Savoy History  Series

In keeping with the noble traditions of honor and service that distinguish the centuries-old Dynastic Orders of the Royal House of Savoy and the significant role that the Savoy dynasty played in European history, particularly its role in the unification of the nation of Italy, the American Foundation of Savoy Orders supports cultural activities and educational programs. The Savoy Foundation sponsors the Savoy History Series, an annual lecture given by distinguished scholars and masters in their respective fields and sometimes by members of the Italian Royal Family on a topic related to the House of Savoy, and the history of Italy, Italian literature, history, art, music, science and impact on other countries. A wide array of extraordinary lectures and dynamic conversations featuring topics in Italian history and highlights from current exhibitions, film discussion and musical performances related to Italy and the Savoy dynasty provide interesting insights from a unique perspective.

The Savoy History Series is made possible thanks to the generosity of Marco Grassi, Chairman Emeritus of the Savoy History Lecture Series and President Emeritus of the Savoy Foundation. Additional funding is provided by the Savoy Foundation. 

EIGHTEENTH ANNUAL SAVOY HISTORY LECTURE

THE ONLY WITNESS -
​A HISTORY OF THE SHROUD OF TURIN

On the evening of October 30, 2023, The American Foundation of Savoy Orders (Savoy Foundation)hosted its 18th Annual Savoy History Series Presentation, Reception and Dinner. During his presentation about the Shroud of Turin, Jesus’s burial cloth, author, historian and shroud expert Guy R. Powell masterfully weaved a myriad of true historical and scientific facts into a fascinating presentation about this treasured relic and how Christians and the
Royal House of Savoy worked to keep it safe over the last two millennia. H.R.H. Prince Dimitri of Yugoslavia, whose grandfather was His Late Majesty Umberto II, the last king of Italy who bequeathed the Shroud to Pope John Paul II and the Holy See in 1983, provided introductory remarks about his personal involvement with the events leading to it being given in custody to the Vatican. The presentation by Guy R. Powell is based on his recently published book – The Only Witness: A History of the Shroud of Turin- which will appeal to the history enthusiast, a fan of ancient mysteries, or a seeker of spiritual growth. His intriguing account of the shroud’s miraculous survival from harm and destruction as it journeyed through history – from Golgotha, through the Roman
Empire, through Byzantium, through Europe, spanning three continents and two millennia, surviving war, famine, plagues, floods, earthquakes to its final resting place in Turin, Italy, where it has been housed since 1578 captivated the listener. The audience  discovered the mystery of the Shroud and determined if indeed it is the witness of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

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 SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL SAVOY HISTORY LECTURE
the power of gems across european royal courts and the fable jewels of the savoy queens of italy; the fascinating reminiscences of h.r.h.prince dimitri of yugoslavia

17th Annual  Savoy History Series welcomed H.R.H.Prince Dimitri of Yugoslavia, a historical figure whose unique heritage as a descendent of the great royal and imperial houses of Europe, provides witness testimony underscoring the symbolic  intertwining relationship between royal jewels, the majesty of monarchy, autocratic power and aesthetics.

The presentation by Prince Dimitri explored the magnitude and significance of the collection of jewels worn by Prince Dimitri’s ancestors, and the ones he has designed himself, inspired by his family’s unparalleled jewelry as illustrated in his recently published book “Once Upon a Diamond: A Family Tradition of Royal Jewels (Rizzoli).” The presentation’s main title was: “The Power of Gems Across European Royal Courts and The Fabled Jewels of the Savoy Queens of Italy: Prince Dimitri’s talk was in the form of an informal interview moderated by Caroline Weber, who is an author, fashion historian and a scholar of French literature, history, and culture. Read More

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SIXTEENTH ANNUAL SAVOY HISTORY LECTURE
Glorifying Church and State: The Chapel of the Holy Shroud
​of Turin, Guarini and the Royal House of Savoy

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​The ‘Savoy History Lecture Series’ was enormously pleased and honored to welcome to its podium John Beldon Scott, who is the Elizabeth M. Stanley Professor of the Arts, Emeritus and former Director of the School of Art & Art History at the University of Iowa. His field of research is the art and architecture of early modern Italy and of twentieth-century totalitarian regimes.  He is the author of Images of Nepotism: The Painted Ceilings of Palazzo Barberini (Princeton, 1991) and Architecture for the Shroud: Relic and Ritual in Turin (Chicago, 2003).  The latter book was awarded the 2004 College Art Association Charles Rufus Morey Prize. He is currently Associate Editor of the forthcoming Cambridge Guide to the Architecture of Christianity. He has been a fellow at the American Academy in Rome, the National Humanities Center, the Institute for Advanced Study, the Stanford Humanities Center, and the Fulbright Specialist Program in Uruguay​.

The 2018 series titled Glorifying Church and State: The Chapel of the Holy Shroud of Turin, Guarini and the Royal House of Savoy,  presented by Professor John Beldon Scott,  explored the dynastic role of the holy relic as expressed in the great architectural marvel of the chapel's dome design. Located between the Cathedral and the Savoy Royal Palace in Turin, priest-architect Guarino Guarini’s Holy Shroud chapel embodies both sacred and secular imagery, demonstrating the dual function of the relic in the religion and politics of the early modern Savoyard realm. Reference to the Supreme Order of the Santissima Annunziata and its members’ participation in ritual displays of the Shroud also figure in the chapel’s ceremonial portal. The design, particularly the chapel’s dome structure, holds a prominent place in the history of Baroque architecture as one of the most radical conceptions of its epoch. Severely damaged by fire in 1997, the chapel has been restored following a twenty-year effort and opened to the public in Fall 2018. Professor Scott examined the dynastic role of the relic as expressed in the chapel and then discussed images of the newly-restored work. Read More

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FIFTEENTH ANNUAL SAVOY HISTORY LECTURE
​Porcelain Sculpture at the Courts of Savoy: The Fascinating Story of China's Influence in Italy and the West

​The 2017 series, titled Porcelain Sculpture at the Courts of Savoy: The Fascinating Story of China's Influence in Italy and the West explored China’s influence in Italy and the West in the 18th and 19th centuries as seen through the collections of porcelain sculpture and decorative plates at the Courts of Savoy.  The lecture was delivered by the internationally celebrated Italian sculptor Dionisio Cimarelli.  He is best known for his contemporary figurative sculptures in Chinese porcelain and an iconic sculpture of Matteo Ricci, an extraordinary 16th century Jesuit who became an advisor to the Court of the Winli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty. ​Dionisio Cimarelli is considered to be the greatest Italian sculptor to have lived and sculpted in China. His style is a blend of Italian and Chinese that has led to critics likening him to a modern day Marco Polo. Cimarelli currently teaches in New York at the New York Academy of Art and at The Art Students League of New York. Born in the Marche region of Italy, he received his education in sculpture the Liceo Artistico Edgardo.Manucci, at the Aademy of Fine Arts of Carrar and the specialization in wood carving in Val Gardena-South Tyrol, Italy.  He also studied at the Repin Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg, Russia and at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague, Czech Republic.  

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FOURTEENTH ANNUAL SAVOY HISTORY LECTURE
The Great Statesman and Soldier, Prince Eugene of Savoy,
​as Collector, Bibliophile, Naturalist 

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​The 2016 series titled The Great Statesman and Soldier, Prince Eugene of Savoy, as Collector, Bibliophile, Naturalist was curated by Dr. Agnes Husslein-Arco, Director of the Belvedere and Stadtpalais Galleries in Vienna, Austria and recounted the extraordinary life of the great field marshal and military defender of Europe as a man of immense culture and encyclopedic interests. Prince Eugene of Savoy’s exploits as a statesman and military commander were the subject of the first in the series of “Savoy History Lectures.”  it is only fitting that this Series revisit the august historical figure of Eugene; this time as one of Baroque Europe’s great collectors, builders and patron of the arts. These achievements are vividly symbolized by the two monumental residences most intimately associated with his life in Vienna, and both nearing completion of a decades‐long restoration effort: The Belvedere on the outskirts of the city and the Stadpalais at its center. Also known as Prinz Eugen, Eugene of Savoy was born and reared in France. Aspiring to a career in the military under King Louis XIV, his request was, however, rejected because of his mother Olympia Mancini’s questionable reputation at court. As a result, Eugene entered the service of the Hapsburg Emperor, Leopold I, initiating a legendary career that would span the reign of three successive Holy Roman Emperors. He was at the side of his cousin, the Duke of Savoy at the Siege of Vienna in 1683 that halted the Ottoman advance on Central Europe. The decisive victory came fourteen years later at the Battle of Zenta; it secured Eugene’s fame as the century’s greatest general and the “savior of Europe.” During the War of the Spanish Succession, as an ally of the Duke of Malborough, Eugene also savored the further satisfaction of defeating ‐ at Blenheim, Oudenade and Malplaquet ‐ the French king who had rejected his service as a young man. Read More

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THIRTEENTH ANNUAL SAVOY HISTORY LECTURE
Exploring Giuseppe Verdi’s Enduring Legacy: Italy’s Risorgimento, Unification under the House of Savoy, and Beyond​

The 2015 series titled Exploring Giuseppe Verdi’s Enduring Legacy: Italy’s Risorgimento, Unification under the House of Savoy, and Beyond  focused on Giuseppe Verdiʹs deeply human and politically‐charged operas, which were an undeniably powerful force during the cause of Italian unification, under the sovereignty of the House of Savoy. Verdi served in the first parliament in 1861 and was appointed a Senator by King Victor Emmanuel III in 1875. This confluence of art, politics and social upheaval brought forth not just a modern Italian nation, but an enduring “legacy of music, charity, patriotism, honor, grace and reasonʺ that prevails to the present day. This lively and provocative presentation explores this legacy through the spoken word, alternating with an intriguing selection of filmed sequences from various sources. The lecture was delivered by writer and film-maker August Ventura who has devoted himself to Verdiʹs ʺenduring legacyʺ in printed word and now through the medium of documentary film. 
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TWELFTH ANNUAL SAVOY HISTORY LECTURE
Thoughts and Memories of a Royal Princess

​For the Twelfth Annual Savoy History Series, Thoughts and Memories of a Royal Princess, the American Foundation of Savoy Orders welcomed HRH Princess Maria Pia of Savoy and  her husband, Prince Michel de Bourbon‐Parme, who traveled from their home in Paris expressly for this event. Both are descendants of dynastic royal families that played leading roles in Italian history. Theirs is a truly remarkable story, encompassing momentous historical events spanning many decades – events in which they participated and witnessed. Each recalled personal experiences, in words and photographs, in two recently published memoirs of 2010: La Mia Vita e i Miei Ricordi “My Life and Memories” by H.R.H. Princess Maria Pia of Savoy and Un Prince dans la Tourmente “A Prince in Turmoil” by H.R.H. Prince Michel de Bourbon-Parme. Princess Maria Pia of Savoy is the eldest daughter of King Umberto II and Marie ‐ José of Belgium who reigned as Italy’s last monarchs until 1946. In 1954, she met, and later married, Prince Alexander of Yugoslavia with whom, in 1958, she had a first set of fraternal twins ( Princes Dimitri and Michael of Yugoslavia ). In 1963, two more twins were born (Prince Sergius and Princess Helene of Yugoslavia ). In 2003, Princess Maria Pia remarried. Her second husband, Prince Michel de Bourbon‐Parme had enjoyed a distinguished military, motor ‐ racing and business career. The talk was in the form of an informal interview with History Series Chair Marco Grassi and questions from the audience. Comments by the Princess were accompanied by photographs from her book and were moderated by Alain Elkann, a prominent cultural and social figure in European circles.   Read More

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ELEVENTH ANNUAL SAVOY HISTORY LECTURE
20 September 1870 – The Bersaglieri At Porta Pia -
​A Roman Perspective

​The Eleventh Savoy History Series Lecture, 20 September 1870 – The Bersaglieri At Porta Pia - A Roman Perspective, concentrated on the  Porta Pia a gateway on axis with the ‘Via Nomentana’ one of the Roman Consular roads leading northward. Since its design by Michelangelo and completion in 1565 during the reign of Pope Pius IV (after whom it was named), Porta Pia served as one of the principal gates giving access the Eternal City through its ancient defensive walls. As a result of significant changes in the European balance of power after France’s defeat at the Battle of Sèdan, King Victor Emmanuel II of Italy seized the opportunity to finally occupy Rome and declare it the new nation’s capital. In early September 1870, units of the Bersaglieri under General Raffaele Cadorna, took position near Porta Pia and, after unsuccessful negotiations with Pope Pius IX and his military advisers, broke through the walls on September 20. The date has been celebrated ever since as the final milestone of Italy’s Risorgimento. Within the walls, the Papal Curia as well as a majority of Rome’s citizens, deplored the event as an act of illegal aggression against a sovereign state. Professor Davis, guest lecturer, described the history and structure of the Papal Court and its administration before Porta Pia. Of particular interest was the military establishment that served and protected the Papal State. What led up to the dramatic confrontation was discussed, as well as the aftermath of “Venti Settembre”: not surprisingly, its effects on the city’s character in economic, social and religious terms were profound. The physical transformation of Rome’s topography proved to be equally radical and traumatic. A number of remarkable figures are part of the story recounted by Prof. Davis: Pope Pius IX, the indomitable and long-serving pontiff who refused to surrender the keys to his city, Generals Hermann Kanzler and Cadorna, who faced each other as commanders on opposite sides of the Roman walls and, of course, those principal architects of Italian unification, King Victor Emmanuel II of Savoy and Count Cavour. A short filmed interview followed Prof. Davis’s lecture; in it, Prince Sforza Ruspoli shared with Marco Grassi, History Lecture Series Chairman, some thoughts and recollections about modern Roman history, the Vatican, and the events of Porta Pia. The Ruspoli are among the handful of ancient noble families that historically comprised the Papal Court and were entrusted with key temporal functions until its dissolution in 1968. Prince Sforza’s grandfather, Prince Alessandro Ruspoli, served for years as the Court’s highest official, Grand Master of the Apostolic Palaces. 

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TENTH ANNUAL SAVOY HISTORY LECTURE
Luigi Amedeo di Savoia Aosta, Duca degli Abruzzi:
​An Explorer's Life

​For the 10th anniversary of the Savoy History Lecture Series, Savoy Foundation featured the extraordinary life of member of the Savoy dynasty, known for his mountain climbing expeditions to the most inhospitable regions of the world, the adventurous Luigi Amedeo di Savoia Aosta, Duke of Abruzzi.  He was born in 1873; his father was King Victor Emanuel II’s younger brother and briefly served as Spain’s elected king. Luigi Amedeo, already in his early twenties an adventurous spirit, traveled widely and, by 1882 began climbing mountains, at first in Europe and, eventually, making the first successful ascent of Mount Saint Elias in Canada. In 1899, the Duke organized an ambitious expedition to the North Pole which, unfortunately, he was obliged to abandon having sustained serious frostbite injury to a hand. His second-in-command, Umberto Cagni continued and set a new world record for the time. The Duke continued his bold climbing and exploration pursuits in Africa on the Ruwenzori range and in Asia with a narrowly-missed attempt at the summit of K 2. A legacy of these expeditions is the diary and astonishing body of images left by Vittorio Sella, a friend of the Duke’s and a pioneer of early mountain photography. In these years, the Duke’s life was also marked by romance: the love for a prominent American heiress that remained unfulfilled due to the royal family’s objections. During World War I, the Duke was named Vice-Admiral in command of the Adriatic Fleet of the Regia Marina. Although he served gallantly and was credited with saving the Serbian Army, the sinking of the battleship Regina Margherita by the Austrians led to his recall and replacement. In the 1920’s, the Duke returned to Africa and, in Somalia, founded an important agricultural settlement that successfully implemented new agricultural techniques. In 1933 he died in Jowhar, north of Mogadishu. The talk was illustrated with some of the striking photographs taken by Vittorio Sella as well as other visual material pertaining to the Duke’s adventurous life. A highlight of the evening was a filmed interview with Dott. Fabio Ruberti, one of the world’s most renowned divers, underwater explorers and researchers. Dr. Ruberti heads IANTD (International Association Nitrox & Technical Divers) based in Marina di Pisa, Italy. In 2005, an expedition under Dr. Ruberti’s direction, located the wreck of the Regina Margherita off the coast of Albania. A fascinating film of that discovery was part of the evening’s program. Read More

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NINTH ANNUAL SAVOY HISTORY LECTURE
"Il Risorgimento” – Art Portraying History

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​2011 marked the 150th anniversary of the unification of Italy. As a climax to nearly seventy years of struggle, the dreams of generations of Italians were realized when, in March 1861, Italy became a sovereign, united nation under its first monarch, Victor Emmanuel II of Savoy. That long, often painful, but glorious process has become known as the Risorgimento: rebirth or regeneration. It was a long series of events, as much political and military, as cultural and artistic. The topic of the lecture - "Il Risorgimento” – Art Portraying History - marks the 150th anniversary of the unification of Italy. As a climax to nearly seventy years of struggle, the dreams of generations of Italians were realized when, in March 1861, Italy became a sovereign, united nation under its first monarch, Victor Emmanuel II of Savoy. That long, often painful, but glorious process has become known as the “Risorgimento”: rebirth or regeneration. It was a long series of events, as much political and military, as cultural and artistic. The topic of this Savoy History Lecture was the story of some of the stirring episodes of the Risorgimento. These served as inspiration to many artists who not only depicted them but who were witnesses and participants as well. The Risorgimento, unlike contemporary events such as the American Civil War, was also a vibrant cultural reawakening; as a result, scores of talented and perceptive Italian artists left a fascinating record of those years. The lecture was  illustrated by images of works of art by painters, sculptors and photographers. Some, such as Fattori and Lega, are better known; others, though equally interesting, have remained more obscure.  Marco Grassi, acting as Chairman of the Savoy Lecture Series has, for the past eight years, arranged for a number of scholars and authorities to speak on topics as varied as the music of the Savoy Court, the figure of Prince Eugene of Savoy and Florence as the capital of Italy. Since this year the focus of the talk will be on art, Mr. Grassi made an exception to this tradition and for the first time delivered the lecture himself.   Read More

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EIGHTH  ANNUAL SAVOY HISTORY LECTURE
The Venus Fixers – The Art of Italy in World War II 

​The Venus Fixers – The Art of Italy in World War II - The title of the 2010 Lecture is that of a recently published book (Farrar Strauss and Giroux, 2009) by Dr. Dagnini Brey. Subject of both is the survival of Italy’s artistic patrimony through the ordeal of World War II, a story seen from the perspective of both the Italian fine-arts authorities as well as the Allied officers who, through the terrible events of those years were charged with essentially the same task: protecting the art of Italy from destruction and dispersion. Dr. Brey is a native of Padova and received her degree in literature at that city’s university. She continued post-doctoral studies in England and, after entering the publishing field with Marsilio Editori of Venice, Dr. Brey came to New York to join Rizzoli International. A free-lance journalist, she has been a regular contributor to, among others, Corriere della Sera, and Elle. Several years ago, Dr. Brey began researching the events of March 1944 that resulted in the tragic destruction of Padova’s Ovetari Chapel with its magnificent frescoes by Mantegna. This research was then continued and much expanded, eventually becoming The Venus Fixers. Dr. Brey lives in Manhattan with her husband, the noted cellist Carter Brey and two teen-age children. Read More

Wartime Art Theft Footage - Paintings Taken by Germans in Italy
San Leonardo, Italy: U.S. 5th Army Monument Men working for the MFAA (Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives) section of the Allied Armies during WWII discovered paintings stolen by the Nazis from the Uffizi Gallery and Museum in Florence, Italy.  These paintings had been unloaded and placed in a jail cell in San Leonardo, Italy by retreating German troops. Among the masterpiece were paintings by Sandro Botticelli, Filippo Lippi, and Giovanni Bellini.

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SEVENTH ANNUAL SAVOY HISTORY LECTURE
​The House of Savoy: Thirteenth Century England and the Mediaeval European Community: The Savoia at the Court
​of Henry III of England (1216-1272)

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​The American Foundation of Savoy Orders was pleased to present its Seventh Annual Savoy History Lecture on Tuesday, October 27, 2009. It was the first time that the Foundation partnered with another New York-based institution, the St. George’s Society of New York, in sponsoring this event. The subject of this year’s lecture was particularly appropriate to such a collaboration: The House of Savoy: Thirteenth Century England and the Medieval European Community. The title, in fact, interestingly drew attention to the intermingling of dynastic, cultural and economic interests which were to have lasting historic significance both for the House of Savoy and the House of Plantagenet. Event Report

Eleanor of Aquitaine (1122-1204) is one of the most remarkable figures of the High Middle Ages. She was daughter and sole heiress of William, Duke of Aquitaine. Barely fifteen, Eleanor married the future King Louis VII of France and, as Queen of the Franks, she participated in the Second Crusade. Upon returning to France, she managed to have her marriage annulled and promptly married the much younger Duke of the Normans, Henry II. When Henry ascended the English throne in 1154, Eleanor became queen a second time! She bore Henry eight children, two of whom would become kings of England: King Richard “the Lionheart” and his younger brother King John. It was John who, under duress, consented to sign the ‘Magna Carta’ in 1215 granting certain fundamental rights to his subjects. This document, and the precedent it set, has been rightly regarded as the foundation for much of European law. Henry, John’s son, ascended the throne of England as a boy in 1216 and ruled as King Henry III for fifty-six years. He married Eleanor of Provence, one of the four daughters and heiresses of Raymond, Count of Provence, by his wife, Beatrice of Savoy. Henry did not forget about his wife’s Savoia connections and brought his Eleanor’s uncles – Peter of Savoy and Boniface of Savoy – to England. Peter was invested with the highest English title at that time: the earldom of Richmond. Henry named Peter’s brother Boniface Archbishop of Canterbury. Members of the Savoy family were, therefore, to play significant roles during this, one of English history’s most important periods. Henry also assigned land and buildings in London to Peter of Savoy and they became the Savoy Palace – a legacy that survives to this day in the legendary hotel, theater and mediaeval chapel, all bearing the Savoy name on exactly the same historic site. Professor Tyerman’s lecture brought to life the extraordinary people and stirring events that marked this fascinating moment of mediaeval history. A recognized authority on mediaeval history, Professor Tyerman is the author of a number of important scholarly works, among them: God’s War: a New History of the Crusades, England and the Crusades and the eight-volume Who’s Who in Early Mediaeval England. Professor Tyerman is currently on the faculty of Hertford College and New College, Oxford. Read More

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SIXTH ANNUAL SAVOY HISTORY LECTURE
Music for a Savoia Cardinal  and An Organ Recital

​The 2008 History Series, Music for a Savoia Cardinal  and An Organ Recital, featured a prominent figure in the court of Pope Urban VIII Barberini, Cardinal Maurizio di Savoia (1593-1657), who was a great patron of the musical and theatrical arts during a period of unmatched splendor and creativity in the Eternal City. Professor Frederick Hammond and Richard Torrence spoke on the topic. The presentation was followed by an organ recital by Cameron Carpenter at the Middle Collegiate Church, New York City. Professor Hammond, one of the lecturers  is the Brandeis professor of Romance Studies at Bard College, harpsichordist of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, presenter of the 1999 show of Roman decorative art at the Bard Graduate Center, and author of Girolamo Frescobaldi and Music and Spectacle in Baroque Rome. Richard Torrence spoke about the new Marshall & Ogletree organ and some features that imitate Italian organs of the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries (drums and other percussion, plus free reed stops, often considered "theatrical" registers on 20th Century organs).
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A younger son of the Duke of Savoy (forebear of the Italian Royal Family), Maurizio was named Cardinal in 1607 at the age of fifteen, and moved to Rome in 1620. During the papal conclave of 1623, he was a key player in the election of Urban VIII (Barberini), whose reign was the most brilliant of Seventeenth Century papacies. The century also saw the building of palaces and churches; the completion and consecration of St. Peter's Basilica, Rome; and masterpieces of painting, sculpture, architecture, literature, and music by such artists as Bernini, Borromini, and Pietro da Cortona. Cardinal Maurizio became such an ardent patron of music, literature, and the visual arts that his hounding creditors forced him to flee Rome from 1627 to 1635. In 1637, he presented a magnificent fireworks display to proclaim Ferdinand III heir to the Holy Roman Empire. Cardinal Maurizio held influential political, diplomatic and event military positions throughout his brilliant career, but, in 1642, he relinquished his cardinalate status to marry his much younger niece, Louisa di Savoia, thereby assuring survival of the Savoy succession and dynasty.  

The  Concert  featured music by Roman composers associated with the cardinal. The brilliant young organist, Cameron Carpenter, performed keyboard music by the greatest of the Seventeenth-Century keyboard composers and performers, Girolamo Frescobaldi, as well as organ music from a collection that was dedicated to Cardinal Maurizio. The Anima Baroque Ensemble provided vocal and instrumental music with soprano Beth Hatton,violinist Vita Wallace, Motomi Igarashi on viola da gamba and lirone, and harpsichordist Keri Middelson. The ensemble performed "Spera, mi disse Amore" by Orazio Michi, "Amico, hai vinto" by Sigismondo d'India, "Per le glorie chiara prole" and "Damigella tutta bella" by Stefano Landi, and "Dunque dovvò del puro servir mio" (a romanesca aria) and "Canzona in C" (instrumental) by Girolamo Frescobaldi. Read More

REPORT

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FIFTH ANNUAL SAVOY HISTORY LECTURE
Florence, Capital of Italy 1865-1870: Casa Savoia in Tuscany

​Guest lecturer Prof. John A. Davis' subject was that relatively brief period during which Florence became capital of the newly formed Kingdom of Italy.  It is a crucial chapter in the history of the Risorgimento and the early phase of the Savoia monarchy. In the period 1865-1870, the King, Victor Emmanuel II, his ministers and the new parliament, came to grips with the daunting task of fashioning a strong, efficient and modern constitutional monarchy in the tradition of the king's father, Carlo Alberto of Savoy, who had ruled as king of Sardinia, earlier in the century.  "Firenze Capitale", as this moment is remembered in Italy, also had profound and lasting effects on the topography of the city, transforming its center from a walled, medieval warren of dark alleys into the (mostly) 19th century city we now today.  

Prof. Davis is the Director of European Studies at the University of Connecticut and serves as the Emiliana Pasca Noether Professor of Italian History there.  He has published widely, particularly on XIXth Century Italy - most recently, a comprehensive study of Naples during Napoleonic rule. A John Simon Guggenheim Fellow, Davis has received the Serena Medal of the British Academy and the International Galileo Galilei Prize in recognition of his contributions to modern Italy history. A Resident of the American Academy in Rome, a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society (London) and a member of the academic board of the Istituto Italiano per gli Studi Filosofici, he has taught and lectured at numerous universities in Italy and Europe as well as the USA. He is general editor of the seven volume Oxford Short History of Italy (Oxford University Press 2000-2006) and has edited many collective volumes, including Italy and America 1943-4 (Napoli, Cittá del Sole 1997). His recent publications include Naples and Napoleon: Southern Italy in the Age of the European Revolutions (Oxford University Press 2006 –  which won the Howard and Helen Marraro Prize of the American Historical Association for the best book on Italy in any period (2007), the Premio Internazionale Sele d’Oro and the Literary  Award of the International Napoleonic Society. 

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FOURTH ANNUAL SAVOY HISTORY LECTURE
The Savoia: A Dynasty of Great Builders

​Dr. Henry A. Millon, a universally recognized a preeminent scholar in the field of European architectural history, and, in particular, of Turin, illuminated the extraordinary story of those Savoia rulers and their activity, who transformed their capital into one of the most beautiful cities in Europe.  This vigorous artistic flowering could not have occurred without the political and economic rebirth of Turin that began in 1563, when the energetic Emanuele Filiberto di Savoia made the city his capital.  The visionary architects - among them, Guarino Guarini, Filippo Juvarra and Bernardo Vittone - who worked for Emanuele Filiberto and his enlightened successors, were also immensely influential beyond the borders of their state, in many ways defining the later Baroque style not only in Italy, but in France and Germany as well.  

Dr. Henry A. Millon, is the recently retired dean of the Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts (CASVA) at the National Gallery, Washington, and a former director of the American Academy in Rome. He is universally recognized as a preeminent scholar in the field of European architectural history and, in particular, of Turin, and is currently at work on a definitive catalogue of the drawings of the great Piedmontese architect Filippo Juvarra (1678-1736). Dr. Millon is a past and present president of several national and international scholarly societies and currently serves as Curator of the American Philosophical Society. Italian Renaissance Architecture: from Brunelleschi to Michelangelo and Baroque and Rococo Architecture are two of Dr. Millon’s best known publications. Circa 1700, published this year by Yale University Press, is his most recent book.
 
Their Savoia commissions included churches, palaces, military fortifications and ambitious urban spaces. Fortunately, many of the innovative and visually exciting projects that were designed by these gifted artists, are still standing and well preserved, thus allowing for their study and enjoyment to this day. Dr. Millon  illustrated the most significant of these structures, describing their conceptual, stylistic as well as structural characteristics.

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THIRD ANNUAL SAVOY HISTORY LECTURE
Italy and the Royal House of Savoy in the Great War 1915 - 1918

​The history of the First World War has long been a subject of great interest of guest lecturer Mr. Ian Kennedy, who studied history and art history at Cambridge and, subsequently at the Courtauld Institute, London.  He has studied closely the armaments, the strategies and the protagonists of that great conflict.  He has also visited many of the battlefields where the principal engagements were fought. Various aspects of the Great War have been the subjects of lectures by Mr. Kennedy at, among others, The Frick Collection, Christie's and the Nelson-Atkins Museum, and also in Kansas City, the Liberty Memorial Museum, the most important in America devoted to World War I.  Mr. Kennedy strongly feels that Italy's role in the First World War has too often been underestimated and misunderstood.  Read More

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SECOND ANNUAL SAVOY HISTORY LECTURE
Umberto II, King of Italy: His Life as Crown Prince, Lieutenant General of the Realm and King

​In honor of the centenary of his birth, September 1904, the late King Umberto II, last King of Italy, was the subject of a in-depth lecture prepared by Cav. Gr. Cr. Nobile Francesco Carlo Griccioli, a scholar, writer and lecturer on European military history and the current Delegate of Tuscany to the Dynastic Orders of the Royal House of Savoy, and delivered at and by the Director of the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, Cav. William P. Johns, on Monday 18 October 2004. This was the second in the American Delegation of Savoy Orders’ History Lecture Series.

Umberto was the son of Vittorio Emanuele III of Italy, who became King in 1900 and abdicated in May 1946, in favor of HRH Crown Prince Umberto.  It was, of course, during his long reign that Fascism manifested itself as Il Duce, Benito Mussolini, rose to political power.  And it was Mussolini who led Italy into chimerical colonial adventures and into an ill-fated alliance with Nazi Germany.

Vittorio Emanuele has long been suspected by scholars of, at best, passivity vis-à-vis Mussolini’s reckless leadership or, at worst, complicity with Il Duce.  Mr. Griccioli’s lecture shed much light on the political circumstances of the time.  In effect, things were not so simple.  In Mr. Griccioli’s view, the King despised Mussolini; but he also believed that any attempt to remove him from power (the army was absolutely loyal to the Crown) would lead to civil war and possibly even to the collapse of the monarchy.
When Italy entered into the Second World War, the King wrote a memo to his son, Crown Prince Umberto (whom Mussolini had “demoted” from Crown Prince, with its hereditary implications, to simply Prince of Piedmont), analyzing the situation. The King outlined three options: arrest Mussolini and take control of the government himself; abdicate; or go along and try to make the best of a bad situation.​ Read More

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FIRST ANNUAL SAVOY HISTORY LECTURE
The Swift Sword of Savoy: Prince Eugene of Savoy (1663-1736)
​as General, Statesman, Connoisseur, and Collector

​In New York City's Knickerbocker Club, 5 November 2003, William B. Warren, a respected authority and collector of materials relating to Prince Eugene of Savoy (1663-1736), inaugurated the American Delegation of Savoy Orders' History Lecture Series on Wednesday 5 November with a lecture on the celebrated 17th century military commander, statesman and bibliophile. The lecture was given at the Knickerbocker Club in New York City.  
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Prince Eugene's family intended him for a career in the church although he longed for a military career. When Louis XIV turned down his application for a commission, the young Prince fled the French court and entered the service of Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I. His first mission in Austrian service was to help relieve Vienna, then under siege by the Turks. He distinguished himself sufficiently that he was offered the command of a regiment of Dragoons. From that beginning, Prince Eugene went on to a brilliant series of military victories culminating in his most celebrated triumph, jointly with John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough: the crushing defeat of allied French and Bavarian forces at the Battle of Blenheim in 1704. He died in 1736, aged 73. 

Prince Eugene was also an avid book collector and builder. Mr. Warren, a former president of the Grolier Club and a member of the Savoy Orders, noted that at the Prince's death, his library accounted over a tenth of the value of his total estate which also included four palaces. The Prince's handsomely bound collection of books and manuscripts was not just for show: one friend commented that he had read, or at least skimmed, nearly all the books in his library. The Prince's palaces were equally impressive, including his art collection, gardens and private menagerie of exotic birds and beasts. ​Read More