Prince Benedetto, Duke of Chablais (Benedetto Maria Maurizio; 21 June 1741 – 4 January 1808) was an Italian nobleman and military leader. He was the youngest child of King

Charles Emmanuel III of Sardinia Charles Emmanuel III (27 April 1701 – 20 February 1773) was Duke of Savoy and King of Sardinia from 1730 until his death. Biography He was born in Turin to Victor Amadeus II of Savoy and his first wife the French Anne Marie d'Orléans. Hi ...

. He married his niece

Maria Anna of Savoy Maria Anna of Savoy ( it, Maria Anna Ricciarda Carolina Margherita Pia; 19 September 1803 – 4 May 1884) was Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary (see Grand title of the Empress of Austria) by marriage to Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria. Biogra ...

; they had no children. Benedetto was the owner of the ''

Palazzo Chiablese The Palazzo Chiablese is a wing of the Royal Palace of Turin, in Northwest Italy. It was the residence of the Duke of Chablais first and then of Carlo Felice, King of Sardinia, and Ferdinando, Duke of Genoa. Today it is home to a cultural collec ...

'' in Turin.

Biography

Chablais was born at the

Palace of Venaria The Palace of Venaria (Italian: Reggia di Venaria Reale) is a former royal residence and gardens located in Venaria Reale, near Turin in the Piedmont region in northern Italy. It is one of the Residences of the Royal House of Savoy, included in ...

. He was the youngest child of

and Élisabeth Thérèse of Lorraine. His mother died giving birth to him. He was named after

Pope Benedict XIV Pope Benedict XIV ( la, Benedictus XIV; it, Benedetto XIV; 31 March 1675 – 3 May 1758), born Prospero Lorenzo Lambertini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 17 August 1740 to his death in May 1758.Antipope ...

who became

pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

the year before his birth. Known alternatively as ''Benedetto'' or ''Maurizio'', at the time of his birth, he was third in line to the Sardinian throne after his oldest half brother Victor Amadeus, Duke of Savoy and Prince Carlo his only full brother who died in infancy. His paternal cousins included

Louis XV of France Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached ...

, the future

Ferdinand VI of Spain , house = Bourbon-Anjou , father = Philip V of Spain , mother = Maria Luisa of Savoy , birth_date = 23 September 1713 , birth_place = Royal Alcazar of Madrid, Madrid, Spain , death_date = , death_place = Villavici ...

and the

Prince of Carignan The House of Savoy-Carignano ( it, Savoia-Carignano; french: Savoie-Carignan) originated as a cadet branch of the House of Savoy. It was founded by Thomas Francis of Savoy, Prince of Carignano (1596–1656), an Italian military commander who was ...

. His maternal cousins included the future

Queen of Naples The following is a list of rulers of the Kingdom of Naples, from its first separation from the Kingdom of Sicily to its merger with the same into the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. Kingdom of Naples (1282–1501) House of Anjou In 1382, the Kin ...

and the famous ''

Marie Antoinette Marie Antoinette Josèphe Jeanne (; ; née Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was the last queen of France before the French Revolution. She was born an archduchess of Austria, and was the penultimate child a ...

''. His uncle

Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor Francis I (Francis Stephen; french: François Étienne; german: Franz Stefan; 8 December 1708 – 18 August 1765) was Holy Roman Emperor, Archduke of Austria, Duke of Lorraine and Bar, and Grand Duke of Tuscany. He became the ruler of the Holy ...

proposed his daughter

Archduchess Maria Christina of Austria Archduke (feminine: Archduchess; German: ''Erzherzog'', feminine form: ''Erzherzogin'') was the title borne from 1358 by the Habsburg rulers of the Archduchy of Austria, and later by all senior members of that dynasty. It denotes a rank within ...

as a prospective wife but the marriage between the two never materialised. The Emperor wanted the marriage to encourage ties between the

House of Lorraine The House of Lorraine (german: link=no, Haus Lothringen) originated as a cadet branch of the House of Metz. It inherited the Duchy of Lorraine in 1473 after the death without a male heir of Nicholas I, Duke of Lorraine. By the marriage of Fran ...

and the

House of Savoy The House of Savoy ( it, Casa Savoia) was a royal dynasty that was established in 1003 in the historical Savoy region. Through gradual expansion, the family grew in power from ruling a small Alpine county north-west of Italy to absolute rule of ...

. In 1753 his father gave what is now the

as his personal residence. It was under Savoy that the building would be embellished under the direction of Benedetto Alfieri, a popular Savoyard architect of the era. In 1763 his father granted him the Duchy of Chablais (the prince having been styled Duke of Chablais since birth), with the subsidiary lands of Cureggio, Trino, Dezan, Crescentino, Riva di Chieri, Well, Ghemme Pollenzo Tricerro, and Apertole Centallo. His brother, later

Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia Victor Amadeus III (Vittorio Amadeo Maria; 26 June 1726 – 16 October 1796) was King of Sardinia from 1773 to his death. Although he was politically conservative, he carried out numerous administrative reforms until he declared war on Revolut ...

, created him

Marquis of Ivrea Ivrea (; pms, Ivrèja ; ; lat, Eporedia) is a town and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Turin in the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy. Situated on the road leading to the Aosta Valley (part of the medieval Via Francigena), it stradd ...

on 19 June 1796. In 1764 Chablais also bought the fiefdom of

Agliè Agliè (Piedmontese: ''Ajé'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Turin in the Italian region Piedmont, located about north of Turin. Agliè borders the following municipalities: San Martino Canavese, Torre Canavese, Ba ...

, where the

Ducal Palace of Agliè Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ranked ...

was situated, from his brother. Chablais also carried out improvements to the building under the direction of Ignatius Birago Borgaro. Chablais married

at the

Royal Palace of Turin The Royal Palace of Turin ( it, Palazzo Reale di Torino) is a historic palace of the House of Savoy in the city of Turin in Northern Italy. It was originally built in the 16th century and was later modernized by Christine Marie of France (1606–1 ...

on 19 March 1775. Maria Anna was his niece, and sixth child of his oldest brother

, and his consort

Maria Antonietta of Spain , mother = Elisabeth Farnese , birth_date = , birth_place = Alcázar of Seville, Spain , death_date = , death_place = Castle of Moncalieri, Turin, Kingdom of Sardinia , burial_date = September 1785 , burial_place = Basilica o ...

. The marriage produced no children, Maria Anna dying in 1824. Noted as a good soldierArtemont. Louis Leopold d', '' A Sister of Louis XVI; Marie-Clotilde de france, queen of Sardinia (1759-1802)'', London, London, 1911, pg.86 Chablais was given control of the Army of Italy which contained French troops and intended on restoring the monarchy in France after the execution of

Louis XVI Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was ...

in 1793. He took part in the

Battle of Loano The Battle of Loano occurred on 23–24 November 1795 during the War of the First Coalition. The French Army of Italy led by Barthélemy Schérer defeated the combined Austrian and Sardinian forces under Olivier, Count of Wallis. Context In ...

. He died in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

aged 66 and was buried at the church of San Nicolo dei Cesarini then later moved to the Royal Basilica of Superga, Turin. At his death the title of Duke of Chablais reverted to the crown.

Biography

Ancestry

Notes

References

External links

See also