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The serial depicts most of the important political figures of the day:
The theme for the opening titles of each episode is the "Trumpet tune (Warlike consort)" from Act V of Henry Purcell's opera "King Arthur". The theme for the closing credits of each episode is the second piece, a Rondeau, of Henry Purcell's incidental music, composed about 1695, to Aphra Behn's 1676 play "Abdelazer, or The Moor's Revenge", perhaps better known as the theme used by Benjamin Britten in "The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra".
The serial has been released on DVD, distributed by Acorn Media UK.
Honorat de Savoie, marquis of Villars (c. 1511 - 20 September 1580, Le Grand-Pressigny) was a marshal of France and admiral of France.
He was a son of René of Savoy and Anne of Lascaris. He accompanied Henry II of France on his 1552 trip to Lorraine and in 1553 relieved the town of Hesdin from its siege by the prince of Piedmont. He was wounded at battle of Saint-Quentin on 10 August 1557, though this did not stop him relieving Corbie from its Spanish siege. He accompanied Charles IX of France on his grand tour of France and in 1567 assisted at the Assemblée des Grands de France held at Moulins. He fought zealously against the Huguenots, fighting at Saint-Denis and Moncontour.
In 1540 he married Jeanne Françoise de Foix, viscountess of Castillon (†1542), with whom he only had one child, Henriette de Savoie-Villars († 1611), who married Charles, Duke of Mayenne. In 1565, his fiefdom of Villars was promoted to a marquisate dependent on the House of Savoy. In 1570, he succeeded Blaise de Monluc as lieutenant of Guyenne, where he repressed the Huguenots in 1573. The king rewarded him by making him marshal of France in 1571 and admiral of France and of the Levant Seas in 1572 after the death of Gaspard II de Coligny. He was dismissed as admiral in 1578 in favour of his relation Charles de Lorraine, duc de Mayenne. He was appointed to the Order of the Holy Spirit on 1 January 1579.
FERT (sometimes tripled, "FERT, FERT, FERT"), the motto of the royal house of Savoy-Sardinia and Italy, the House of Savoy, was adopted by King Vittorio Amedeo II (1666–1732).
It appeared for the first time on the collar of the Supreme Order of the Most Holy Annunciation, or "Ordine Supremo della Santissima Annunziata", the primary dynastic order of the kingdom. This ceased to be a national order when Italy became a republic in 1946. The order remains under the jurisdiction of the head of the House of Savoy, however, as hereditary Sovereign and Grand Master.
The meaning of the letters has been a matter of some controversy, to which a number of interpretations have been offered. The motto is believed an acronym of:
It has also been suggested that the letters are actually the Latin word (third-person singular present active indicative of ), meaning '[he/she/it] suffers/bears', possibly referring to Jesus bearing the sins of the world.
A French-language parody of FERT was said by Savoy's neighbors to mean (French: 'Strike, Enter, Break Everything'), from their penchant for .
The lordship, later principality of Piedmont (, ) was originally an appanage of the Savoyard county and as such its lords were members of the Achaea branch of the House of Savoy. The title was inherited by the elder branch of the dynasty in 1418, at about which time Savoy was elevated to ducal status and Piedmont to princely status. When the House of Savoy was given the Kingdom of Sardinia, the Savoyards used the style of Prince of Piedmont () for their heir apparent. This first came into use by Prince Victor Amadeus of Savoy.
The usage was retained when Victor Emmanuel II became King of Italy, "Prince of Piedmont" becoming roughly equivalent to the British "Prince of Wales", the title bestowed to the Crown prince.
When the House of Savoy became the ruling dynasty of Italy in 1861, they continued to use the title of Prince of Piedmont for the heir apparent but also began alternating it with a new title, the Prince of Naples, once conferred by Joseph Bonaparte as being hereditary on his children and grandchildren.
Supreme Order of the Most Holy Annunciation
The Supreme Order of the Most Holy Annunciation () is a Roman Catholic order of knighthood, originating in Savoy. It eventually was the pinnacle of the honours system in the Kingdom of Italy, which ceased to be a national order when the kingdom became a republic in 1946. Today, the order continues as a dynastic order under the jurisdiction of the Head of the House of Savoy, Amedeo, 5th Duke of Aosta, who is the order's hereditary Sovereign and Grand Master.
The origins of the Supreme Order of the Most Holy Annunciation begins in 1362, when Amadeus VI, Count of Savoy (1343-1383) instituted the order's earliest designation, under the title of Order of the Collar. Even at this time, the order was dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, who is celebrated as "Our Lady of the Annunciation." Thus, the order is a dynastic religious (or Catholic) order of chivalry.
Under its first formulation, the order had fifteen knights. The number was symbolic of the number of daily masses celebrated with the order. In 1409, Amadeus VIII, Duke of Savoy, gave the order its first known statutes, and in 1434, he extended the order to five more knights.
Amadeus VIII's statutes were subsequently amended and reformed by Charles III, Duke of Savoy in 1518, by Emanuele Filiberto, Duke of Savoy in 1570, and thereafter by succeeding Sovereigns. The most recent took place on 11 June 1985 by HRH Victor Emmanuel, Prince of Naples and hereditary Grand Master of the order. It was in 1518, that many of the present designations were instituted. Most importantly, the order's name was changed to its current name, The Most Holy Order of the Annunciation. The badge of the order was also changed, with the representation of the Blessed Virgin Mary being added.
The order, throughout its early history and following the reforms of Charles III, was awarded for supreme recognition of distinguished services. The order constituted a kind of religious and military fraternity between the Sovereign Head of the Order and his companions; it was reserved exclusively to distinguished men-at-arms who, apart from exemplary service, had to be of illustrious birth, particularly of catholic and noble birth.
Eventually, it was deemed appropriate to recognize also those who had rendered distinguished service to the Kingdom of Italy (and now the House of Savoy) in the exercise of high civil offices, not requiring, when a such achievements could be demonstrated, nobility of birth as well.
Today, the order holds the following other regulations:
In 1925, a law was passed on the day before Christmas which made the Head of Government (who at the time was Benito Mussolini) the Secretary of the Order, and stipulated that he would preside over the Knights of the Order at public functions and ceremonies.
The order has only one class, i.e. "Knight". The full Italian title is "Cavaliere dell'Ordine Supremo della Santissima Annunziata".
Although the order has only one class, it has two sets of insignia, the "Piccola Collana" and the "Grande Collana". The two hold similar designs, though the "Grande Collana" has some different features than the "Piccola Collana" and is worn only on the most special of occasions.
The primary and oldest insignia of the order is its collar. It consists of a solid gold medallion of the collar, which portrays the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary by the Archangel Gabriel. The medallion is surrounded by three intertwined Savoyan knots, decorated with small crosses fleury, and in the upper center, between two of the Savoyan knots, a cluster of rays with a dove, representing the Holy Spirit, is depicted also in gold.
The badge is suspended from a gold chain made up of fifteen ornate gold sections, each of which is linked by Savoyan knot. Each has the letters F.E.R.T. interwoven. The meaning of these letters have been of some controversy, to which a number of interpretations have been offered. The first states that the letters stand for "Fortitudo Eius Rhodum Tulit" (meaning "By his bravery he conquered Rhodes"), referring to the victory at Rhodes by Count Amadeus V in 1310.
The star of the order, which was first used in 1680 by specifications of the Royal Lady Maria Giovana Battista, Duchess Regent of Savoy, is of gold and also has a representation of the Annunciation in a medallion in the center which is set within a gold cross of four pommels. This is surrounded by a cluster of gold rays. Between the arms of the cross of four pommels are the letters F.E.R.T.
The "Grande Collana" differs from the "Piccola Collana" in that the collar consists of fourteen ornate sections, each of which is made up of the letters F.E.R.T. in gold, intertwined with a white and red enameled Savoyan knot. The sections are interlinked with fourteen roses, alternately enameled red and white. The roses represent the mysteries in the life of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The knots surrounding the medallion of the collar is enameled white, red, and blue.
The insignia of the order has the following regulations:
On the day of the initiation of a new knight into the Order the small collar was worn by the initiate before the accolade by Grand Master, while after the accolade the Grand Master would place the large collar over the shoulders of the new knight.
When the order is not worn, Knights may wear a gold miniature of the badge (medallion of the collar) of the order suspended from a red ribbon. They may also wear either a ribbon-bar (upon a uniform) or a rosette (upon a suit), both of which are red and have a miniature cross of four pommels engraved with the Annunciation.
The "Grand Magisterium" is the governing body of the dynastic orders of the Royal House of Savoy. It consists of the Sovereign and Grand Master of the Order, the Grand Chancellor of the Order, the Council of the Order, Members, and the Giunta of the Order. The following are some of those that make up the "Grand Magisterium" of the order.
Among the notable recipients of the order of the Annunciation, King Amanullah of Afghanistan (reigned 1919-1929) should probably be mentioned, especially since he was not a Christian. He received the honor during his State visit to Italy in 1928, when he authorized, for the first time, the opening of a Catholic church in Afghanistan (within the Italian Embassy) and the residence of a Catholic priest.
Philip II (1340 – 20 January 1368) was the Count of Piedmont and claimant to the Principality of Achaea briefly from 1367 to his death.
He was the son of James of Piedmont and Sibylle des Baux. On 19 September 1362, he married Alix de Thoire de Villars, but he had no children. He succeeded James, but died within a year of that date, leaving his titles to his brother Amadeus.<br>
The paternity to Umberta a nun (Filippina de Storgi) is probably his.<br>
Tradition says that he was saved in 1368 by intercession of the Beaste Umberto of Savoie by a medal that he carried. He lived in Fatima in Spain, and is believed to have died in 1418.
The Order of the Crown of Italy, , 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.
Compared with the older Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus (1572), the Order of the Crown of Italy was awarded more liberally and could be conferred on non-Catholics as well; eventually, it became a requirement for a person to have already received the Order of the Crown of Italy in at least the same degree before receiving the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus.
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.
The various degrees of the order, with corresponding ribbons, were as follows:
Following the demise of the last reigning monarch in 1983, the order, founded by the first, is no longer bestowed. It was replaced by the Order of Merit of Savoy instituted by his heir, the current head of the former Royal House, in 1988. While the "Ordine al merito d'Savoia" has never been a national order, it is subsidiary to the Civil Order of Savoy which was. The Order of Merit has around 2,000 members and, as with the Order of the Crown of Italy previously, it is entrusted to the Chancellor of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus.
Bianca of Savoy (1337– Pavia, 31 December 1387) was Lady of Milan by marriage to Galeazzo II Visconti. She was the only surviving daughter of Aimone, Count of Savoy and Yolande Palaeologina of Montferrat.
Bianca was the second of five children born to Count Aimone and Yolande, herself the daughter of Theodore I, Marquess of Montferrat (1291–1338) and Genoese noblewoman Argentina Hispanola.
When Bianca was six years old she lost her mother Yolande, who died giving birth on 24 December 1342 to her younger brother Louis, who died in childhood. Six months later on 22 June 1343 her father, Aimone died.
In 1345, negotiations were started for her to marry a son of Edward III of England, to renew the relationship between Savoy and England.
Bianca was raised in the Castle of the Counts of Savoy on the shores of Lake Bourget. In 1345 tragedy struck when Bianca's younger brother John died. This left only one son and heir to Savoy, Bianca's older brother Amadeus VI, the "Green Count" of Savoy. The period was marked by the devastating epidemic of the Black Death that killed off much of the population of Europe between 1347 and 1350.
In an attempt to curb the expansionist policies of Bianca's uncle John II, Marquess of Montferrat, an alliance was established on the 22 October 1349 between Amadeus VI, Count of Savoy and Giovanni Visconti of Milan. In the agreements, a marriage was arranged between Bianca and Giovanni's nephew Galeazzo II Visconti.
On 28 September 1350 at Rivoli, Bianca and Galeazzo were married, he was sixteen years her senior. Only weeks after the marriage in October 1350, Galeazzo was asked by his uncle to seize the city of Bologna but his fragile health forced him to leave the conquest.
After moving to Bologna in 1351 their first child was born, Gian Galeazzo Visconti, then in 1352 a daughter, Maria (who died aged ten in April 1362) and then another daughter Violante in 1354.
In 1360 Galeazzo was appointed Imperial vicar by Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor and Pavia fell under the domination of the Visconti family.
Bianca followed her husband here who built the Visconti Castle where she educated, availed herself of illustrious friends, including Francesco Petrarca founder of the Library Visconti, which brought the first copies of Divine Comedy.
When war broke out between Milan and her uncle John II, on the side of the latter was Bianca's brother, Count Amadeus VI. Bianca tried to whatever means to avert quarrels between him and her husband. The conflict ended with a dedication by John II in occupied areas of Lombardy and Piedmont.
When the state of her husband's health deteriorated, the couple relocated to Cortenova. Galeazzo died in 1378. Bianca founded the Franciscan Monastery Cortenova dedicated to St. Clare of Assisi. In the last years of life, Bianca spent time raising her granddaughter, Valentina, whom she taught French and German.
In 1385, together with her son, she participated in a conspiracy against Bernabò Visconti. The conspiracy succeeded, and Bernabò died half a year later in captivity. Bianca's son Gian Galeazzo was then the sole ruler of Milan. In 1386, Violante died. Bianca took the death of her daughter very badly.
Bianca died on 31 December 1387 at the age of 51. She was buried at Pavia Santa Chiara, Pavia.
Charles Emmanuel de Savoie, 3rd Duc de Nemours (12 February 156713 August 1595) was the son of Jacques of Savoy and Anne of Este, the widow of Francis, Duke of Guise. As a child he was known as the prince of Genevois. He was the Duke of Nemours from 1585 to his death in 1595, during the French Wars of Religion.
Charles Emmanuel was duke at a volatile time, and subsequently was involved in many political intrigues, mostly by his relationship on his mother's side with the House of Guise. The Duke of Guise was one of the leaders of the Catholic League opposing the Huguenots, and Charles Emmanuel sympathised with their cause. However, after the assassination of Henry I, Duke of Guise and his brother the Cardinal of Guise, Charles Emmanuel was imprisoned by the Huguenots in 1588, but was able to escape.
He was to fight the Huguenot forces for some years; he fought at the Battle of Arques in 1589. That same year, Charles Emmanuel was the governor of Paris, as the Huguenot forces, led by Henry of Navarre besieged Paris. During the siege, King Henry III of France perished, and Henry of Navarre soon declared himself King Henry IV of France. Charles Emmanuel escaped, and fought the newly proclaimed King at the Ivry in 1590, which was a decisive loss for the Catholic League. The same year he commanded Catholic forces during the Siege of Paris, successfully defending the city.
After the defeat, Charles Emmanuel strongly disagreed with his half-brother and long-time ally Charles of Lorraine, Duke of Mayenne (also of the House of Guise), who advocated conciliation with Henry IV. Charles Emmanuel withdrew to his government in Lyonnais, where he endeavoured to make himself independent from the French crown. He was imprisoned, however, in the chateau of Pierre-Encise by the archbishop of Lyon. Again, he successfully escaped, and decided to attack Lyon. The intervention of the Constable de Montmorency thwarted his attack however, and his attempt at independence failed.
He died at Annecy in 1595, leaving the Duchy of Nemour to his brother Henri de Savoie.
Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (Victoria Franziska Antonia Juliane Luise; 14 February 1822 – 10 November 1857) was the daughter of Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Princess Maria Antonia Koháry. Her father was the second son of Francis, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld and Countess Augusta Reuss of Ebersdorf.
Born to Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Princess Maria Antonia Koháry. Her mother was the daughter and heiress of Ferenc József, Prince Koháry de Csábrág et Szitnya. When Antonia's father died in 1826, she inherited his estates in Slovakia and Hungary. Her elder brother was King Ferdinand II of Portugal and first cousins included British Queen Victoria, her husband Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha as well as Belgian King Leopold II and his sister, Empress Carlota of Mexico.
On 27 April 1840, at the Château de Saint-Cloud, she married Louis d'Orléans, known since birth as the Duke of Nemours, second son of King Louis Philippe of France. After the Revolution of 1848 in France, the royal family went into exile and settled in England.
The Duke and Duchess of Nemours had four children, all of them having issue except the last, Blanche, who never married. Victoria was outlived by her husband, who died in 1896. She died almost two weeks after giving birth to Blanche at Claremont and was buried at the Chapel of Saint Charles Borromeo in Weybridge. Her remains were transferred to the Royal Chapel of Dreux, the traditional burial place of the House of Orléans, in 1979.
Francis Hyacinth (; 14 September 1632 – 4 October 1638) was the Duke of Savoy from 1637 to 1638 under regency of his mother Christine Marie.
Born at the Castle of Valentino in Turin he was the eldest surviving son of Victor Amadeus I, Duke of Savoy and his wife Christine Marie of France. As the heir to the Savoyard throne, he was styled as the Prince of Piedmont. His parents had another son who had died in 1628 prior to the birth of Francis Hyacinth.
At his father's death in October 1637, he succeeded and his mother took power having been claimed regent. While Duke of savoy he also held the subsidiary titles of Marquess of Saluzzo, count of Aosta, Moriana and Nice, and claimant King of Jerusalem. The infant was nicknamed the "Flower of Paradise" (French: "Fleur de Paradis"). Having succeeded his father at such a young age, Francis Hyacinth did not rule de facto being only 5 years old. Having caught a fever, he died at the Castle of Valentino, and was succeeded by his brother Charles Emmanuel II. The infant was buried at the Sacra di San Michele in Turin.
Charles Emmanuel I (; 12 January 1562 – 26 July 1630), known as the Great, was the Duke of Savoy from 1580 to 1630. He was nicknamed "Testa d'feu" ("the Hot-Headed") for his rashness and military aggression.
Being ambitious and confident, Charles pursued a policy of expansion for his duchy, seeking to expand it into a kingdom.
Charles was born in the Castle of Rivoli in Piedmont, the only child of Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy and Margaret of France, Duchess of Berry. He became duke on 30 August 1580.
Well-educated, and intelligent, Charles spoke Italian, French, Spanish, as well as Latin. He proved an able warrior although short and hunchbacked. In the autumn of 1588, taking advantage of the civil war weakening France, he occupied the Marquisate of Saluzzo, which was under French protection. The new king, Henry IV, demanded the restitution of that land, but Charles Emmanuel refused, and war ensued. The broader conflict involving France and Spain ended with the Peace of Vervins (2 May 1598), which left the current but separate question of Saluzzo unsolved. After the Duke started talks with Spain, Henry threatened to return to war until, with the Treaty of Lyon (17 January 1601), Saluzzo went to Savoy in exchange for Bresse, Bugey, and Gex.
In 1602 Charles Emmanuel attacked the city of Geneva. On 11 December that year he led his troops to the city during the night and they surrounded the city walls by two in the morning. The Savoyard cuirassiers were ordered to dismount and climb the city walls in full armour as a shock tactic. However, the alarm was raised by a night watchman and Geneva's militia rose to meet the invaders. The attempted raid was a disastrous failure, and 54 Savoyards were killed, and many more were captured. Charles Emmanuel's army retreated in a panic and the Savoyard prisoners were executed.
The heavy helmets worn by Charles Emmanuel's troops, with visors made in a stylized imitation of a human face, were known as "Savoyard" helmets after this notorious incident. A number of these suits of armour were captured by the Swiss and kept as trophies. The Geneva militia's successful defence of the city's walls is still celebrated as an act of heroism during the annual festival of L'Escalade.
With the Treaty of Bruzolo (25 April 1610), Charles Emmanuel allied with France against Spain, but the assassination of Henry IV changed the situation, as the treaty was not recognized by Marie de' Medici, who immediately assumed regency for Henry's son Louis XIII, a minor. Nevertheless, Charles Emmanuel obtained the help of French troops to free Alba from the Spaniards (January 1617), as the new king resumed his father's alliance with Savoy. His sister Christine Marie was married to Charles Emmanuel's son, Victor Amadeus in 1619.
In the First Genoese-Savoyard War of 1625, Charles Emmanuel tried with the help of France to obtain access to the Mediterranean Sea at the expense of Genoa. After Spanish intervention, the status-quo was restored in the Treaty of Monçon.
However, when the French occupied Casale Monferrato during the War of the Mantuan Succession, Charles Emmanuel allied with Spain. When Richelieu invaded Piedmont and conquered Susa, the duke changed sides again and returned to an alliance with France. However, when Philip IV of Spain sent two invasion forces from Genoa and Como, Charles Emmanuel declared himself neutral, and in 1630 Richelieu ordered a French army to march into Savoy to force the duke to comply with the pacts. The French troops, soon backed by another army, occupied Pinerolo and Avigliana. The Savoy army under Victor Amadeus was defeated in Lower Valsusa.
In 1609, Charles Emmanuel came in contact with Albanian mercenaries like Giovanni Renesi, his brother Demetrio Renesi and a relative Don Joanne Renesi, who intended to revolt against the Ottomans at the Convention of Kuçi in 1614.
The duke died suddenly of a stroke, while campaigning during the second Monferrato war, at Savigliano in late July 1630. He was succeeded by his son Victor Amadeus.
In 1584 Charles married Infanta Catherine Michelle of Spain, daughter of Philip II of Spain and Elizabeth of Valois. They had:
In Riva di Chieri on 28 November 1629, he secretly married his long-time and official mistress, Marguerite de Rossillon, "Marchesa" di Riva di Chieri (bap. 24 December 1599 – 10 November 1640), with whom he had four children, legitimized after the wedding but without succession rights:
In addition he had several illegitimate children:
Umberto I (; 14 March 1844 – 29 July 1900), nicknamed "the Good" (Italian: "il Buono"), was the King of Italy from 9 January 1878 until his assassination on 29 July 1900.
Umberto's reign saw Italy attempt colonial expansion into the Horn of Africa, successfully gaining Eritrea and Somalia despite being defeated by Abyssinia at the Battle of Adwa in 1896. In 1882, he approved the Triple Alliance with the German Empire and Austria-Hungary.
He was deeply loathed in leftist circles because of his conservatism and support of the Bava Beccaris massacre in Milan. He was especially hated by anarchists, who attempted to assassinate him during the first year of his reign. He was killed by another anarchist, Gaetano Bresci, two years after the Bava-Beccaris massacre.
From March 1858, he had a military career in the Sardinian army, beginning with the rank of captain. Umberto took part in the Italian Wars of Independence: he was present at the battle of Solferino in 1859, and in 1866 commanded the XVI Division at the Villafranca battle that followed the Italian defeat at Custoza.
Because of the upheaval the Savoys caused to a number of other royal houses (all the Italian ones, and those related closely to them, such as the Bourbons of Spain and France) in 1859–60, only a minority of royal families in the 1860s were willing to establish relations with the newly founded Italian royal family. It proved difficult to find any royal bride for either of the sons of king Victor Emmanuel II. (His younger son Amedeo, Umberto's brother, married ultimately a Piedmontese subject, princess Vittoria of Cisterna.) Their conflict with the papacy did not help these matters. Not many eligible Catholic royal brides were easily available for young Umberto.
Accession to the throne and first assassination attempt.
In foreign policy Umberto I approved the Triple Alliance with Austria-Hungary and Germany, repeatedly visiting Vienna and Berlin. Many in Italy, however, viewed with hostility an alliance with their former Austrian enemies, who were still occupying areas claimed by Italy. A strong militarist, Umberto loved Prussian-German militarism and on his visits to Germany his favorite activity was to review the Prussian Army and he was greatly honored to be allowed to lead a Prussian hussar regiment on field maneuvers outside of Frankfurt. Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany told him during one visit that he should strengthen the "Regio Esercito" to the point that he could abolish parliament and rule Italy as a dictator.
Umberto was also favorably disposed towards the policy of colonial expansion inaugurated in 1885 by the occupation of Massawa in Eritrea. Italy expanded into Somalia in the 1880s as well. Umberto's preferred solution to the problems of Italy was to conquer Ethiopia, regardless of overwhelming public opposition, and supported the ultra-imperialist Prime Minister Francesco Crispi who in May 1895 spoke of "the absolute impossibility of continuing to govern through Parliament." In December 1893, Umberto appointed Crispi prime minister despite his "shattered reputation" due to his involvement in the Banca Romana scandal together with numerous other scandals that the king himself called "sordid". As Crispi was heavily in debt, the king secretly agreed to pay off his debts in exchange for Crispi following the king's advice.
In the summer of 1900, Italian forces were part of the Eight-Nation Alliance which participated in the Boxer Rebellion in Imperial China. Through the Boxer Protocol, signed after Umberto's death, the Kingdom of Italy gained a concession territory in Tientsin.
Umberto's attitude towards the Holy See was uncompromising. In an 1886 telegram, he declared Rome "untouchable" and affirmed the permanence of the Italian possession of the "Eternal City".
The reign of Umberto I was a time of social upheaval, though it was later claimed to have been a tranquil "belle époque". Social tensions mounted as a consequence of the relatively recent occupation of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, the spread of socialist ideas, public hostility to the colonialist plans of the various governments, especially Crispi's, and the numerous crackdowns on civil liberties. The protesters included the young Benito Mussolini, then a member of the socialist party. On 22 April 1897, Umberto I was attacked again, by an unemployed ironsmith, Pietro Acciarito, who tried to stab him near Rome.
During the colonial wars in Africa, large demonstrations over the rising price of bread were held in Italy and on 7 May 1898, the city of Milan was put under military rule by General Fiorenzo Bava Beccaris, who ordered rifle-fire and artillery against the demonstrators. As a result, 82 people were killed according to the authorities, with opposition sources claiming that the death toll was 400 dead with 2,000 wounded. King Umberto sent a telegram to congratulate Bava Beccaris on the restoration of order and later decorated him with the medal of Great Official of Savoy Military Order, greatly outraging a large part of the public opinion.
On the evening of 29 July 1900, Umberto was assassinated in Monza. The king was shot four times by the Italian-American anarchist Gaetano Bresci. Bresci claimed he wanted to avenge the people killed in Milan during the suppression of the riots of May 1898. Commenting about the 1969 book "Killing No Murder" by Edward Hyams, the Canadian critic George Fetherling in "The Book of Assassins" wrote that the description by Hyams of Umberto I "is so harsh that one is left to marvel that only three people tried to kill him".
Umberto was buried in the Pantheon in Rome, by the side of his father Victor Emmanuel II, on 9 August 1900. He was the last Savoy to be buried there, as his son and successor Victor Emmanuel III died in exile and was buried in Egypt until his remains were transferred to Vicoforte near Cuneo in 2017.
American anarchist Leon F. Czolgosz claimed that the assassination of Umberto I was his inspiration to kill U. S. President William McKinley in September 1901.
Victor Amadeus II (Vittorio Amedeo Francesco; 14 May 166631 October 1732) was Duke of Savoy from 1675 to 1730. He also held the titles of Prince of Piedmont, Duke of Montferrat, Marquis of Saluzzo and Count of Aosta, Moriana and Nice.
Louis XIV organised his marriage in order to maintain French influence in the Duchy, but Victor Amadeus soon broke away from the influence of France. At his father's death in 1675, his mother, Marie Jeanne Baptiste of Nemours, was regent in the name of her nine-year-old son and would remain in de facto power until 1684 when Victor Amadeus banished her further involvement in the state.

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