The House of Savoy Italian : Casa Savoia is an Italian royal house formally a dynasty that was established in in the historical Savoy region. Through gradual expansions, the family grew in power, first ruling the County of Savoy , a small Alpine county northwest of Italy, and later gaining absolute rule of the Kingdom of Sicily. During the years to , they were handed the Kingdom of Sardinia and would exercise direct rule from then onward as PiedmontβSardinia , which was the legal predecessor state of the Kingdom of Italy , which in turn is the predecessor of the present-day Italian Republic.
From rule of a region on the FrenchβItalian border, by the time of the abolition of monarchy in Italy, the dynasty's realm grew to include nearly all of the Italian peninsula. Through its junior branch of Savoy-Carignano , the House of Savoy led the Italian unification in , and ruled the Kingdom of Italy until They also briefly ruled the Kingdom of Spain during the 19th century. Umberto II reigned for only a few weeks, as the last king of Italy , before being deposed following the Italian institutional referendum , after which the Italian Republic was proclaimed.
The name derives from the historical region of Savoy in the Alps between what is now France and Italy. Over time, the House of Savoy expanded its territory and influence through judicious marriages and international diplomacy. The ancestry of Humbert is uncertain, as contemporary documents make no mention of his father.
His family was traditionally believed to have come from Saxony; [ 5 ] more recent investigations into the 21st century pointed to the County of Vienne , where both Humbert and his relatives held extensive possessions, as a more plausible origin. Although Sabaudia was originally a poor county, later counts were diplomatically skilled, and gained control over strategic mountain passes in the Alps.
Two of Humbert's sons were commendatory abbots at the Abbey of St. Humbert's son, Otto of Savoy , succeeded to the title in after the death of his elder brother Amadeus I of Savoy. Meanwhile, Piedmont was later joined with Sabaudia, and the name evolved into Savoy Italian : Savoia.
