Order of the Crown of Italy

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The Order of the Crown of Italy (Ordine della Corona d'Italia) was an Order (decoration) conferred by the Kingdom of Italy. Established by King Victor Emmanuel II on 20 February 1868 to commemorate the Italian unification, the Order was awarded for civilian and military merit. Compared with the older Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus, the Order of the Crown of Italy was awarded more liberally, and could be conferred to non-Catholics as well; eventually, it became a requirement for a person to have already received the Order of the Crown of Italy before receiving the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus. After Italy became a republic in 1946, the Order was effectively replaced by the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic; the House of Savoy in exile continued to confer the Order for many years, although it is no longer conferred following the death of King Umberto II on 18 March 1983. It was replaced by the Order of Civil Merit of Savoy (Ordine del Merito civile di Savoia).

[edit] Grades

The Order had five classes:

Knight of the Grand Cross, which wore the badge on a sash on the right shoulder, plus the star on the left chest;
Grand Officer, which wore the star on the left chest;
Commander, which wore the badge on a necklet;
Officer, which wore the badge on a ribbon with a rosette on the left chest;
Knight, which wore the badge on a ribbon on the left chest.

[edit] Insignia

The badge of the Order was a gilt cross with curved edges, enamelled in white, with the so-called Savoy knots between the arms of the cross. The obverse central disc featured the Iron Crown (as appeared on the Austrian Order of the Iron Crown) on a blue enamel backbround. The reverse central disc had a black-enamelled eagle bearing the coat-of-arms of Italy on a golden background.

The star of the Grand Cross was an eight-pointed faceted silver star; the central disc featured the Iron Crown on a blue enamelled background, surrounded by a white enamel ring bearing the legend "VICT. EMMAN. II REX ITALIA MDCCCLXVI" (Victor Emmanuel II, King of Italy, 1866). There was a black-enamelled eagle bearing the coat-of-arms of Italy at the top of the star.

The star of the Grand Officer was an eight-pointed faceted silver star with ball tips at each point, and with the obverse of the badge superimposed upon it.