__NOTOC__ The Duchy of Aosta, originally the County of Aosta, was a realm ruled by the

House of Savoy The House of Savoy ( it, Casa Savoia) was a royal dynasty that was established in 1003 in the historical Savoy region. Through gradual expansion, the family grew in power from ruling a small Alpine county north-west of Italy to absolute rule of ...

from the early 11th century until the late 18th, when its independent institutions were aligned with those of the

Principality of Piedmont The lordship of Piedmont, later the principality of Piedmont ( it, Piemonte), was originally an appanage of the Savoyard county and as such its lords were members of the Achaea branch of the House of Savoy. The title was inherited by the elder br ...

. The title "

Duke of Aosta Duke of Aosta ( it, Duca d'Aosta; french: Duc d'Aoste) was a title in the Italian nobility. It was established in the 13th century when Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, made the County of Aosta a duchy. The region was part of the Savoyard s ...

" continued to be used by the second sons of the Savoyard monarch. The land of the duchy is today a part of

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. The county of Aosta was originally ruled by the

bishops A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

Aosta Aosta (, , ; french: Aoste , formerly ; frp, Aoûta , ''Veulla'' or ''Ouhta'' ; lat, Augusta Praetoria Salassorum; wae, Augschtal; pms, Osta) is the principal city of Aosta Valley, a bilingual region in the Italian Alps, north-northwest o ...

in the 10th and early 11th centuries. Upon the death of Bishop Anselm in 1026, however,

Conrad the Salic Conrad II ( – 4 June 1039), also known as and , was the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire from 1027 until his death in 1039. The first of a succession of four Salian emperors, who reigned for one century until 1125, Conrad ruled the kingdoms ...

ensured that the secular powers of the important Alpine territory passed to the bishop's brother-in-law, his ally

Humbert the White-handed Humbert I ( it, Umberto I; 950 – 1042 or 1047 1048), better known as Humbert the White-Handed (french: Humbert aux blanches-mains) or ( it, Umberto Biancamano), was the founder of the House of Savoy. Of obscure origins, his service ...

, rather than remaining tied to the diocese, which fell to Anselm's unfriendly nephew Burchard. Humbert's son Odo then wed

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

, securing the March of Turin. The county was elevated to a

duchy A duchy, also called a dukedom, is a medieval country, territory, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess, a ruler hierarchically second to the king or queen in Western European tradition. There once existed an important difference between ...

Frederick Barbarossa Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (german: link=no, Friedrich I, it, Federico I), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death 35 years later. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt ...

. Duke Emmanuel Philibert made

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

the official language of the duchy in 1561, but it retained its own traditional institutions as late as 1766. It received its first intendant in 1773. It had its own taxation system down to 7 October 1783, when it was brought under the

cadaster A cadastre or cadaster is a comprehensive recording of the real estate or real property's metes-and-bounds of a country.Jo Henssen, ''Basic Principles of the Main Cadastral Systems in the World,'/ref> Often it is represented graphically in a cad ...

. According to Jean-Baptiste de Tillier (died 1744):

The duchy of Aosta has always been a state, forming a single undivided body. The seventy-eight church-towers, or rather the cities, towns, parishes and separate communities which exist in the Valley, are members of this state.

References

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* . * . * * . {{Former monarchies Italian peninsula History of Savoy History of Aosta Valley

See also

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