Italian irredentism in Savoy was the political movement among Savoyards promoting annexation to the Savoy dynasty's

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 ...

. It was active from 1860 to

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

History

Italian irredentists were citizens of Savoy who considered themselves to have ties with the

House of Savoy The House of Savoy (, ) is a royal house (formally a dynasty) of Franco-Italian origin that was established in 1003 in the historical region of Savoy, which was originally part of the Kingdom of Burgundy and now lies mostly within southeastern F ...

dynasty. Savoy was the original territory of the duke of Savoy that later became King of Italy. Since the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

the area had ruled over

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 ...

and had for regional capital the town of

Chambéry Chambéry (, , ; Franco-Provençal, Arpitan: ''Chambèri'') is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of the Savoie Departments of France, department in the southeastern ...

. The official language of Savoy was French since the 15th century, and was divided administratively in Savoie Propre (Chambéry), Chablais (

Thonon Thonon-les-Bains (; ), often simply referred to as Thonon, is a subprefecture of the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Eastern France. In 2018, the commune had a population of 35,241. Thonon-les-Bains is part of a ...

), Faucigny ( Bonneville), Genevois (

Annecy Annecy ( , ; , also ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of the Haute-Savoie Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, regi ...

Maurienne Maurienne (; ; ) is one of the provinces of Savoy, corresponding to the arrondissement of Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne in France. It is also the original name of the capital of the province, now Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne. Location The Maurienne val ...

(Saint Jean de Maurienne) and Tarentaise (

Moûtiers Moûtiers (; Arpitan: ''Motiérs''), historically also called Tarentaise, is a commune in the Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Southeastern France. Moûtiers is the main access point to the Les Trois Vallées ski regio ...

). Vaugelas, a native of the duchy, became one of the most renowned French linguists. In spring 1860 the area was annexed to France after a referendum and the administrative boundaries changed, but a segment of the Savoyard population demonstrated against the annexation. Indeed, the final vote count on the referendum announced by the Court of Appeals was 130,839 in favour of annexation to France, 235 opposed and 71 void, showing a questionable complete support for French nationalism (that motivated criticisms about rigged results). At the beginning of 1860, more than 3000 people demonstrated in Chambéry against the annexation to France rumours. On 16 March 1860, the provinces of Northern Savoy (Chablais, Faucigny and Genevois) sent to

Victor Emmanuel II Victor Emmanuel II (; full name: ''Vittorio Emanuele Maria Alberto Eugenio Ferdinando Tommaso di Savoia''; 14 March 1820 – 9 January 1878) was King of Sardinia (also informally known as Piedmont–Sardinia) from 23 March 1849 until 17 March ...

, to

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was President of France from 1848 to 1852 and then Emperor of the French from 1852 until his deposition in 1870. He was the first president, second emperor, and last ...

, and to the Swiss Federal Council a declaration - sent under the presentation of a manifesto together with petitions - where they were saying that they did not wish to become French and showed their preference to remain united to 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 ...

(or be annexed to Switzerland were a separation from Sardinia unavoidable).

Giuseppe Garibaldi Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as (). In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as () or (). 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, revolutionary and republican. H ...

complained about the referendum that allowed France to annex Savoy and

Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one millionvote-rigging. Some opposition to French rule was manifest when, in 1919, France officially (but contrary to the annexation treaty) ended the military neutrality of the parts of the country of Savoy that had originally been agreed to at the

Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon, Napol ...

, and also eliminated the

free trade zone A free-trade zone (FTZ) is a class of special economic zone. It is a geographic area where goods may be imported, stored, handled, manufactured, or reconfigured and re- exported under specific customs regulation and generally not subject t ...

- both treaty articles having been broken unofficially in World War I. France was condemned in 1932 by the international court for noncompliance with the measures of the treaty of Turin, regarding the countries of Savoy and Nice. Indeed, in 1871 a strong break away movement appeared in north and central Savoy against the annexation. The Republican Committee of the town of Bonneville considered that "the 1860 vote, was the result of imperial pressure, and not the free demonstration of the will of our country" and called for a new Referendum. In response, the French government sent 10,000 troops to Savoy to "restore order". In 1861, the ''Associazione Oriundi Savoiardi e Nizzardi Italiani'' was founded in Italy, an association of the Italian Savoyards that lasted one century until 1966. During the

fascist Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural soci ...

period in the early 1940s, organizations were created that promoted the unification of Savoy to the Kingdom of Italy. The fascist members were nearly one hundred in 1942, concentrated mainly in

Grenoble Grenoble ( ; ; or ; or ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of the Isère Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region ...

and

. When Italy occupied Savoy in November 1942 these fascist groups claimed that nearly 10,000 Savoyards demanded the unification to Italy, but nothing was done mainly because the

King of Italy King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a constitutional monarch if his power is restrained by ...

opposed it. After World War II all the organizations of the Irredentist Savoyards were outlawed by the French authorities of

Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French general and statesman who led the Free France, Free French Forces against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government of the French Re ...

. Most of the remaining Irredentist Savoyards supported in the 1950s and 1960s the development of autonomistic political organizations of Savoy, like the Mouvement Région Savoie (Savoy Regional Movement).

Italian-occupied Savoy

left, 200 px, The parts of Savoy under Italian control are highlighted in greenOnly in 1940 did the Italian Savoyards fulfil their

irredentism Irredentism () is one State (polity), state's desire to Annexation, annex the territory of another state. This desire can be motivated by Ethnicity, ethnic reasons because the population of the territory is ethnically similar to or the same as the ...

, when some small areas bordering the

Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

were annexed by Italy. The initial zone was 832 km² and contained 28,500 inhabitants.Militärgeschichtliches Forschungsamt. ''Germany and the Second World War - Volume 2: Germany's Initial Conquests in Europe'', pg. 311 In November 1942, in conjunction with "

Case Anton Case Anton () was the military occupation of Vichy France carried out by Germany and Italy in November 1942. It marked the end of the Vichy regime as a nominally independent state and the disbanding of its army (the severely-limited '' Armisti ...

", the German occupation of most of

Vichy France Vichy France (; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was a French rump state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II, established as a result of the French capitulation after the Battle of France, ...

, the

Royal Italian Army The Royal Italian Army () (RE) was the land force of the Kingdom of Italy, established with the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy. During the 19th century Italy started to unify into one country, and in 1861 Manfredo Fanti signed a decree c ...

(''Regio Esercito'') expanded its occupation zone. Italian forces took control of

Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one million Rhône River The Rhône ( , ; Occitan: ''Ròse''; Arpitan: ''Rôno'') is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and Southeastern France before discharging into the Mediterranean Sea (Gulf ...

delta, and nearly all of Savoy. A process of

Italianization Italianization ( ; ; ; ; ; ) is the spread of Italian culture, language and identity by way of integration or assimilation. It is also known for a process organized by the Kingdom of Italy to force cultural and ethnic assimilation of the nati ...

of the schools in Savoy was started, but was never fully implemented. Only a few Italian Savoyards were voluntarily enrolled in the Italian Army through fascist organizations like the Camicie Nere. Others joined the resistance and fought against the invaders. Most of the Irredentist Savoyards actively helped the Jews in the occupied zone in Savoy, a region that acted as a refugee zone for Jews fleeing persecution in Vichy France during World War II. The projects to incorporate Savoy to the Kingdom of Italy were supported by the fascist Savoyards of Grenoble, but nothing was done even then because in September 1943

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

substituted Italy in the occupation of Savoy.

The Savoyard dialect

Savoyards historically have spoken a dialect related to the Arpitan language: the

Savoyard dialect Savoyard () is a Franco-Provençal dialect of the Gallo-Romance family. It is spoken in some territories of the historical Duchy of Savoy, nowadays a geographic area spanning Savoie and Haute-Savoie, France and the Canton of Geneva, Switzerlan ...

. Arpitan is spoken in France, in Switzerland and in Italy. However, French is the predominant language today. During the fascist occupation in 1942-1943, Italian authorities promoted a process of Italianization of all the people of Savoy, mainly related to the use of

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

in substitution of the Savoyard dialect.Jean-Louis Panicacci
« Occupation italienne »
nicerendezvous.com.

References

Bibliography

* Bosworth, R. J. B. ''Mussolini's Italy: Life Under the Fascist Dictatorship, 1915-1945''. Penguin Books. London, 2005. * De Pingon, Jean. ''Savoie Francaise. Histoire d'un pays annexé''. Editions Cabédita. Lyon, 1996. * Rodogno, Davide. ''Fascism European Empire''. Cambrigge University Press. Cambridge, 2004. * Vignoli, Giulio. ''Gli Italiani Dimenticati''. Ed. Giuffè. Roma, 2000

External links