The Military Order of Savoy was a military honorary order of the

Kingdom of Sardinia The Kingdom of Sardinia, also referred to as the Kingdom of Sardinia and Corsica among other names, was a State (polity), country in Southern Europe from the late 13th until the mid-19th century, and from 1297 to 1768 for the Corsican part of ...

first, and of the

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy (, ) was a unitary state that existed from 17 March 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 10 June 1946, when the monarchy wa ...

later. Following the abolition of the Italian monarchy, the order became the Military Order of Italy.

History

The origin of the Military Order of Savoy can be traced back to the

Medal of Military Valor The Medal of Military Valor (Italian language: ''Medaglia al valor militare'') is an Italian medal, originally established as a Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinian award. It is awarded to military personnel, units above the level of Company (milita ...

granted by

Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia Victor Amadeus III (Vittorio Amedeo Maria; 26 June 1726 – 16 October 1796) was King of Sardinia and ruler of the Savoyard state, Savoyard states from 20 February 1773 to his death in 1796. Although he was politically conservative, he carrie ...

to his soldiers. Between 1789 and 1815 this medal went into disuse because of the

Piedmontese Piedmontese ( ; autonym: or ; ) is a language spoken by some 2,000,000 people mostly in Piedmont, a region of Northwest Italy. Although considered by most linguists a separate language, in Italy it is often mistakenly regarded as an Italian ...

and Subalpine Republics and the subsequent

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

ic regime in Italy in

Savoy Savoy (; )  is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps. Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south and west and to the Aosta Vall ...

and

Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...

. On 1 April 1815 the medal was bestowed again by

Victor Emmanuel I of Sardinia Victor Emmanuel I (; 24 July 1759 – 10 January 1824) was the Duke of Savoy, King of Sardinia and ruler of the Savoyard states from 4 June 1802 until his reign ended in 1821 upon abdication due to a liberal revolution. Shortly thereafter, hi ...

and on the 14th of August of the same year replaced by the Military Order of Savoy. This military order was to be granted to the soldiers who fought in the army of Napoleon and became part of the

Legion of Honor The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and civil. Currently consisting of five classes, it was ...

or the Order of the Iron Crown due to military merit. It was also conferred to officers of the

Royal Sardinian Army The Royal Sardinian Army (also the Sardinian Army, the Royal Sardo-Piedmontese Army, the Savoyard Army, or the Piedmontese Army) was the army of the Duchy of Savoy and then of the Kingdom of Sardinia, which was active from 1416 until it became t ...

and

Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...

, who have become Knights of the

Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus The Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus () (abbreviated OSSML) is a Roman Catholic dynastic order of knighthood bestowed by the royal House of Savoy. It is the second-oldest order of knighthood in the world, tracing its lineage to AD 1098, a ...

for gallantry. The order was conceded to everyone no matter what religion or rank the soldier was. Under

Charles Albert of Sardinia Charles Albert (; 2 October 1798 – 28 July 1849) was the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), King of Sardinia and ruler of the Savoyard state from 27 April 1831 until his abdication in 1849. His name is bound up with the first Italian constit ...

, the order fell into disuse in favor of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus and the re-established Medal of Military Valor. In 1855, during the

Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...

, Victor Emanuel II re-established the Military Order of Savoy to reward all other kind of military merit, from the simple soldier up to the high-ranked officer, that performed a special military feat during battle. Following the foundation of the Republic, the order was renamed in Military Order of Italy in 1947 and continues to be awarded under that title today.

Grades

The Order was once split into four different grades of merit: * Knight

Grand Cross Grand Cross is the highest class in many orders, and manifested in its insignia. Exceptionally, the highest class may be referred to as Grand Cordon or equivalent. In other cases, there may exist a rank even higher than Grand Cross, e.g. Gran ...

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

* Knight *

Private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

(''milite'') The rank of Knights replaced the Gold Medal of Military Valor, the rank of Private the Silver Medal of Military Valor. In 1855 these four different grades were then modified into five and in 1857 named after the ones of the French

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

and the Sardinian

: * Knight Grand Cross * Grand Officer (''Commander 1st class'' until 1857) * Commander (''Commander 2nd class'' until 1857) * Officer * Private or Knight For the last degree, use of the term Knight (''cavaliere'') was more frequent than that of Private (''milite''), although that term was never officially abolished.

Insignia

1815-1855

The badge was a silver

Greek cross The Christian cross, with or without a figure of Jesus, Christ included, is the main religious symbol of Christianity. A cross with a figure of Christ affixed to it is termed a crucifix and the figure is often referred to as the ''corpus'' (La ...

for the Privates, and golden for all the other ranks, with the royal crown of Sardinia of gold and silver, respectively. The cross was covered with white and red enamel, imitating the Savoy coat of arms, and was surrounded with a laurel crown covered with green enamel. The insignia was personally given by the King in presence of the ranked troops in order to give military honours. The Knights and Privates wore the badge hanging from a blue ribbon pinned in the buttonhole of the uniform. The Commanders wore the medal hanging from a blue ribbon around the neck while the Knights Grand Cross wore it hanging from a blue sash at the height of the left hip together with a silver star embroided to the uniform at the high of the left chest. The center of the star bore the letters ''VE'' in a blue field, circled with the motto ''Al Merito ed al Valore'' (''For Merit and Valour'').

1855-1946

After 1855 the badge was a Arrow Cross surrounded by a laurel and

oak An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...

wreath. The center bore the year 1855 and the letters ''VE'' with two crossed swords, and the Savoy cross and the motto ''AL MERITO MILITARE'' on the backside. The badge was worn by Knights Grand Cross and Commanders as before. The Grand Commanders wore it at the neck and were additionally bestowed with a star on the left chest, Officers wore it hanging from a trophy at a ribbon with a rosette at the left chest, the Knights in the same way without the trophy and the rosette.

References

External links

* {{Italian orders of knighthood Military awards and decorations of Italy Awards established in 1815