 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "King of Italy" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(March 2010) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
| King ofItaly | |
|---|---|
| Re d'Italia | |
.svg) | |
 | |
| Details | |
| Style | His Majesty |
| First monarch | Odoacer |
| Last monarch | Umberto II |
| Formation | 4 September 476; 1549 years ago (4 September 476) |
| Abolition | 12 June 1946; 79 years ago (12 June 1946) |
| Residence | Quirinal Palace |
| Pretenders | Disputed: |
King of Italy (Italian:Re d'Italia;Latin:Rex Italiae) was the title given to the ruler of theKingdom of Italy after the fall of theWestern Roman Empire. The first to take the title wasOdoacer, abarbarian warlord, in the late 5th century, followed by theOstrogothic kings up to the mid-6th century. With theFrankish conquest of Italy in the 8th century, theCarolingians assumed the title, which was maintained by subsequentHoly Roman Emperors throughout the Middle Ages. The last Emperor to claim the title wasCharles V in the 16th century. During this period, the holders of the title were crowned with theIron Crown ofLombardy.
AKingdom of Italy was restored from 1805 to 1814 withNapoleon as its only king, centred inNorthern Italy. It was not until theItalian unification in the 1860s that an independent Kingdom of Italy covering the entireItalian Peninsula was restored. From 1861 theHouse of Savoy held the title ofKing of Italy until the last king,Umberto II, was exiled in 1946 when Italy became a republic.
After thedeposition of the last Western Emperor in 476,Odoacer was appointedDux Italiae (Duke of Italy) by the reigningByzantine EmperorZeno. Later, the Germanicfoederati, theScirians and the Heruli, as well as a large segment of the Italic Roman army, proclaimed OdoacerRex Italiae ('King of Italy).[1] In 493, theOstrogothic kingTheoderic the Great killed Odoacer, and set upa new dynasty of kings of Italy. Ostrogothic rule ended whenItaly was reconquered by theByzantine Empire in 552.
In 568, theLombards entered the peninsula and ventured to recreate a barbarian kingdom in opposition to the Empire, establishing their authority over much of Italy, except theExarchate of Ravenna and the duchies ofRome,Venetia,Naples and the southernmost portions. In the 8th century, estrangement between the Italians and the Byzantines allowed the Lombards to capture the remaining Roman enclaves in northern Italy. However, in 774, they were defeated by theFranks underCharlemagne, who deposed their king and took up the title "king of the Lombards". After the death ofCharles the Fat in 887, Italy fell into instability and a number of kings attempted to establish themselves as independent Italian monarchs. During this period, known as the Feudal Anarchy (888–962), the titleRex Italicorum ("King of the Italians" or "King of the Italics") was introduced. After the breakup of the Frankish Empire,Otto I added Italy to theHoly Roman Empire and continued the use of the titleRex Italicorum. The last to use this title wasHenry II (1004–1024). Subsequent emperors used the title "King of Italy" untilCharles V. They were crowned inPavia,Milan andBologna.
In 1805,Napoleon was crowned with theIron Crown of Lombardy at theMilan Cathedral. The next year,Holy Roman Emperor Francis II abdicated his imperial title. From thedeposition of Napoleon (1814) until theunification of Italy (1861), there was no Italian monarch claiming the overarching title. TheRisorgimento successfully established theHouse of Savoy dynasty over the whole peninsula and, uniting the kingdoms ofSardinia and theTwo Sicilies, it formed the modernKingdom of Italy. The monarchy was superseded by theItalian Republic, after ainstitutional referendum was held on 2 June 1946, afterWorld War II.[2] The Italian monarchy formally ended on 12 June of that year andUmberto II left the country.
Initially namedDux Italiae (Duke of Italy) by Zeno, the Roman Emperor inConstantinople, he later was recognized as King of Italy by thefoederati in control of the Italian peninsula. He was deposed by theOstrogoths, who established their own kingdom.
| Image | Name | Life | Coronation | Ceased to be King |
|---|---|---|---|---|
.jpg) | Odoacer | c. 433 – 15 March 493 AD | 4 September 476 | 15 March 493 |
Theodoric the Great was invited by the emperor Zeno to take Italy from Odoacer and rule it in Zeno's name. He defeated Odoacer in 493, establishing a new kingdom in place of Odoacer's. Officially, the Ostrogothic kings ruled theRoman citizens in Italy as a viceroy of the Roman emperors, and their ownGothic people as their king, though functionally they ran their kingdom entirely independently from the Roman authority in Constantinople. Their greatest extent was during Theodoric's reign; as Roman Emperors from the east began to exert more power and retake control of Roman territory, the last Ostrogothic king fell to the EmperorJustinian in 553.
| Image | Name | Life | Coronation | Ceased to be King |
|---|---|---|---|---|
_white.jpg) | Theodoric the Great | 454 – 30 August 526 | 15 March 493 | 30 August 526 |
 | Athalaric | c. 516 – 2 October 534 | 526 | 2 October 534 |
.jpg) | Queen Amalasuintha | 495 – 30 April 535 | 2 October 534 | 30 April 535 |
.jpg) | Theodahad | c. 480 – December 536 | 535 | December 536 |
 | Vitiges | ? – 542 | 536 | 540 |
 | Ildibad | ? – 541 | 540 | 541 |
| Eraric | ? – 541 | 541 | 541 | |
 | Totila | ? – 1 July 552 | 541 | 1 July 552 |
 | Teia | ? – 552/553 | 552 | 552/553 |
Byzantine Roman authority in Italy was briefly re-established under Justinian, though his gains were lost under his successor Justin II, after a new Germanic tribe, theLombards, invaded from the north and established their kingdom in 568.
| Image | Name | Life | Coronation | Ceased to be King |
|---|---|---|---|---|
.jpg) | Justinian I | 482 – 14 November 565 | 1 April 527 | 14 November 565 |
.jpg) | Justin II | ?– 5 October 578 | 14 November 565 | 5 October 578 |
The Lombards under Alboin established their kingdom in the extreme north of Italy in 568, gradually pushing the Byzantine Romans back from the peninsula until only theExarchate of Ravenna remained under Roman control. This finally fell in the 750s, with the Lombards gaining control of most of the peninsula. The last Lombard King of Italy, Desiderius, was deposed by his son-in-law Charlemagne, who folded it into the largerCarolingian Empire, which evolved over time into theHoly Roman Empire.
| Image | Name | Life | Coronation | Ceased to be King |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Alboin | 530s – 28 June 572 | 568 | 572 |
| Cleph | ? – 574 | 572 | 574 | |
| Rule of the Dukes (interregnum) | 574 – 584 | 574 | 584 | |
 | Authari | c. 550 – 5 September 590 | 584 | September 590 |
 | Agilulf | c. 555 – April 616 | 591 | 616 |
| Adaloald | 602-628 | c. 616 | 626 | |
 | Arioald | ? – 636 | 626 | 636 |
_(died_652)_of_the_manuscript_(ms._4)_Codex_Legum_Longobardorum.png) | Rothari | 606 – 652 | 636 | 652 |
| Rodoald | 630– 653 | 652 | 653 | |
 | Aripert I | ? – 661 | 653 | 661 |
 | Perctarit &Godepert | ? – 668 | 661 | 662 |
 | Grimoald | 610 – 671 | 662 | 671 |
| Garibald | 655 - 671 | 671 | 671 | |
| Perctarit (restored) | ? – 688 | 671 | 688 |
| Alahis | 680 – 689 | 688 | 689 | |
 | Cunincpert | ? – 700 | 689 | 700 |
 | Liutpert | ?– 702 | 700 | 701 |
| Raginpert | ? - 701 | 701 | 701 | |
 | Aripert II | ? – 712 | 701 | 712 |
 | Ansprand | 657 -712 | 712 | 712 |
.jpg) | Liutprand | 680 – 744 | 712 | 744 |
| Hildeprand | ?- 744 | 744 | 744 | |
 | Ratchis | ? – 749 | 744 | 749 |
 | Aistulf | ? – 756 | 749 | 756 |
 | Desiderius | c. 720 –c. 786 | 756 | 774 |
Charlemagne ruled over northern Italy asKing of the Lombards. In 781, he named his son Pepin as King of Italy, though he still maintained suzerainty over the land. Charlemagne was crownedRoman Emperor in 800, while the Kingdom of Italy became one of the constituent kingdoms of the Empire. Beginning with Louis the Pious in 818, the Kingdom was ruled directly by the Carolingian Emperor himself.
| Image | Name | Life | Coronation | Ceased to be King |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Charles I (Charlemagne) | 2 April 748 – 28 January 814 | June 774 | 28 January 814 |
 | Pepin | 777 – 8 July 810 | 781 | 8 July 810 |
 | Bernard | 797 – 17 April 818 | c. July 810 | late 817 |
 | Lothair I | 795 – 29 September 855 | 17 April 818 | 29 September 855 |
 | Louis II | 825 – 12 August 875 | 15 June 844 | 12 August 875 |
 | Charles II | 13 June 823 – 6 October 877 | 25 December 875 | 6 October 877 |
 | Carloman | 13 June 823 – 6 October 877 | 25 December 875 | 6 October 877 |
 | Charles III the Fat | 839 – 13 January 888 | 12 December 884 | November 887 |
After 887, Italy fell into instability, with many rulers claiming the kingship simultaneously.
| Image | Name | Life | Coronation | Ceased to be King |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Berengar I | c. 845 – 7 April 924 | c. 888 | c. 896 (first reign) |
Berengar was deposed by the King of East Francia,Arnulf of Carinthia, in the mid-890s.
| Image | Name | Life | Coronation | Ceased to be King |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Guy | c. 845 – 12 December 894 | February 889 | 12 December 894 |
 | Lambert | c. 880 – 15 October 898 | 30 April 892 | 896 (first reign) |
| Image | Name | Life | Coronation | Ceased to be King |
|---|---|---|---|---|
.jpg) | Arnulf[3] | c. 850 – 8 December 899 | 894 (as claimant) | 896 |
| Ratold | fl. 896 | c. 896 | 896 |
In 896, Arnulf and Ratold lost control of Italy, which was divided betweenLambert of Italy andBerengar I of Italy.
| Image | Name | Life | Coronation | Ceased to be King |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lambert | c. 880 – 15 October 898 | 30 April 892 | 15 October 898 (first reign) |
After Lambert's death, Berengar I took his territory and reunified Italy.
| Image | Name | Life | Coronation | Ceased to be King |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Berengar I | c. 845 – 7 April 924 | c. 888 | 7 April 924 (second reign) |
In 900, Louis III, a grandson ofLouis II of Italy, was invited into Italy as their king by nobles in opposition to Berengar I.
| Image | Name | Life | Coronation | Ceased to be King |
|---|---|---|---|---|
.jpg) | Louis III | c. 880 – 5 June 928 | February 901 | before 21 April 905 |
| Image | Name | Life | Coronation | Ceased to be King |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Rudolph | c. 885 – 13 July 937 | 922 | 926 |
| Image | Name | Life | Coronation | Ceased to be King |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Hugh | c. 880 – 10 April 948 | 926 | 947 |
 | Lothair II | c. 927 – 22 November 950 | 947 | 22 November 950 |
| Image | Name | Life | Coronation | Ceased to be King |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Berengar II | c. 900 – 4 August 966 | November 950 | c. 25 December 961 |
 | Adalbert | c. 934-c. 973 | November 950 | c. 25 December 961 |
In 951Otto I invaded Italy and was crowned with theIron Crown of Lombardy. In 952, Berengar and Adalbert became his vassals but remained kings until being deposed by Otto.
Otto is considered to be the founding emperor of theHoly Roman Empire, and the Kingdom of Italy was considered one of the constituent realms of the Empire. Beginning in the 12th century, states such as theRepublic of Venice and thePapal States captured more and more territory from the Kingdom of Italy, and the Empire's territory on the Peninsula shrunk over time. AfterCharles V, the emperors stopped being crowned with the Iron Crown of Lombardy and the Italian title fell into disuse. Imperial control in Italy receded toTrent and South Tyrol until thedissolution of the Empire in 1806. Southern Italy had never been part of the Holy Roman Empire; it remained initially under the control of various Byzantine fiefs until theNormanKingdom of Sicily (later theKingdom of Naples) took control of the area in the 11th century. Central Italy, along the Rome-Ravenna axis, was part of thePapal States, under the direct personal rule of the pope. TheDuke of Savoy wasde jure a vassal of the Holy Roman Emperor, with the Duke being Prince and Perpetual Vicar of the Holy Roman Empire.
| Image | Name | Life | Coronation | Ceased to be King |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Otto I | 23 November 912 – 7 May 973 | 962[4] | 7 May 973 |
 | Otto II | 955 – 7 December 983 | c. October 980[5] | 7 December 983 |
 | Otto III | 980 – 23 January 1002 | c. February 996[6] | 23 January 1002 |
.jpg) | Arduin | 955–1015 | 1002[4] | 1014 |
 | Henry II [7] | 6 May 973 – 13 July 1024 | 1004[4] | 13 July 1024 |
| Image | Name | Life | Coronation | Ceased to be King |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Conrad I [8] | 990 – 4 June 1039 | 1026[4] | 4 June 1039 |
_Miniatur.jpg) | Henry III | 29 October 1017 – 5 October 1056 | 1039[4] | 5 October 1056 |
 | Henry IV | 11 November 1050 – 7 August 1106 | 1056[4] | December 1105 |
 | Conrad II of Italy | 1074–1101 | 1093[4] | 1101 |
 | Henry V [9] | 8 November 1086 – 23 May 1125 | 1106[4] | 23 May 1125 |
| Image | Name | Life | Coronation | Ceased to be King |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Lothair III | 9 June 1075 – 4 December 1137 | 1125[4] | 4 December 1137 |
| Image | Name | Life | Coronation | Ceased to be King |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Conrad III | 1093 – 15 February 1152 | 1138[4] (also crowned in 1128 in opposition to Lothair[10]) | 1152 |
 | Frederick I | 1122 – 10 June 1190 | 1154 | 1186 |
 | Henry VI | November 1165 – 28 September 1197 | 1186[4] | 28 September 1197 |
| Image | Coat of Arms | Name | Life | Coronation | Ceased to be King |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |  | Otto IV | 1175 or 1176 – 19 May 1218 | 1209[4] | 1212 |
| Image | Coat of Arms | Name | Life | Coronation | Ceased to be King |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | .svg) | Frederick II (Friedrich II) | 26 December 1194 – 13 December 1250 | 5 December 1212 | 13 December 1250 |
 | | Henry (Heinrich (VII)) | 1211 – 12 February 1242 | 23 April 1220 | 12 February 1242 |
 | | Conrad IV (Konrad IV) | 25 April 1228 – 21 May 1254 | May 1237 | 21 May 1254 |
| Image | Coat of Arms | Name | Life | Coronation | Ceased to be King |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |  | Henry VII | 1275[11] – 24 August 1313 | 6 January 1311[12] | 24 August 1313 |
| Image | Coat of Arms | Name | Life | Coronation | Ceased to be King |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |  | Louis IV | 1 April 1282 – 11 October 1347 | 1327 | 11 October 1347 |
| Image | Coat of Arms | Name | Life | Coronation | Ceased to be King |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |  | Charles IV | 14 May 1316 – 29 November 1378 | 1355[4] | 29 November 1378 |
 |  | Sigismund | 14 February 1368 – 9 December 1437 | 1431[4] | 9 December 1437 |
| Image | Coat of Arms | Name | Life | Coronation | Ceased to be King |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |  | Frederick III | 21 September 1415 – 19 August 1493 | 16 March 1452 | 19 August 1493 |
 |  | Charles V | 24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558 | 24 February 1530[13] | 16 January 1556 |
Charles V was the last emperor to be crowned king of Italy or to officially use the title.[4] The Habsburg emperors claimed the Italian crown until 1801. The empire continued to include Italian territories until its dissolution in 1806.
In 1805,Napoleon established a client state in northern Italy, named the Kingdom of Italy. He established himself as King of Italy, in personal union with his role asEmperor of the French. This client state did not survive the end of the Napoleonic era; in its place, theCongress of Vienna established a number of independent duchies and kingdoms in the region.
| Image | Coat of Arms | Name | Life | Coronation | Ceased to be King |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | .svg) | Napoleon I | 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821 | 17 March 1805 | 11 April 1814 |
This title is present in Italian laws proclaimed by Napoleon I:
[Name],by the Grace of God and the Constitutions, Emperor of the French and King of Italy.
During and after theRevolutions of 1848, sentiment on the peninsula grew for the establishment of a unified Italian kingdom. Southern Italy had not been united with northern Italy since the early medieval period, being mostly under the rule of theKingdom of Naples and theKingdom of the Two Sicilies. Northern Italy, in the early 19th century, came under the domination of theKingdom of Sardinia, which besides its namesake island, also ruled the expansivePiedmont andSavoy regions along the French-Italian borderlands. The formerly republican leader in southern Italy,Giuseppe Garibaldi, made common cause with theHouse of Savoy to overthrow the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, and the people voted in a plebiscite to join Sardinia to form the Kingdom of Italy in 1861; the Papal States and the city of Rome were annexed to the Kingdom in 1870, completing theUnification of Italy. This kingdom lasted until the aftermath ofWorld War II, when the1946 Italian institutional referendum ended the monarchy.
| Image | Coat of Arms | Name | Life | Became King | Ceased to be King |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | .png) | Victor Emmanuel II | 14 March 1820 – 9 January 1878 | 17 March 1861 | 9 January 1878 |
 | | Umberto I | 14 March 1844 – 29 July 1900 | 9 January 1878 | 29 July 1900 |
 | | Victor Emmanuel III | 11 November 1869 – 28 December 1947 | 29 July 1900 | 9 May 1946 |
| | Umberto II | 15 September 1904 – 18 March 1983 | 9 May 1946 | 12 June 1946 |
Up until the dissolution of the monarchy in 1946, the full titles of the Kings of theKingdom of Italy (1861–1946) were:
[Name],by the Grace of God and the will of the Nation, King of Italy,Emperor of Ethiopia,King of Sardinia,Cyprus,Jerusalem,Armenia,King of Albania,Duke of Savoy,count of Maurienne, Marquis (of theHoly Roman Empire) in Italy; Prince ofPiedmont,Carignano,Oneglia,Poirino,Trino; Prince and Perpetual Vicar of the Holy Roman Empire; Prince ofCarmagnola,Montmélian withArbin andFrancin, Princebailiff of the Duchy ofAosta,Prince ofChieri,Dronero,Crescentino,Riva di Chieri andBanna,Busca,Bene,Bra,Duke of Genoa,Monferrat,Aosta, Duke ofChablais,Genevois, Duke ofPiacenza,Marquis ofSaluzzo (Saluces),Ivrea,Susa, ofMaro,Oristano,Cesana,Savona,Tarantasia,Borgomanero andCureggio,Caselle,Rivoli,Pianezza,Govone,Salussola,Racconigi overTegerone,Migliabruna andMotturone,Cavallermaggiore,Marene,Modane andLanslebourg,Livorno Ferraris,Santhià,Agliè,Centallo andDemonte,Desana,Ghemme,Vigone, Count ofBarge,Villafranca,Ginevra,Nizza,Tenda,Romont,Asti,Alessandria,of Goceano,Novara,Tortona,Bobbio,Soissons,Sant'Antioco,Pollenzo,Roccabruna,Tricerro,Bairo,Ozegna, delle Apertole,Baron ofVaud and ofFaucigni,Lord ofVercelli,Pinerolo, ofLomellina, ofValle Sesia, of the Marquisate ofCeva, Overlord ofMonaco,Roccabruna and eleven-twelfths ofMenton,Noble Patrician ofVenice, Patrician ofFerrara.[citation needed]
| Savoy |
| .svg) |
|---|---|---|
| Savoy-Aosta | ||
