Order of the Crown of Italy

Order of the Crown of Italy
Ordine della Corona d'Italia
Star of the Grand Cordon set of the Order
Awarded by

The Head of the Italian Royal Family
Type Dynastic Order of Knighthood
Established 20 February 1868
Royal house House of Savoy
Eligibility Military, civilian
Awarded for Meritorious Service or Achievement
Status Rarely constituted
Founder King Victor Emmanuel II
Grand Master Prince Vittorio Emanuele, Prince of Naples
Chairman of the Council Prince Emanuele Filiberto, Prince of Venice
Grades Knight Grand Cross
Grand Officer
Commander
Officer
Knight
Precedence
Next (higher) Royal Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus
Next (lower) Royal Civil Order of Savoy
Royal Military Order of Savoy

Ribbon bar

The Order of the Crown of Italy (Italian: Ordine della Corona d'Italia or OCI) was founded as a national order in 1868 by King Vittorio Emanuele II, to commemorate the unification of Italy in 1861. It was awarded in five degrees for civilian and military merit. Today the Order of the Crown has been replaced by the Order of Merit of Savoy and is still conferred on new knights by the current head of the house of Vittorio Emanuele, Prince of Naples.

The order has been suppressed by law since the foundation of the Republic in 1946. However, Umberto II did not abdicate his position as fons honorum and it remained under his Grand Mastership as a dynastic order. While the continued use of those decorations conferred prior to 1951 is permitted in Italy, the crowns on the ribbons issued before 1946 must be substituted for as many five pointed stars on military uniforms.

Grades

The various degrees of the order, with corresponding ribbons, were as follows:

Ribbon Class (English) Class (Italian) Manner of wear
Knight Grand Cross Cavaliere di Gran Croce decorati del Grande Cordone Badge on sash on right shoulder, plus star on left chest
Grand Officer Grande Ufficiale dell'Ordine della Corona d'Italia Star on left chest
Commander Commendatore dell'Ordine della Corona d'Italia Badge on necklet
Officer Ufficiale dell'Ordine della Corona d'Italia Badge on ribbon with rosette on left chest
Knight Cavaliere dell'Ordine della Corona d'Italia Badge on ribbon on left chest

Insignia

Medals
Kingdom of Italy
Knight
Officer
Commander
Grand Officer
Knight Grand Cross
Italian Republic and Savoy House
Knight
Officer
Commander
Grand Officer
Knight Grand Cross

Members

Members of the order have included:

Non-order merit awards

- Gold cross - Silver cross

Grand Masters of the order

Vittorio Emanuele, Prince of Naples, Duke of Savoy

Additional information

According to International Commission for Orders of Chivalry the Order of Merit is also known as the Merit of Savoy

Under their section: chivalric institutions founded by the head of a formerly reigning dynasty, the Order has been defined as the following since their 2016 register:

ITALY

House of Savoy (Catholic)

Merit of Savoy

Founded: H.R.H. Crown Prince Vittorio Emanuele of Savoy, Prince of Piedmont and Prince of Naples 23 January 1988.

Ribbon: Blue with a broad white centre stripe.

Grand Master: H.R.H. Crown Prince Vittorio Emanuele of Savoy, Prince of Piedmont and Prince of Naples (Vittorio Emanuele IV, Titular King of Italy) (b. 1937).

Order of Merit of Savoy Recipients (amongst others)

As of the year 2000 there are/were 1453 recipients of the Order of Merit.

See also