Page 6 - Italian American Herald - April 2020

6 ITALIANAMERICANHERALD.COM | APRIL2020 ITALIAN-AMERICANHERALD FROM THE COVER
After World War II and years of Mussolini’s dictatorship, the majority
of Italians wanted to do away with the monarchy. Many worked to erase a Fascist past and to work toward the establishment of a republic. This would officially happen on June 12, 1946, following a constitutional referendum on June 2, 1946. Before the vote to dethrone the king and to abolish the monarchy on May 9, 1946, in a last-ditch attempt to save the monarchy, Vittorio Emmanuel III formally abdicated in favor
of his son, who became Umberto II. It did not work.
The Italian constitutional referendum had been won by Republicans with 54% of the vote. Vittorio Emmanuel III then went into exile in Alexandria, Egypt, where he died and was buried the following year in St. Catherine’s Cathedral of Alexandria. His remains were returned in 2017 to rest in Italy, following an agreement between Italian President Sergio Mattarella and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. The move was very controversial and met with resistance from a majority of the public.
On June 14, 1946, Umberto and his male heirs were permanently banished from Italy. He took residence at Cascais, Portugal, under the title Count of Sarre.
The Royal House of Savoy existed long before Italy’s Unification in 1861. The family
was of French origins, and Hautecombe Abbey was the traditional burial site of the House of Savoy from the late 1100s until the early 1500s. Located on the shores of Lake Bourget in St.-Pierre-de-Curtille, France, Hautecombe began as a religious community in about 1101, and in 1125 moved to its current location, on land it was gifted by Amedeo III, Count of Savoy.
The area, later part of the Duchy of
Savoy, was annexed by France in 1792 and returned to the Kingdom of Sardinia in 1815. It returned to France in 1860, in part of the agreement which led to the establishment of the 1861 reunification leading to the creation of the Kingdom of Italy. Hautecombe Abbey once again became a royal burial site in 1983 when the last king of Italy, Umberto II, was interred there. His wife, Queen Marie José, was also buried there in 2001.
The Basilica of Superga, built on a hill in Turin, was another traditional burial site for the House of Savoy. The Basilica was built in the early 1700s, with the crypt inaugurated in 1778 by King Vittorio Amedeo III of Sardinia, who had the remains of several members of the House of Savoy moved there.
The crypt is divided into five rooms, including the Hall of Kings, the Queens Hall, and the Hall of Infants. Traditionally, at the death of the sovereign, his remains were placed in the center of the Hall of Kings.
Upon the next death of
a sovereign, the previous king’s remains were then moved to one of the niches surrounding the room. The last sovereign buried there was King Carlo Alberto of Sardinia, whose tomb remains in the center of the hall. None of the Kings of Italy are buried here, but it is the burial site of the wife and children of King Vittorio Emanuele II, the first king of Italy.
As for the first two kings of a unified Italy, they chose the Pantheon, in Rome, as their burial site. Originally a Roman temple built in the 2nd century, the Pantheon
The last king of Italy, Umberto II, ruled for only 34 days.
Emanuele Filiberto, once banned from Italy, first returned to his homeland in 2002.
is one of the best-preserved ancient Roman buildings in Europe and has been in continual use as a church since at least the 7th century. Upon the death of King Vittorio Emanuele II in 1878, it was decided that the Pantheon should be the burial site for the Italian kings. Vittorio Emanuele II, his son, Umberto I, and Umberto’s wife Margherita, are all buried there.
Even today, almost 2,000 years after its construction, the breathtaking Pantheon is a remarkable building to see. The spectacular design, proportions, elegance and harmony are a striking reminder of the architecture of the great Roman Empire. When Michelangelo saw this wonder for the first time, he remarked that it looked more like the work of angels, not humans. It remains one of Rome’s most visited sites and is one of the spots
most included on commercial tours of the city. However, it is rarely known as the burial site of modern-day Italy’s first two kings. Visitors are often are not aware of this until they enter the Pantheon and see members
of The Italian Monarchist Union (Unione Monarchica Italiana, UMI) standing as honor guards at the tombs. The UMI is an Italian political movement, which did not contest in any election since 1946, and whose aim is to restore monarchy in Italy.
During a visit to the Pantheon about 10 years ago, I found the guard willing to answer questions about the king and his family and was even directed to a small shop not far away where visitors could purchase items with the royal crest.
When the monarchy was abolished, all of Vittorio Emanuele’s male descendants were banned from returning to Italy while female members have been able to enter the country. Over the years more and more Italians felt the ban should be lifted. Emanuele Filiberto, grandson of the last King Umberto, was finally able to visit his homeland in 2002 following revocation of the provision in the Italian constitution that forbade the male Savoy descendants of kings of Italy from setting foot in the country. IAH
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