refused to approve the treaty. Victor Emmanuel dissolved the House and called new elections, threatening that if they did not give a majority to the moderate factions, the Statute (the constitution bestowed by his father) would be revoked. The elections justified the hopes of the king. In the chamber and at the court, moderates were established, capable of orienting Sardinia towards broad and important goals for Italy. The king himself, despite his excessive passion for hunting and love affairs, was a man of courage. Not possessing a great mind, he hid a lot of common sense and insight under a purely soldierly gruffness. He was well aware that, protected from the rear by the Alps and supported by France, Piedmont could become for the Italian patriots the center of rallying all forces. To do this, it was necessary to remain a liberal in domestic politics, and in the external - to behave boldly in relation to Austria. He successfully followed these two rules throughout his reign, and this was his historical role in the unification of Italy. The rest was done for him by others.

Since 1852, the government of the Kingdom of Sardinia was headed by Count Cavour, who played in Italy the same role that Bismarck played in Germany. Under his leadership, liberal reforms began to be carried out. In foreign policy Cavour was guided by France, in alliance with which he launched a war against Austria in 1859. In three battles the Austrian army was defeated. Peace was signed in Zurich in November. Under its terms, Lombardy came under the rule of the Savoy dynasty. In March 1860, the duchies of Parma, Modena and Tuscany were annexed, in which foreign dynasties fell as a result of the uprising. In April, an uprising began in Palermo. In May, the famous Italian patriot Garibaldi crossed over to Sicily at the head of a detachment of volunteers. In October, the Neapolitan army was defeated at Volturno. The southern half of Italy also recognized the power of the Savoy dynasty. In March 1861, Victor Emmanuel was proclaimed King of Italy. For the complete reunification of the country, it remained to take away Venice from Austria and seize the Papal States with Rome. The king hoped to do this with the help of Prussia and concluded a military alliance with her in 1866. The war began in the summer of that year and was unsuccessful for the Italian army. However, the successful actions of Garibaldi and the defeat of the Austrian army by the Prussians at Sadovaya brought Victor Emmanuel what he desired - the Venetian region became part of Italy. In 1870, after the defeat of France by Prussia, he annexed Rome.

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From the Savoy dynasty. King of Sardinia in 1849--1861 it. King of Italy 1861-1878 Son of Charles Albert and Teresa of Tuscany. Woman: 1) from 1842 Adelaide, daughter of the Archduke René of Austria (b. 1822, died 1855); 2) since 1869 Rosa, Countess of Mirifiori (born 1833, died 1885). Genus. 1820 Died 9 Jan. 1878 Victor Emmanuel took the throne of Sardinia after the abdication of his father and the defeats suffered by the Piedmontese troops in the war with the Austrians. Having assumed power, he first of all hastened to conclude a truce with the Austrian command. By this he aroused such indignation throughout the country that the deputies refused to approve the treaty. Victor Emmanuel dissolved the House and called new elections, threatening that if they did not give a majority to the moderate factions, the Statute (the constitution bestowed by his father) would be repealed. The elections justified the hopes of the king. In the chamber and at the court, moderates were established, capable of orienting Sardinia towards broad and important goals for Italy. The king himself, despite his excessive passion for hunting and love affairs, was a man of courage. Not possessing a great mind, he hid a lot of common sense and insight under a purely soldierly gruffness. He was well aware that, protected from the rear by the Alps and supported by France, Piedmont could become for the Italian patriots the center of rallying all forces. To do this, it was necessary to remain a liberal in domestic policy, and in foreign policy to be bold in relation to Austria. He successfully followed these two rules throughout his reign, and this was his historical role in the unification of Italy. The rest was done for him by others. Since 1852, the government of the Kingdom of Sardinia was headed by Count Cavour, who played in Italy the same role that Bismarck played in Germany. Under his leadership, liberal reforms began to be carried out. In foreign policy, Cavour was guided by France, in alliance with which he launched a war against Austria in 1859. In three battles the Austrian army was defeated. Peace was signed in Zurich in November. Under its terms, Lombardy came under the rule of the Savoy dynasty. In March 1860, the duchies of Parma, Modena and Tuscany were annexed, in which foreign dynasties fell as a result of the uprising. In April, an uprising began in Palermo. In May, the famous Italian patriot Garibaldi crossed over to Sicily at the head of a detachment of volunteers. In October, the Neapolitan army was defeated at Volturno. The southern half of Italy also recognized the power of the Savoy dynasty. In March 1861, Victor Emmanuel was proclaimed King of Italy. For the complete reunification of the country, it remained to take away Venice from Austria and seize the Papal States with Rome. The king hoped to do this with the help of Prussia and concluded a military alliance with her in 1866. The war began in the summer of that year and was unsuccessful for the Italian army. However, the successful actions of Garibaldi and the defeat of the Austrian army by the Prussians at Sadovaya brought Victor Emmanuel what he desired - the Venetian region became part of Italy. In 1870, after the defeat of France by Prussia, he annexed Rome.

The family of the first king of united Italy, Victor Emmanuel II, belonged to the ancient Savoy dynasty and has been known in Europe since the 11th century. AT early XIX centuries, parts of the Apennine Peninsula belonged to Austria, France, Germany. The strong-willed and persistent Victor Emmanuel succeeded with the help of the army, with the involvement of the Garibaldi movement, to unite the various kingdoms in the Apennines. In 1861, Victor Emmanuel II "by the grace of God and the will of the people" was proclaimed king of a united Italy.

He came to the throne at a tragic time for Italy. The country consisted of 8 states with monarchical rule. Among them were also kings - representatives of the Austrian Habsburg dynasty. Since 1849, the French garrison has been located in Rome. There was no unified Italian army; one could only dream of creating an integral state. The patriots of Italy demanded the destruction of individual monarchies and the unification of the fragmented Italian kingdoms around Turin, a city in northwestern Italy, the fourth largest in terms of population and importance after Rome, Milan and Naples, in which the king of the Kingdom of Sardinia, a representative of the Savoy dynasty, Charles Albert ruled.

For Victor Emmanuel, Turin was his hometown. His father was King Charles Albert, his mother was Maria Theresa of Tuscany. Victor received an excellent education, in addition to secular, military and religious. affairs of state he had to deal with in 1849, when his father, after the lost battle of Novara, was forced to abdicate.

Victor held peace negotiations with Austria. And this angered the public, which had high hopes for the new king, for his resolute opposition to the invaders. The deputies of parliament were outraged, then the king dissolved parliament and called new elections. Moderates came to parliament, they supported the intentions of the king. Website promotion in the top -, Yandex, Google. Promotion of web resources on the Internet. Victor Emmanuel signed a peace treaty with Austria, which allowed Sardinia to remain independent as a kingdom. In 1852, Count Camillo Benzodi Cavour became prime minister of the kingdom, he supported the idea of ​​national unification of Italy, as well as the king in an effort to establish military cooperation with France, a rival of Austria. But only in 1859, after the combined troops of the French and Italians defeated the Austrian army, the much-needed peace was concluded. This respite made it possible to gather strength to further oust the Austrians from Italian lands. In some areas, a movement for freedom began. And already in 1860, Victor Emmanuel annexed the duchies of Parma, Modena and Tuscany. In the same year, the troops of the famous freedom fighter Giuseppe Garibaldi expelled the French troops from Sicily, and later from Naples, and all of southern Italy fell under the rule of Victor Emmanuel, who was proclaimed king of Italy the following year, 1861. But for the unification of all Italy in single state it was also necessary to take away Venice from Austria, to expel the French from Rome. But neither the king nor Garibaldi had the strength to do this. I had to enlist the support of Berlin.

In 1862, the Prussians joined the military operations of the Italians against the Austrian army, defeating the Austrians in the Battle of Sadovaya. As a result, Austria agreed to a truce and ceded Venice first to France, who handed it over to Italy.

In 1870, Rome became the capital of the Italian kingdom, and the monarch Victor Emmanuel II soon moved there to rule. He was happy, his dream to unite Italy had come true. But his health was already undermined, after 8 years of reign, the heart of the unifier king stopped beating. He is buried in the Roman Pantheon. The inscription on the headstone reads: "PADRE DELLA PATRIA" (Father of the Fatherland).

The future king of a united Italy was born on March 14, 1820 in Turin, which at that time was part of the Kingdom of Sardinia. His father - Carlo Albert - from 1831 to 1849. occupied the royal throne of Piedmont and Sardinia. He became famous for the implementation of a number of important government reforms, supported art and science, abolished the feudal system, tried to participate in the expulsion of the Austrians from the territory of Northern Italy. At the end of his reign, Charles Albert declared war on the Austrian Empire, but his troops were defeated. The Sardinian kingdom had to pay an indemnity, and the king himself abdicated, retired from Italy and soon died.

This is how Vittorio Emmanuele II ended up on the royal throne of Piedmont and Sardinia. He ruled from 1849 to 1861, after which the title was abolished, and a new one appeared instead - the king of a united Italy. His full name is Vittorio Emmanuele Alberto Eugenio Maria Ferdinand Thomas of Savoy.
About the mother of the first king of Italy - Maria Teresa of Tuscany - it is known that she was the youngest daughter of Ferdinand III, Grand Duke of Tuscany. She gave birth to two sons and a daughter who died in infancy. Maria Teresa devoted a lot of time to her children, especially to their education.

Every gossip has some truth

There is an opinion that the real Victor Emmanuel II was replaced as a child. The fact is that his appearance and character were too different from his father - Carlo Alberto - a tall, slender blond with blue eyes. It is assumed that the native son of the future royal couple died in a fire that occurred during the boy's stay at his grandfather's Florensky residence. Doubts are raised by the fact that the nanny, who was in the room with the child at the time of the fire, died. Then how could the baby - the future heir to the throne - survive? Perhaps he was replaced by the son of a simple butcher, suitable for age?
Accidentally or not, for some reason, the contract with the court butcher was suddenly terminated, after which he retired in an unknown direction. But it was rumored that his family suddenly became rich.

The boy differed from his father - Carlo Alberto - not only in appearance, as he was squat and full, with black hair and dark eyes. Vittorio was lively and energetic, favored simple communication loved and respected by the people. The father, on the contrary, was distinguished by arrogance and detachment, giving the impression of a real aristocrat. But be that as it may, the first king of Italy was considered the heir to the Savoy dynasty and the throne as the eldest son.

Victor Emmanuel II married when he was 22 years old. His wife was his cousin Adelgeida of Austria. Who would have thought then that her husband would become the king of a united Italy, and she would become the mother of two kings - Umberto I (Italy) and Amadeus I (Spain).

Adelgeida died in 1855 at the age of 32, without seeing her husband's triumph. For 12 years of marriage, she managed to give him eight children, but three of them died at an early age.

... the most famous mistress of Vittorio Emmanuel II was Rosa Vercellana, an affair with which lasted for 30 years ...

Vittorio also had illegitimate children from different women with whom he regularly had affairs. The most famous among them was Rosa Vercellana, a love union with which lasted 30 years and ended in a morganatic marriage (without the right to become queen). They met when she was only 14 and he was 27, she was very young and he was a married man with four children. Their first dates were secret, but soon Bela Rozin, as her relatives called her, moved to a hunting lodge located near Turin. She gave birth to two children during the lifetime of Vittorio's first wife, which caused a certain hostility towards him and even a scandal in the court environment. But, being at that time the king of Sardinia, he did not refuse the commoner Rosa, but awarded her the title of count and presented the castle.

Later, the couple lived in Borgo Castello, located in the La Mandria Natural Park (Piedmont). In order for outsiders not to bother with their curiosity, the territory was surrounded by a 27-meter fence. Soon they had to move to Florence, where in 1869 a morganic marriage was concluded. After the death of her husband, Rosa retired to Pisa, in the Palazzo Beltrami (palazzo Beltrami), where she lived with her daughter until her death (1885). The legitimate heirs of the Savoy dynasty forbade the burial of the failed queen in the Pantheon next to her husband. The children took up the challenge by building a small but replica of the Pantheon in Turin, calling it the Mausoleo della Bela Rosin.

But the fate of the mausoleum was tragic. After it was purchased by the city authorities in 1970 from the last direct heir of Rosa Vercellana and opened to the public, there have been a number of robberies and desecrations of the burial sites. The mutilated bodies were moved to the monumental Turin cemetery, and the entrance to the mausoleum was walled up in 1980. Several times the city authorities thought about the reconstruction of the mausoleum. AT different period time, satanic rites were held here (urban legends tell about this) and a waste dump was arranged. The building was thought to be handed over to the Muslim community to turn it into a mosque. There have been proposals to convert it into a city planetarium or science center.

Only in 2001 was the purpose of the former Bela Rosin Mausoleum determined. After reconstruction, in 2005, the renovated building received its first visitors. Today it is a concert and exhibition city center, which is open only seasonally.
King of Italy Victor Emmanuel II perfectly combined such qualities, as masculinity and rudeness, sanity and ease, business acumen and political savvy. He was a passionate hunter, played billiards and did not hesitate to start romance novels on the side.

The first king of Italy died on January 9, 1878, either from a severe cold, or from malaria, which he could have caught while hunting in the marshy places of Lazio. His burial is located in, contrary to the wishes of Vittorio for the burial of the body in Piedmont, but thanks to the insistent requests of the Romans. On the tombstone there is an inscription reading "PADRE DELLA PATRIA", which means "FATHER OF THE HOMELAND". The grave became a place of pilgrimage for hundreds of thousands of Italians who came from all regions of the Kingdom.

Victor Emmanuel II in Rome

In honor of the first king of Italy, a commemorative coin was issued, and the most famous monument in Rome was the monument located in Piazza Venezia. This "typewriter", "wedding cake", "false jaw" is known far beyond the borders of Italy.

In addition, the following are named after the Father of the Nation:

• bridge Vittorio Emanuele II (Ponte Vittorio Emanuele II) - decorated with original sculptural compositions and located next to the famous. Ponte Vittorio was inaugurated in 1911. The event was timed to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy;
• Corso Vittorio Emanuele II is a wide avenue that connects the Vittorio Emanuele II bridge with Piazza del Gesù. The project was approved in 1886, after many rejected proposals and debates. Along the avenue are numerous palazzos, (Chiesa Nuova) and the Basilica of Sant'Andrea della Valle (Sant'Andrea della Valle);
• Victor Emmanuel II Square (Piazza Vittorio) - is considered the largest in Rome. They say that it is located on the site of the former cemetery, where the bodies of slaves and criminals were taken. Piazza Vittorio appeared in the period 1882-1887. The surrounding apartment buildings were built for ministerial workers, and the quarter itself was considered a luxury zone. Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II was a real masterpiece of park architecture. Valuable species of cypress, palm trees and unusual varieties of shrubs were planted here. During the construction of the square, some houses and churches were demolished, the streets disappeared from the map of the city, but were preserved, associated with secrets and folk legends;
• Metro station "Vittorio Emanuele" - located on line A of the Rome metro. Out on Piazza Vittorio.

On the façade of the palazzo delle Poste e Telegrafi, overlooking Piazza San Silvestro, above the original window openings, there are six rounded marble bas-reliefs depicting members royal family Savoy dynasty. Among them - Vittorio Emmanuele II.
Many monuments to the king of united Italy are located throughout the country. But the main thing is people's recognition of memory. And although the kingdom itself was abolished after the Second World War, the gratitude of its loyal descendants remained forever.