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The pediment was decorated with relief sculpture, probably of gilded bronze. Holes marking the location of clamps that held the sculpture suggest that its design was likely an eagle within a wreath; ribbons extended from the wreath into the corners of the pediment.
In the walls at the back of the Pantheon's portico are two huge niches, perhaps intended for statues of Augustus Caesar and Agrippa.
The large bronze doors to the cella, measuring 4.45m wide by 7.53m high, are the oldest in Rome. These were thought to be a 15th-century replacement for the original, mainly because they were deemed by contemporary architects to be too small for the door frames. However, analysis of the fusion technique confirmed that these are the original Roman doors, a rare example of Roman monumental bronze surviving, despite cleaning and the application of Christian motifs over the course of centuries.
The 4,535-tonne weight of the Roman concrete dome is concentrated on a ring of voussoirs in diameter that form the oculus, while the downward thrust of the dome is carried by eight barrel vaults in the drum wall into eight piers. The thickness of the dome varies from at the base of the dome to around the oculus. The materials used in the concrete of the dome also vary. At its thickest point, the aggregate is travertine, then terracotta tiles, then at the very top, tufa and pumice, both porous light stones. At the very top, where the dome would be at its weakest and vulnerable to collapse, the oculus actually lightens the load.
No tensile test results are available on the concrete used in the Pantheon; however, Cowan discussed tests on ancient concrete from Roman ruins in Libya, which gave a compressive strength of . An empirical relationship gives a tensile strength of for this specimen. Finite element analysis of the structure by Mark and Hutchison found a maximum tensile stress of only at the point where the dome joins the raised outer wall.
The stresses in the dome were found to be substantially reduced by the use of successively less dense aggregate stones, such as small pots or pieces of pumice, in higher layers of the dome. Mark and Hutchison estimated that, if normal weight concrete had been used throughout, the stresses in the arch would have been some 80% greater. Hidden chambers engineered within the rotunda form a sophisticated structural system. This reduced the weight of the roof, as did the elimination of the apex by means of the oculus.
The top of the rotunda wall features a series of brick relieving arches, visible on the outside and built into the mass of the brickwork. The Pantheon is full of such devices – for example, there are relieving arches over the recesses inside – but all these arches were hidden by marble facing on the interior and possibly by stone revetment or stucco on the exterior.
The height to the oculus and the diameter of the interior circle are the same, , so the whole interior would fit exactly within a cube (or, a 43.3-m sphere could fit within the interior). These dimensions make more sense when expressed in ancient Roman units of measurement: The dome spans 150 Roman feet; the oculus is 30 Roman feet in diameter; the doorway is 40 Roman feet high. The Pantheon still holds the record for the world's largest unreinforced concrete dome. It is also substantially larger than earlier domes. It is the only masonry dome to not require reinforcement. All other extant ancient domes were either designed with tie-rods, chains and banding or have been retrofitted with such devices to prevent collapse.
Though often drawn as a free-standing building, there was a building at its rear which abutted it. While this building helped buttress the rotunda, there was no interior passage from one to the other.
Upon entry, visitors are greeted by an enormous rounded room covered by the dome. The oculus at the top of the dome was never covered, allowing rainfall through the ceiling and onto the floor. Because of this, the interior floor is equipped with drains and has been built with an incline of about to promote water runoff.
The interior of the dome was possibly intended to symbolize the arched vault of the heavens. The oculus at the dome's apex and the entry door are the only natural sources of light in the interior. Throughout the day, the light from the oculus moves around this space in a reverse sundial effect. The oculus also serves as a cooling and ventilation method. During storms, a drainage system below the floor handles the rain that falls through the oculus.
The dome features sunken panels (coffers), in five rings of 28. This evenly spaced layout was difficult to achieve and, it is presumed, had symbolic meaning, either numerical, geometric, or lunar. In antiquity, the coffers may have contained bronze rosettes symbolising the starry firmament.
Circles and squares form the unifying theme of the interior design. The checkerboard floor pattern contrasts with the concentric circles of square coffers in the dome. Each zone of the interior, from floor to ceiling, is subdivided according to a different scheme. As a result, the interior decorative zones do not line up. The overall effect is immediate viewer orientation according to the major axis of the building, even though the cylindrical space topped by a hemispherical dome is inherently ambiguous. This discordance has not always been appreciated, and the attic level was redone according to Neoclassical taste in the 18th century.
The present high altars and the apses were commissioned by Pope Clement XI (1700–1721) and designed by Alessandro Specchi. Enshrined on the apse above the high altar is a 7th-century Byzantine icon of the Virgin and Child, given by Phocas to Pope Boniface IV on the occasion of the dedication of the Pantheon for Christian worship on 13 May 609. The choir was added in 1840, and was designed by Luigi Poletti.
The first niche to the right of the entrance holds a "Madonna of the Girdle and St Nicholas of Bari" (1686) painted by an unknown artist.
The first chapel on the right, the Chapel of the Annunciation, has a fresco of the "Annunciation" attributed to Melozzo da Forlì. On the left side is a canvas by Clement Maioli of "St Lawrence and St Agnes" (1645–1650). On the right wall is the "Incredulity of St Thomas" (1633) by Pietro Paolo Bonzi.
The second niche has a 15th-century fresco of the Tuscan school, depicting the "Coronation of the Virgin". In the second chapel is the tomb of King Victor Emmanuel II (died 1878). It was originally dedicated to the Holy Spirit. A competition was held to decide which architect should design it. Giuseppe Sacconi participated, but lost – he would later design the tomb of Umberto I in the opposite chapel.
Manfredo Manfredi won the competition, and started work in 1885. The tomb consists of a large bronze plaque surmounted by a Roman eagle and the arms of the house of Savoy. The golden lamp above the tomb burns in honor of Victor Emmanuel III, who died in exile in 1947.
On the first niche to the left of the entrance is an "Assumption" (1638) by Andrea Camassei. The first chapel on the left, the Chapel of St Joseph in the Holy Land, is the chapel of the Confraternity of the , a confraternity of artists and musicians formed by a 16th-century canon, Desiderio da Segni, to ensure that worship was maintained in the chapel.
The first members were, among others, Antonio da Sangallo the younger, Jacopo Meneghino, Giovanni Mangone, Zuccari, Domenico Beccafumi, and Flaminio Vacca. The confraternity continued to draw members from the elite of Rome's artists and architects, and among later members we find Bernini, Cortona, Algardi, and many others. The institution still exists, and is now called the "Academia Ponteficia di Belle Arti" (The Pontifical Academy of Fine Arts), based in the palace of the Cancelleria. The altar in the chapel is covered with false marble. On the altar is a statue of "St Joseph and the Holy Child" by Vincenzo de' Rossi.
To the sides are paintings (1661) by Francesco Cozza, one of the Virtuosi: "Adoration of the Shepherds" on left side and "Adoration of the Magi" on right. The stucco relief on the left, "Dream of St Joseph", is by Paolo Benaglia, and the one on the right, "Rest during the flight from Egypt", is by Carlo Monaldi. On the vault are several 17th-century canvases, from left to right: "Cumean Sibyl" by Ludovico Gimignani; Moses by Francesco Rosa; "Eternal Father" by Giovanni Peruzzini; "David" by Luigi Garzi; and "Eritrean Sibyl" by Giovanni Andrea Carlone.
The third niche holds the mortal remains – his Ossa et cineres, "Bones and ashes", as the inscription on the sarcophagus says – of the great artist Raphael. His fiancée, Maria Bibbiena is buried to the right of his sarcophagus; she died before they could marry. The sarcophagus was given by Pope Gregory XVI, and its inscription reads "ILLE HIC EST RAPHAEL TIMUIT QUO SOSPITE VINCI / RERUM MAGNA PARENS ET MORIENTE MORI", meaning "Here lies Raphael, by whom the mother of all things (Nature) feared to be overcome while he was living, and while he was dying, herself to die". The epigraph was written by Pietro Bembo.
The present arrangement is from 1811, designed by Antonio Muñoz. The bust of Raphael (1833) is by Giuseppe Fabris. The two plaques commemorate Maria Bibbiena and Annibale Carracci. Behind the tomb is the statue known as the "Madonna del Sasso" (Madonna of the Rock) so named because she rests one foot on a boulder. It was commissioned by Raphael and made by Lorenzetto in 1524.
In the Chapel of the Crucifixion, the Roman brick wall is visible in the niches. The wooden crucifix on the altar is from the 15th century. On the left wall is a "Descent of the Holy Ghost" (1790) by Pietro Labruzi. On the right side is the low relief "Cardinal Consalvi presents to Pope Pius VII the five provinces restored to the Holy See" (1824) made by the Danish sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen. The bust is a portrait of Cardinal Agostino Rivarola. The final niche on this side has a statue of "St. Evasius" ("Sant'Evasio") (1727) by Francesco Moderati.
Works modelled on, or inspired by, the Pantheon.
As the best-preserved example of an Ancient Roman monumental building, the Pantheon has been enormously influential in Western architecture from at least the Renaissance on; starting with Brunelleschi's dome of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence, completed in 1436.
Among the most notable versions are the church of Santa Maria Assunta (1664) in Ariccia by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, which followed his work restoring the Roman original, Belle Isle House (1774) in England and Thomas Jefferson's library at the University of Virginia, The Rotunda (1817–1826). Others include the Rotunda of Mosta in Malta (1833). Other notable replicas, such as The Rotunda (New York) (1818), do not survive.
The portico-and-dome form of the Pantheon can be detected in many buildings of the 19th and 20th centuries; numerous government and public buildings, city halls, university buildings, and public libraries echo its structure.
Henri of Savoy () (2 November 157210 July 1632), called originally Marquis de Saint-Sorlin, was the son of Jacques of Savoy and Anna d'Este, the widow of François de Lorraine, Duke of Guise. He succeeded his brother Charles Emmanuel as Duke of Nemours.
In 1588 he took the marquisate of Saluzzo from the French for his cousin, the Duke of Savoy. The princes of Guise, his half-brothers, induced him to join the League, and in 1591 he was made governor of Dauphiné in the name of that faction. He made his submission to Henry IV in 1596. After quarrelling with the duke of Savoy he withdrew to Burgundy and joined the Spaniards in their war against Savoy. After peace had been proclaimed on November 14, 1616, he retired to the French court.
After his death, he was succeeded by his eldest son, Louis; on the death of Louis in 1641 by his second son Charles Amadeus; and on Charles's death in 1651 by his third son Henri. All three were the sons of his wife Anne de Lorraine (1600–1638), daughter of Charles de Lorraine, Duke of Aumale.
James (January 1315 – May 1367) was the Lord of Piedmont from 1334 to his death. He was the eldest son of Philip I and Catherine de la Tour du Pin. While his father had abandoned his claim to the Principality of Achaea in 1307, James continued to use the princely title and even passed it on to his successors.
In 1349, James agreed to a treaty between himself, Amadeus VI of Savoy, Amadeus III of Geneva, and the House of Visconti, rulers of Milan for mutual defence and assistance. This treaty included provisions for Galeazzo II Visconti to marry Bianca of Savoy, sister of the count.
James opposed Robert of Taranto in Achaea in the 1340s. He began a war with Amadeus VI of Savoy, but was captured at Pinerolo and his territories confiscated. A treaty of 2 July 1362 returned them, however. James died at Pinerolo a few years later.
James married his first wife Beatrice d'Este in 1338, daughter of Rinaldo II d'Este. She died in 1339 without having children.
James remarried on 9 June 1339 to Sibyl, daughter of Raymond II of Baux and had:
After Sibyl died in 1361, James remarried on 16 July 1362 to Margaret (1346 – 1402), daughter of Edward I of Beaujeu, They had two sons:
Jacques of Savoy, 2nd duke of Nemours (12 October 153115 June 1585) was the son of Philippe, Duke of Nemours and Charlotte of Orleans, and became Duke of Nemours on his father's death in 1533.
Jacques distinguished himself at the sieges of Lens and Metz (1552–1553), at the Battle of Renty (1554) and in the campaign of Piedmont (1555).
Jacques was a supporter of the house of Guise, and caused a further altercation between the Bourbons and Guises when he got Françoise de Rohan, cousin and childhood friend of Jeanne d'Albret, pregnant and refused to marry her. Françoise filed a lawsuit that was neglected until 1565, when an ecclesiastical court ruled against her, giving Jacques the opportunity to marry Anne d'Este.
Jacques signalized himself by his successes in Dauphiné and Lyonnais against the Huguenots. In 1567 he induced the court to return from Meaux to Paris, took part in the battle of Saint Denis, protested against the peace of Longjumeau, and repulsed the invasion of Wolfgang, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken. He devoted his last years to letters and art, and died at Annecy.
Jacques married Anna d'Este on 29 April 1566 daughter of Duke Ercole II of Ferrara and Renée of France. They had:
He was succeeded as Duke of Nemours by his son Charles Emmanuel de Savoie, 3rd Duc de Nemours.
Louis of Savoy (1615 – 16 September 1641) was Count of Geneva, Duke of Nemours, and Duke of Aumale from the death of his father Henry of Savoy in 1632 until his own death in 1641.
Louis never married. On his death, his titles passed to his brother Charles Amadeus.
Maria Vittoria dal Pozzo (Maria Vittoria Carlotta Enrichetta; 9 August 1847 – 8 November 1876) was an Italian noblewoman and became the 6th Princess of La Cisterna after the death of her father. Married to Prince Amadeo of Savoy, Duke of Aosta, second son of King Victor Emmanuel. In 1870 her husband became the King of Spain, making her Queen consort of Spain.
She was the eldest and only surviving child of Carlo Emmanuele dal Pozzo, 5th Prince of Cisterna and his wife, Countess Louise de Merode. Upon the death of her father in 1864, she inherited his noble titles and thus became the Princess della Cisterna, Princess di Belriguardo, Marchioness di Voghera and Countess di Ponderano, among other titles, in her own right.
On 30 May 1867 in Turin, she married Prince Amadeo of Savoy, the Duke of Aosta and second son of King Victor Emmanuel II of Italy. An urban legend circulates claiming that numerous tragedies befell the wedding of Maria Vittoria and the Duke of Aosta.
Her husband was elected to occupy the Spanish Throne on 16 November 1870. She lived a discreet life in Spain, only involving herself in charity. Amadeo resigned from the position on 11 February 1873, after which he and Maria Vittoria returned to Italy. Her health was damaged by the trip and childbirth, and she died later the same year of tuberculosis in Sanremo.
Adelaide of Savoy (; c.1050/2 – 1079), a member of the Burgundian House of Savoy, was Duchess of Swabia from about 1062 until 1079 by her marriage with Rudolf of Rheinfelden, who also was elected German anti-king in 1077.
Adelaide's parents were Count Otto of Savoy and his wife Adelaide of Susa from the Arduinici noble family. Her maternal grandparents were Margrave Ulric Manfred II of Turin and Bertha of Milan. Adelaide was the younger sister of Bertha of Savoy, who was betrothed to the future king Henry IV of Germany in 1055.
According to the "Europäische Stammtafeln" genealogy, she first was married to Count Guigues I of Albon, though this assumption seems highly unlikely. Actually Adelaide, around 1060/62 and aged about ten, married the Swabian duke Rudolf of Rheinfelden.
In 1069 Rudolf attempted to repudiate Adelaide for an alleged affair with Count Werner of Habsburg. In 1071 Adelaide cleared herself of the accusation of adultery in the presence of Pope Alexander II. Rudolf was required to reconcile with Adelaide. At the same time, Henry IV attempted to repudiate her sister Bertha, also without success.
In 1077, an assembly of revolting German princes elected Rudolf anti-king. He was crowned by Archbishop Siegfried I of Mainz on March 26, with Adelaide as his consort. When the Great Saxon Revolt broke out, Adelaide remained in Swabia, defending her husband's lands, whilst Rudolf campaigned against Henry IV in Saxony.
Adelaide died during the Easter period of 1079, apart from her husband at Hohentwiel Castle. She was buried in the monastery of St. Blasien.
With Rudolf, Adelaide had at least four children:
Amadeo I (, sometimes latinized as Amadeus; 30 May 184518 January 1890) was an Italian prince who reigned as King of Spain from 1870 to 1873. The only King of Spain from the House of Savoy, he was the second son of King Vittorio Emanuele II of Italy and was known for most of his life as The Duke of Aosta.
He was elected by the Cortes as Spain's monarch in 1870, following the deposition of Isabel II, and was sworn in the following year. Amadeo's reign was fraught with growing republicanism, Carlist rebellions in the north, and the Cuban independence movement. He abdicated and returned to Italy in 1873, and the First Spanish Republic was declared as a result.
Granted the hereditary title of Duke of Aosta in the year of his birth, he founded the Aosta branch of Italy's royal House of Savoy, which is junior in agnatic descent to the branch descended from King Umberto I that reigned in Italy until 1900, but senior to the branch of the dukes of Genoa.
Prince Amedeo of Savoy was born in Turin (then part of the Kingdom of Sardinia). He was the second son of King Vittorio Emanuele II (King of Sardinia and, later, first King of Italy) and of Archduchess Adelaide of Austria. He was styled the Duke of Aosta from birth.
Entering the army as captain in 1859 he fought through the Third Italian War of Independence in 1866 with the rank of major-general, leading his brigade into action at the Battle of Custoza and being wounded at Monte Torre. In 1868, after his marriage, he was created vice admiral of the Italian navy, but this position ended when he ascended the Spanish throne.
In March 1870, Maria Vittoria appealed to the King to remonstrate with her husband for marital infidelities that caused her hurt and embarrassment. But the King wrote in reply that, while understanding her feelings, he considered that she had no right to dictate her husband's behaviour and that her jealousy was unbecoming.
After the Spanish revolution deposed Isabella II, the new "Cortes" decided to reinstate the monarchy under a new dynasty. The Duke of Aosta was elected king as Amadeo I on 16 November 1870. He swore to uphold the constitution in Madrid on 2 January 1871.
The election of the new king coincided with the assassination of General Juan Prim, his chief supporter. After that, Amadeo had to deal with difficult situations, with unstable Spanish politics, republican conspiracies, Carlist uprisings, separatism in Cuba, same-party disputes, fugitive governments and assassination attempts.
Amadeo could count on the support of only the progressive party, whose leaders were trading off in the government thanks to parliamentary majority and electoral fraud. The progressives divided into monarchists and constitutionalists, which made the instability worse, and in 1872 a violent outburst of interparty conflicts hit a peak. There was a Carlist uprising in the Basque and Catalan regions, and after that, republican uprisings happened in cities across the country. The artillery corps of the army went on strike, and the government instructed the King to discipline them.
Though warned of a plot against his life on 18 August 1872, he refused to take precautions, and, while returning from Buen Retiro Park to Madrid in company with the queen, was repeatedly shot at in Via Avenal. The royal carriage was struck by several revolver and rifle bullets, the horses wounded, but its occupants escaped unhurt. A period of calm followed the event.
With the possibility of reigning without popular support, Amadeo issued an order against the artillery corps and then immediately abdicated from the Spanish throne on 11 February 1873. At ten o'clock that same night, Spain was proclaimed a republic, at which time Amadeo made an appearance before the Cortes, proclaiming the Spanish people ungovernable.
Completely disgusted, the ex-monarch left Spain and returned to Italy, where he resumed the title of Duke of Aosta. The First Spanish Republic lasted less than two years, and in November 1874 Alfonso XII, the son of Isabella II, was proclaimed king, with Antonio Cánovas del Castillo, Spanish intermittent prime minister from 1873 until his assassination in 1897, briefly serving as regent.
Amadeo's first wife died in 1876. In 1888 he married his French niece, Princess Maria Letizia Bonaparte, Duchess of Aosta (20 November 186625 October 1926), daughter of his sister Maria Clotilde and of Prince Napoléon Bonaparte, a nephew of Napoleon I. They had one child, Umberto (1889–1918), who died of the flu during the First World War.
Amadeo remained in Turin, Italy until his death on 18 January 1890. His friend Puccini composed the famous elegy for string quartet "Crisantemi" in his memory.
Lake Amadeus in central Australia is named after him, as is the Philippine municipality of Amadeo, Cavite.
Prince Vittorio Amedeo Teodoro, Duke of Aosta
Vittorio Amedeo Theodore of Savoy (Prince Vittorio Amedeo Theodore; 7 March 1723 – 11 August 1725) was a prince of Savoy and Duke of Aosta. He was born in the reign of his grandfather Victor Amadeus II, King of Sardinia.
Prince Vittorio Amedeo was born at the Royal Palace of Turin, he was a son of Charles Emmanuel III of Sardinia and his first wife Anne Christine of Sulzbach. He was styled as the "Duke of Aosta" from birth till his death. He was the first-born son of his parents and was second in line to the throne (after his father) from his birth, which was greeted with much celebration. He died on 11 August 1725, at the age of 2.
His father had another son with his second wife also named Victor Amadeus, Duke of Savoy, in his honour.
Victor Emmanuel I (Vittorio Emanuele; 24 July 1759 – 10 January 1824) was the Duke of Savoy and King of Sardinia (1802–1821).
Victor Emmanuel was the second son of King Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia and Maria Antonia Ferdinanda of Spain, daughter of King Philip V of Spain and Elisabeth Farnese.
Victor Emmanuel was known from birth as the Duke of Aosta. From 1792 to 1796, Aosta's father had taken an active part in the struggle of the old powers against the revolutionary forces in France but was defeated and forced to make peace, signing the Treaty of Paris. The old king died shortly thereafter, and in December 1798, his eldest son and successor, Charles Emmanuel IV, was faced with a French occupation and eventually annexation, of his mainland territories.
Charles Emmanuel and his family were forced to withdraw to Sardinia, which was the only part of his domains not conquered by the French. Charles Emmanuel himself took little interest in the rule of Sardinia, living with his wife on the mainland in Naples and Rome until his wife's death in 1802, which led the childless Charles Emmanuel to abdicate the throne in favour of his younger brother.
Aosta took the throne on 4 June 1802 as Victor Emmanuel I. He ruled Sardinia from Cagliari for the next twelve years, during which time he constituted the Carabinieri, a Gendarmerie corps, still existing as one of the main branches of the military of Italy.
Victor Emmanuel could return to Turin only in 1814, his realm reconstituted by the Congress of Vienna, with the addition of the territories of the former Republic of Genoa. The latter became the seat of the Sardinian Navy. Victor Emmanuel abolished all the freedoms granted by the Napoleonic Codices and restored a fiercely oppressive rule: he restored the "Regie Costituzioni" of Victor Amadeus II and the "Jus commune", strengthened customs barriers, refused to grant a liberal constitution, entrusted education to the Church and reintroduced laws concerning labour and the justice system which discriminated against Jews and Waldensians.
He nurtured expansionist ambitions in Lombardy, where nationalist anti-Austrian sentiments had developed, promoted largely by the bourgeoisie. This led to conflict with Austria. In March 1821, a liberal revolution exploded in Italy, largely the work of the Carbonari and it seemed that the anti-Austrian attitude of the revolutionaries matched that of Victor Emmanuel.
However, Victor Emmanuel was not willing to grant a liberal constitution as desired by the revolutionaries, so he abdicated in favor of his brother, Charles Felix on 13 March 1821. Because Charles Felix was in Modena at the time, Victor Emmanuel temporarily entrusted the regency to Charles Albert, who was second in line to the throne.
Thereafter Victor Emmanuel lived in a number of cities until 1824, when he returned to the Castle of Moncalieri, where he died. He is buried in the Basilica of Superga.
On 21 April 1789, he married Archduchess Maria Teresa of Austria-Este, daughter of Ferdinand, Duke of Modena (who was the son of Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor).
They had six daughters and one son who died very young:
As a descendant of Henrietta of England he carried the Jacobite claim to the thrones of England and Scotland.
Carlo Francesco, Duke of Aosta (Carlo Francesco Maria Augusto; 1 December 1738 – 25 March 1745) was a prince of Savoy. He was born in the reign of his father Charles Emmanuel III, King of Sardinia.
Prince Carlo was born at the Palace of Venaria, Turin. He was the first child of his father Charles Emmanuel III of Sardinia and Élisabeth Thérèse of Lorraine. His mother died giving birth to his brother Prince Benedetto, named after Pope Benedict XIV who became pope the year before his birth.
At the time of his birth, he was third in line to the Sardinian throne after his father and his oldest half brother Victor Amadeus, Duke of Savoy. His paternal cousins included Louis XV of France, the future Ferdinand VI of Spain and the Prince of Carignan. His maternal cousin's included the future Queen of Naples and the famous "Marie Antoinette".
He died in Turin aged 7, and was buried at Royal Basilica of Superga, Turin.
Prince Aimone of Savoy-Aosta, Duke of Apulia (Aimone Umberto Emanuele Filiberto Luigi Amedeo Elena Maria Fiorenzo di Savoia-Aosta; born 13 October 1967) is the second child and first son of Prince Amedeo, 5th Duke of Aosta, one of the two claimants to the former throne of Italy. In 2006, his father declared himself Duke of Savoy and head of the House of Savoy; since then Prince Aimone has styled himself Duke of Aosta. However, because the headship of the royal house is disputed between his father and Vittorio Emanuele, Prince of Naples, he is still referred to as "Duke of Apulia".
Beginning in 2000, Aimone was the president of Pirelli Tires' operations in Russia. Since 2012, he has also served as CEO of Pirelli Tyre's Nordic division. His contribution to deepening bilateral economic relations between Italy and Russia has been recognized by the authorities of both countries, by the appointment to the Order of Friendship of Russia and the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic.
Since November 2019 he has served as the Representative of the Order of Malta in Russia.
Prince Aimone was born in Florence the second child and only son of Prince Amedeo of Savoy, Duke of Aosta and his first wife, Princess Claude of Orléans. Aimone attended the Francesco Morosini Naval Military School and Bocconi University. After he completed his education, Aimone worked at JPMorgan Chase in the United Kingdom. He also served a period in the Italian Navy's special forces (see Comando Raggruppamento Subacquei e Incursori Teseo Tesei). Since 2000, Aimone has worked in Russia as president of the Italian company Pirelli.
Aimone's engagement to Princess Olga of Greece, daughter of Prince Michael of Greece and Denmark, was announced in May 2005. Olga and Aimone are second cousins; both being great-grandchildren of the French pretender Prince Jean, Duke of Guise. They are also second cousins-once-removed, as George I of Greece is Olga's patrilineal great-grandfather and Aimone's great-great-grandfather. Several falsely reported wedding dates marked what was to become a three-year engagement. The couple finally wed on 16 September 2008 at the Italian embassy in Moscow, the city in which Aimone is employed. Their religious marriage took place on 27 September 2008 at Patmos.
Prince Aimone and Princess Olga have three children, two sons and one daughter:
On 7 July 2006 Aimone's father, Prince Amedeo, assumed the headship of the House of Savoy and the title Duke of Savoy, claiming that his cousin Vittorio Emanuele, Prince of Naples, had lost his dynastic rights when he married in 1971 without the legally required permission of King Umberto II. Since then Aimone has used the title Duke of Aosta.
Prince Aimone, 4th Duke of Aosta ("Aimone Roberto Margherita Maria Giuseppe Torino"; 9 March 1900 – 29 January 1948) was a prince of Italy's reigning House of Savoy and an officer of the Royal Italian Navy. The second son of Prince Emanuele Filiberto, Duke of Aosta he was granted the title Duke of Spoleto on 22 September 1904. He inherited the title Duke of Aosta on 3 March 1942 following the death of his brother Prince Amedeo, in a British prisoner of war camp in Nairobi.
From 18 May 1941 to 31 July 1943 he was designated King of Independent State of Croatia (, NDH) though he never ruled there. He formally accepted the position and took the name Tomislav II (), after the first Croatian king. Later, however, he refused to assume the kingship in protest of the Italian annexation of the Dalmatia region, and is therefore referred to in some sources as king designate. Regardless, many sources refer to him as Tomislav II, King of Croatia, and the nominal head of the NDH during its first two years (1941–1943).

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