Prince Amedeo of Savoy-Aosta (21 October 1898 – 3 March 1942) was the third
Duke of AostaIn the mid-13th century the Hohenstaufen Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II made the County of Aosta a duchy; its arms were carried in the Savoia coat-of-arms until the reunification of Italy, 1870...
and a cousin of the
King of ItalyKing of Italy is a title adopted by many rulers of the Italian peninsula after the fall of the Roman Empire...
, Victor Emmanuel III. His baptismal name was
Amedeo Umberto Isabella Luigi Filippo Maria Giuseppe Giovanni di Savoia-Aosta. During
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, he was the Italian
ViceroyA viceroy is a royal official who runs a country or province in the name of and as representative of the monarch. The term derives from the Latin prefix vice-, meaning "in the place of" and the French word roi, meaning king. His province or larger territory is called a viceroyalty. The relative...
of
Italian East AfricaItalian East Africa was a short-lived Italian colony in Africa consisting of Ethiopia and the established colonies of Italian Somaliland and Eritrea held in the name of Victor Emmanuel III of the Kingdom of Italy. In August 1940, British Somaliland was conquered and annexed to Italian East Africa...
(
Africa Orientale Italiana, or AOI).
Biography
Amedeo was born in
TurinTurin is a major city as well as a business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River surrounded by the Alpine arch...
,
PiedmontPiedmont is one of the 20 regions of Italy. It has an area of 25,399 km
2 and a population of about 4.4 million. The capital is Turin. The main local language is Piedmontese. Occitan is also spoken by a minority in the so-called Occitan Valleys...
, to
Prince Emanuele Filiberto, 2nd Duke of AostaPrince Emanuele Filiberto of Savoy-Aosta, 2nd Duke of Aosta was a member of House of Savoy, former Crown Prince of Spain and a cousin of Victor Emmanuel III of Italy.-Biography:...
(son of Amadeus I of Spain and Princess Maria Vittoria) and
Princess HélènePrincess Hélène of Orleans, Duchess of Aosta .She was the third of eight children born to Louis-Philippe, Count de Paris and Infanta Maria Isabel of Spain....
(daughter of Prince Philippe of Orléans and the
Princess Marie Isabelle of OrléansPrincess Marie-Isabelle of Orléans was an infanta of Spain and Countess of Paris....
). His great-grandfather was
King Victor Emmanuel II of ItalyVictor Emmanuel II was the King of Piedmont, Savoy, and Sardinia from 1849 to 1861. On 18 February 1861, he assumed the title King of Italy to become the first king of a united Italy, a title he held until his death in 1878...
, making him a member of the
House of SavoyThe House of Savoy was formed in the early eleventh century in the historical Savoy region. Through gradual expansion, it grew from ruling a small county in that region to eventually rule the Kingdom of Italy until the end of the Second World War...
. He was known from birth by the courtesy title of
Duke of Apulia.
Amedeo was a very tall man. According to
Amedeo GuilletAmedeo Guillet is a former officer of the Italian Army. He was born in Piacenza. Descended from a noble family from Piedmont, he graduated from the Academy of Infantry and Cavalry of Modena in 1930 and began his career in the Italian Army. He is one of the few men still living to have commanded...
, he was once referred to by a journalist as "your highness", The Duke replied: "198 centimetres" (6 feet, 6 inches).
Education and early military career
Amedeo was educated at
Eton CollegeEton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent boarding school for boys aged approx. 13 to 19. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
and Oxford University in
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. He cultivated British mannerisms, spoke Oxford English, and even enjoyed the pastimes of
fox huntingFox hunting is an activity involving the tracking, chase, and sometimes killing of a fox, traditionally a red fox, by trained foxhounds or other scent hounds, and a group of followers led by a master of foxhounds, who follow the hounds on foot or on horseback.Fox hunting originated in the United...
and
poloPolo is a team sport played on horseback in which the objective is to score goals against an opposing team. Players score by driving a small white plastic or wooden ball into the opposing team's goal using a long-handled mallet...
. Amedeo entered the Italian Royal Army (
Regio Esercito) and fought with distinction in the
artilleryArtillery is a military combat Arm that employs weapons capable of discharging large projectiles in combat. They are generally capable of adding considerable fire power to the military capability of an armed force...
during
World War IWorld War I , also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Wars, was a global military conflict which involved most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance...
. He left the army in 1921 and traveled widely in
AfricaAfrica is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area. With a billion people in 61 territories, it accounts for about 14.8% of the...
.
Amedeo subsequently rejoined the Italian armed forces and became a pilot. In 1932, he joined the Italian Royal Air Force (
Regia AeronauticaThe Italian Royal Air Force was the name of the air force of the Kingdom of Italy . It was established as a service independent of the Italian Royal Army from 1923 until 1946. In 1946, the monarchy was abolished and the Kingdom of Italy became the Republic of Italy...
). Amedeo served under Marshall
Rodolfo GrazianiRodolfo Graziani, Marchese di Neghelli , was an officer in the Italian Royal Army who led military expeditions in Africa before and during World War II.-Rise to prominence:...
and Libyan Governor
Pietro BadoglioPietro Badoglio, 1st Duca di Addis Abeba, 1st Marchese del Sabotino was an Italian soldier and politician...
during later stages of the
pacificationPacification may refer to:Mass killing of civilians and the suppression of resistance*Pacification operations in German-occupied Poland, the use of German military force to suppress Polish resistance during World War II...
of
LibyaLibya , officially the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya , is a country located in North Africa...
(1911 to 1932). Amedeo and his fellow airmen harried the
SenussiThe Senussi or Sanussi refers to a Muslim political-religious order in Libya and Sudan founded in Mecca in 1837 by the Grand Senussi, Sayyid Muhammad ibn Ali as-Senussi. Senussi was concerned with both the decline of Islamic thought and spirituality and the weakening of Muslim political integrity...
forces of
Omar MukhtarOmar Mukhtar , of the Mnifa tribe, was born in the small village of Janzour, near Tobruk in eastern Barqa . He organized and, for nearly twenty years from 1912, led native resistance to Italian control of Libya...
from the sky. When hostilities in Libya came to an end in early 1932, much was made of the participation of the "Duke of Apulia" as the commander of the airmen who forced the Senussi to flee
LibyaLibya , officially the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya , is a country located in North Africa...
and seek relief in
EgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia...
.
On 4 July 1931, upon the death of his father, Amedeo became the
Duke of AostaIn the mid-13th century the Hohenstaufen Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II made the County of Aosta a duchy; its arms were carried in the Savoia coat-of-arms until the reunification of Italy, 1870...
.
Viceroy and governor-general
In 1937, after the Italian conquest of
EthiopiaEthiopia , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country situated in the Horn of Africa. Ethiopia is bordered by Eritrea to the north, Sudan to the west, Kenya to the south, Somalia to the east and Djibouti to the northeast. Its size is 1,100,000 km² with an...
during the
Second Italo-Abyssinian WarThe Second Italo–Abyssinian War was a brief colonial war that started in October 1935 and ended in May 1936. The war was fought between the armed forces of the Kingdom of Italy and the armed forces of the Ethiopian Empire...
, the Duke of Aosta replaced Marshal Graziani as
ViceroyA viceroy is a royal official who runs a country or province in the name of and as representative of the monarch. The term derives from the Latin prefix vice-, meaning "in the place of" and the French word roi, meaning king. His province or larger territory is called a viceroyalty. The relative...
and as
Governor-GeneralA governor-general, also known as governor general, is a vice-regal representative of a monarch in an independent realm or a major colonial circonscription...
of
Italian East AfricaItalian East Africa was a short-lived Italian colony in Africa consisting of Ethiopia and the established colonies of Italian Somaliland and Eritrea held in the name of Victor Emmanuel III of the Kingdom of Italy. In August 1940, British Somaliland was conquered and annexed to Italian East Africa...
. It was generally conceded that he was a vast improvement over Graziani. As Viceroy and Governor-General, the Duke of Aosta was also the
Commander-in-ChiefA commander-in-chief is the commander of a nation's military forces or significant element of those forces. In the latter case, the force element may be defined as those forces within a particular region or those forces which are associated by function. As a practical term it refers to the...
of all Italian military forces in
EritreaEritrea , officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa. It is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, and Djibouti in the southeast. The east and northeast of the country have an extensive coastline on the Red Sea, directly across from Saudi Arabia and Yemen...
,
EthiopiaEthiopia , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country situated in the Horn of Africa. Ethiopia is bordered by Eritrea to the north, Sudan to the west, Kenya to the south, Somalia to the east and Djibouti to the northeast. Its size is 1,100,000 km² with an...
, and
Italian SomalilandItalian Somaliland was a colony of the Kingdom of Italy from the 1880s until 1941 in the territory of the modern-day Northeast African nation of Somalia.-History:...
.
World War II
When Italy declared war on the
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
and
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
on 10 June 1940, the Duke of Aosta became the commander of the Italian forces in what is known as the
East African CampaignThe East African Campaign refers to the battles fought in East Africa during World War II. The battles of this campaign were fought between the forces of the British Empire, the British Commonwealth of Nations, and several allies on one side, and the forces of the Italian Empire on the other...
of
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. He oversaw the initial Italian advances into the
SudanSudan is a country in northeastern Africa. It is the largest country in Africa and in the Arab World, and tenth largest in the world by area...
and
KenyaThe Republic of Kenya is a country in East Africa. Lying along the Indian Ocean, at the equator, Kenya is bordered by Ethiopia , Somalia , Tanzania , Uganda plus Lake Victoria , and Sudan . The capital city is Nairobi. Kenya spans an area about 85% the size of France or Texas...
and, in August, he oversaw the Italian invasion of
British SomalilandBritish Somaliland was a British protectorate in the northern part of present-day Somalia. The protectorate incorporated much of what now constitutes the Puntland and Somaliland macro-regions of Somalia. For much of its existence, British Somaliland was bordered by French Somaliland, the Ogaden,...
.
In January 1941, the
BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
launched a counter-invasion and the Italians went on defensive in
East AfricaEast Africa or Eastern Africa is the easterly region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. In the UN scheme of geographic regions, 19 territories constitute Eastern Africa:...
. The Italians fought stubbornly throughout February. But, after fierce resistance, the
Battle of KerenThe Battle of Keren was fought as part of the East African Campaign during World War II. The Battle of Keren was fought from 3 February 1941 to 1 April 1941 between the colonial Italian army defending Eritrea and the invading British and Commonwealth forces. In 1941, Keren was a town located in...
ended in Italian defeat, the rest of
EritreaEritrea , officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa. It is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, and Djibouti in the southeast. The east and northeast of the country have an extensive coastline on the Red Sea, directly across from Saudi Arabia and Yemen...
, including the port of
MassawaMassawa, formerly known as Mitsiwa Massawa, formerly known as Mitsiwa Massawa, formerly known as Mitsiwa (Ge'ez ምጽዋ , [Eritrean spelling reform], formerly ባፅዕ is a port city on the Red Sea coast of Eritrea. Important for many centuries, it has been colonised by Egypt, the Ottoman Empire, Italy,...
, fell quickly. On 31 January, the Duke of Aosta reported that the Italian military forces in
East AfricaEast Africa or Eastern Africa is the easterly region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. In the UN scheme of geographic regions, 19 territories constitute Eastern Africa:...
were down to 67 operational aircraft with limited fuel. With supplies running low and with no chance of re-supply, the Duke of Aosta opted to concentrate the remaining Italian forces into several strongholds:
GondarGondar or Gonder is a city in Ethiopia, which was once the old imperial capital and capital of the historic Begemder province. As a result, the old province of Begemder is sometimes referred to as Gondar...
,
Amba AlagiAmba Alagi is a mountain, or an amba, in northern Ethiopia. Located in the Debubawi Zone of the Tigray Region, Amba Alagi dominates the roadway that runs past it from the city of Mek'ele south to Maychew. Because of its strategic location, Amba Alagi has been the location of several battles...
,
DessieDessie is a city and a woreda in north-central Ethiopia. Located on the paved Addis Ababa - Asmara highway in the Debub Wollo Zone of the Amhara Region, this city has a latitude and longitude of with an elevation between 2470 and 2550 meters above sea level.Dessie has postal service , and telephone...
, and
GimmaJimma is the largest city in southwestern Ethiopia. Located in the Jimma Zone of the Oromia Region, this city has a latitude and longitude of . It was the capital of Kaffa Province until the province was dissolved....
. He himself commanded the 7,000 Italians at the mountain fortress of
Amba AlagiAmba Alagi is a mountain, or an amba, in northern Ethiopia. Located in the Debubawi Zone of the Tigray Region, Amba Alagi dominates the roadway that runs past it from the city of Mek'ele south to Maychew. Because of its strategic location, Amba Alagi has been the location of several battles...
. With his water supply compromised, surrounded, and attacked by 9,000 British and Commonwealth troops and more than 20,000 Ethiopian irregulars, the Duke of Aosta surrendered Amba Alagi on 18 May 1941. Due to their gallant resistance, the British awarded him and his men a surrender with military honors.
Death
Shortly after his surrender, the Duke of Aosta was interned in a prisoner-of-war camp in
NairobiNairobi is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The city and its surrounding area also forms the Nairobi Province. The name "Nairobi" comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nyirobi, which translates to "the place of cool waters"...
,
KenyaThe Republic of Kenya is a country in East Africa. Lying along the Indian Ocean, at the equator, Kenya is bordered by Ethiopia , Somalia , Tanzania , Uganda plus Lake Victoria , and Sudan . The capital city is Nairobi. Kenya spans an area about 85% the size of France or Texas...
. He was placed in command of his fellow prisoners, but never saw the end of
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. On 3 March 1942, shortly after his internment, he died at the prison camp, reportedly as a result of complications from both
tuberculosisTuberculosis is a common and often deadly infectious disease caused by mycobacteria...
and
malariaMalaria is a vector-borne infectious disease caused by a eukaryotic protist of the genus Plasmodium. It is widespread in tropical and subtropical regions, including parts of the Americas, Asia, and Africa. Each year, there are approximately 350–500 million cases of malaria, killing between one and...
. Amedeo was succeeded by his brother, Aimone, 4th Duke of Aosta. From 18 May 1941, the same day Amedeo surrendered
Amba AlagiAmba Alagi is a mountain, or an amba, in northern Ethiopia. Located in the Debubawi Zone of the Tigray Region, Amba Alagi dominates the roadway that runs past it from the city of Mek'ele south to Maychew. Because of its strategic location, Amba Alagi has been the location of several battles...
, Aimone was also known as King Tomislav II of
CroatiaCroatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a country in southeast Europe, at the crossroads of the Pannonian Plain, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean Sea. Its capital is Zagreb...
.
Aftermath
Amedeo was well known and highly regarded for being a gentleman. In one instance, before he fled his headquarters at
Addis AbabaAddis Ababa is the capital city of Ethiopia...
, he wrote a note to the British to thank them in advance for protecting the women and children in the cities.
Count
Galeazzo CianoGian Galeazzo Ciano, 2nd Count of Cortellazzo and Buccari , was Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Benito Mussolini's son-in-law.-Early life:Ciano was born in Livorno, Italy, in 1903...
, Italian Foreign Minister under his father-in-law Italian dictator
Benito MussoliniBenito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini,
KSMOM GCTE was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism. He became the Prime Minister of Italy in 1922 and began using the title Il Duce by...
, paid Amedeo a high compliment in his famous diaries. Upon being given the news of the Duke's death Ciano wrote, "So dies the image of a Prince and an Italian. Simple in his ways, broad in outlook, and humane in spirit."
Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia was also impressed by the respect and care that the Duke of Aosta showed to the exiled Emperor's personal property left behind in
Addis AbabaAddis Ababa is the capital city of Ethiopia...
. In a gesture of thanks, the Emperor during his state visit to Italy in 1953 invited the widowed
Duchess of AostaPrincess Anne of Orléans, Duchess of Aosta .The daughter of Jean of Orléans, duke of Guise and princess Isabelle of Orléans....
to tea during his stay in Milan, but was then informed by the Italian government that receiving the Duchess would cause offense to the Italian Republic, and so the Emperor sadly canceled the visit. Instead he invited the
5th Duke of AostaPrince Amedeo of Savoy, Duke of Aosta, is a claimant to the headship of the House of Savoy, the family which ruled Italy from 1861 to 1946, as well as the heir to the short-lived Kingdom of Croatia during World War II with the name Zvonimir II...
to Ethiopia in the mid-sixties, and accorded him all the protocol due to visiting royalty.
Family
Amedeo was married 5 November 1927, in
NaplesNaples in Italy, is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples. The city is known for its rich history, art, culture, architecture, music and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,800 years old...
, to his first cousin
HRHRoyal Highness is a style ; plural Royal Highnesses...
Princess
Anne of OrléansPrincess Anne of Orléans, Duchess of Aosta .The daughter of Jean of Orléans, duke of Guise and princess Isabelle of Orléans....
(1906- 1986), daughter of Prince
Jean of OrléansJean Pierre Clément Marie d'Orléans, Duc de Guise was the son of Robert, Duke of Chartres , grandson of Prince Ferdinand-Philippe and great-grandson of Louis Philippe I, King of the French...
, styled Duc de Guise, and his wife Princess
Isabelle of OrléansHRH Princess Isabelle Marie Laure Mercédès Ferdinande of Orléans, Duchess of Guise .The daughter of Philippe, Count of Paris and Infanta Maria Isabel of Spain....
(herself daughter of Prince Philippe of Orléans and the Infanta Maria Isabel of Spain). By birth, the Duke and Duchess of Aosta were thus in distant remainder to the
Spanish ThroneSpain uses the system of primogeniture. Male children of a parent succeed before female, and otherwise in order of age. If descent from male children of a parent does not exist , a female and her heirs succeed. Dynasts who marry against the express prohibition of the king or the Cortes are...
.
They had two daughters, both marrying royal princes:
- Margherita
Princess Margherita Isabella Maria Vittoria Emanuela Elena Gennara of Savoy-Aosta, Archduchess of Austria-Este, was born on 7 April 1930 in Naples, Italy as the first child of Prince Amedeo of Savoy-Aosta and Princess Anne d'Orléans....
Isabella Maria Vittoria Emanuela Elena Gennara (born 7 April 1930). She married on 28 December 1953 HIHis/Her Imperial Highness is a style used by members of an imperial family to denote imperial - as opposed to royal - status to show that the holder in question is descended from an Emperor rather than a King...
and RHRoyal Highness is a style ; plural Royal Highnesses...
Archduke RobertArchduke Robert Karl Ludwig Maximilian Michael Maria Anton Franz Ferdinand Joseph Otto Hubert Georg Pius Johannes Marcus d'Aviano of Austria-Este , Prince Imperial of Austria, Prince Royal of Hungary and Bohemia was born as the second son of Karl I of Austria and Princess Zita...
, styled Archduke of Austria-Este (1915 - 1996), second son of the last Austrian emperor Karl I, and has issue three sons and two daughters.
- Maria Cristina
Princess Maria Cristina Giusta Elena Giovanna of Savoy-Aosta) is a Princess of Savoy by birth and a Princess of Bourbon-Two Sicilies by marriage to Prince Casimir of Bourbon-Two Sicilies...
Giusta Elena Giovanna (born 10 September 1933 at Miramar), who married on 29 January 1967 HRH Prince Casimiro of Bourbon-Two SiciliesPrince Casimir Maria Alfons Gabriel of Bourbon-Two Sicilies) is a Prince of Bourbon-Two Sicilies and fifth and youngest child of Prince Gabriel of Bourbon-Two Sicilies and his wife Princess Cecylia Lubomirska...
, descended from Spanish princes (of the house of BourbonThe House of Bourbon is an important European royal house, a branch of the Capetian dynasty. Bourbon kings first ruled Navarre and France in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Bourbon dynasty also held thrones in Spain, Naples & Sicily, and Parma...
or Borbon) ruling in Sicily, and has issue two sons and two daughters.
Margherita's eldest son
HIHis/Her Imperial Highness is a style used by members of an imperial family to denote imperial - as opposed to royal - status to show that the holder in question is descended from an Emperor rather than a King...
RHRoyal Highness is a style ; plural Royal Highnesses...
Lorenz, Archduke of Austria-Este acquired the title Prince of
BelgiumThe Kingdom of Belgium is a country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters, as well as those of other major international organizations, including NATO...
(from 10 November 1995) by virtue of his marriage to HRH Princess Astrid of Belgium, only daughter of King Albert II of Belgium. Their two sons and three daughters are members of the Belgian Royal Family, and as such use the surname "de Belgique" or its variants.
See also
- Kingdom of Italy
There have been several distinct entities known as the Kingdom of Italy. Italy under the rule of Odoacer from 476 to 493 is often called the kingdom of Italy, since it encompassed the Roman province of Italy and Odoacer is periodically styled rex...
- History of Libya as Italian Colony
The attempted Italian colonization of the Ottoman provinces of Tripolitania and Cyrenaica was initially not successful and only in the 1930s did the Kingdom of Italy take full control of the area. On October 3, 1911, the Italians attacked Tripoli, claiming to be liberating the Ottoman Wilayats from...
- Colonial heads of Italian East Africa
The following is a list of the colonial heads of Italian East Africa, an Italian dominion from 1936 to 1941....
- East African Campaign (World War II)
The East African Campaign refers to the battles fought in East Africa during World War II. The battles of this campaign were fought between the forces of the British Empire, the British Commonwealth of Nations, and several allies on one side, and the forces of the Italian Empire on the other...