Prince Vittorio Emanuele of Savoy-Aosta, Infante of Spain, Count of Turin (24 November 1870 – 10 October 1946) was a grandchild of King

Victor Emmanuel II en, Victor Emmanuel Maria Albert Eugene Ferdinand Thomas , house = Savoy , father = Charles Albert of Sardinia , mother = Maria Theresa of Austria , religion = Roman Catholicism , image_size = 252px , succession ...

and a member of 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 ...

. He was a cousin of Victor Emmanuel III.

Early life

Vittorio Emanuele of Savoy Aosta Count of Turin

Vittorio Emanuele was born in

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

just before his father Prince Amadeo of Savoy, Duke of Aosta was about to leave for

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

where he had been elected king. His mother was Maria Vittoria del Pozzo della Cisterna. With his father's accession to the Spanish throne he gained the additional title Infante of Spain.

The duel

In 1897 Vittorio Emanuele challenged

Prince Henri of Orléans Prince Henri of Orléans (16 October 1867 – 9 August 1901) was the son of Prince Robert, Duke of Chartres, and Princess Françoise of Orléans. Biography Henri, the second eldest son and third child of Prince Robert, Duke of Chartres, was ...

to a duel, after Henri described, in several articles in the newspaper ''

Le Figaro ''Le Figaro'' () is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It is headquartered on Boulevard Haussmann in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. The oldest national newspaper in France, ''Le Figaro'' is one of three French newspapers of r ...

'', the Italian soldiers being held captive in

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

during the First Italo–Ethiopian War as cowards. The dispute was widely echoed in Italy and Europe. It was agreed on the use of the sword as weapon of choice, as the Italians thought duels with pistols, favored by the French, were worthy of betrayed husbands, not of princes of royal blood. The duel with swords, directed by the Count Leontieff and the Count Avogadro, lasting 26 minutes, took place at 5:00 am on 15 August 1897 in the Bois de Marechaux at

Vaucresson Vaucresson () is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is in the Hauts-de-Seine department from the center of Paris. Vaucresson contains abundant parkland; 22 of its 308 hectares are classed as natural zones. Today Vaucresson i ...

, France. Vittorio Emanuele defeated Henri after five reprises. Henri received a serious wound to his right abdomen, and the doctors of both parties considered the injury serious enough to put him in a state of obvious inferiority, causing the end of the duel and making Vittorio Emanuele famous in Europe. The public response for Vittorio Emanuele in Italy was triumphant. In

King Umberto I welcomed him saying, "I want to be the first to congratulate you with all my heart on the example you set and the success you scored".

Later years

In April 1898 Vittorio Emanuele set out on a tour of world. His first stop was

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in the

United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

. After spending a day at the Newport Country Club he presented the club with a silver cup which is presented to the winner of the annual Count of Turin golf tournament. After his stay in the United States he visited China and Japan on the next leg of his world tour. Vittorio Emanuele pursued a career in the

Royal Italian Army The Royal Italian Army ( it, Regio Esercito, , Royal Army) 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 Manf ...

and became the Commander in Chief of the Italian Cavalry. He held this position during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. Following the armistice he was awarded the

Croix de guerre The ''Croix de Guerre'' (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awa ...

by France. Vittorio Emanuele died in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

four months after the proclamation of the Italian Republic. He was the last surviving son of Amedeo I.

Ancestry

Honours and awards

* Knight of the Supreme Order of the Most Holy Annunciation (14 March 1892) * Knight Grand Cross of the

Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus The Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus ( it, Ordine dei Santi Maurizio e Lazzaro) (abbreviated OSSML) is a Roman Catholic dynastic order of knighthood bestowed by the royal House of Savoy. It is the second-oldest order of knighthood in the ...

* Grand Officer of the Military Order of Savoy * Knight Grand Cross of the

Order of the Crown of Italy The Order of the Crown of Italy ( it, Ordine della Corona d'Italia, italic=no 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 civi ...

* Knight of the

Civil Order of Savoy The Civil Order of Savoy was founded as an order of knighthood in 1831 by the King of Sardinia, Charles Albert, Duke of Savoy. It is now replaced by the Order of Merit of Savoy.The intention was to reward those virtues not belonging to the exist ...

* Knight of Honour and Devotion of the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Malta *

Croix de guerre 1914–1918 (France) The ''Croix de guerre 1914–1918'' ( en, War Cross) is a French military decoration, the first version of the ''Croix de Guerre''. It was created to recognize French and allied soldiers who were cited for valorous service during World War I, s ...

* Knight of the

Order of the Black Eagle The Order of the Black Eagle (german: Hoher Orden vom Schwarzen Adler) was the highest order of chivalry in the Kingdom of Prussia. The order was founded on 17 January 1701 by Elector Friedrich III of Brandenburg (who became Friedrich I, King i ...

(6 May 1896) (

German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...

) * Knight of the Most Illustrious Order of the Royal House of Chakri (

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

) * Grand Cross of the

Order of Carol I The Order of Carol I ( Romanian: Ordinul Carol I) was the highest ranking of the Romanian honours of the Kingdom of Romania until the abolition of the monarchy in 1947. It was instituted on 10 May 1906 by King Carol I to celebrate the Ruby Jubile ...

(Romania)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vittorio Emanuele Of Turin, Count 1870 births 1946 deaths Italian princes Burials at the Basilica of Superga Nobility from Turin Recipients of the Virtuti Militari Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus Recipients of the Order of the Crown (Italy) Grand Officers of the Military Order of Savoy Knights of the Order of St John Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France) Princes of Savoy Italian duellists Sons of kings