The Heirs to the Savoia Throne and the Construction of ‘Italianità’, 1860-1900 (Palgrave Studies in Modern Monarchy)

This book explores the evolution of the role of the heirs to the throne of Italy between 1860 and 1900. It focuses on the future kings Umberto I (1844-1900) and Vittorio Emanuele III (1869-1947), and their respective spouses, Margherita of Savoia (1851-1926) and Elena of Montenegro (1873-1952). It sheds light on the soft power the Italian royals were attempting to generate, by identifying and examining four specific areas of monarchical activity: firstly, the heirs’ public role and the manner in which they attempted to craft an Italian identity through a process of self-presentation; secondly, the national, royal, linguistic and military education of the heirs; thirdly, the promotion of a family-centred dynasty deploying both male and female elements in the public realm; and finally the readiness to embrace different modes of mobility in the construction of italianità. By analysing the growing importance of the royal heirs and their performance on the public stage in post-Risorgimento Italy, this study investigates the attempted construction of a cohesive national identity through the crown and, more specifically, the heirs to the throne. Acknowledgements 7 Contents 12 Abbreviations 13 List of Figures 14 Chapter 1: Introduction 15 Chapter 2: The Royal Shop Window in the Nation’s Market Place: Selling the Savoia Narrative 34 2.1 The Construction of the Savoia Shop Window: One of Many 41 2.2 Umberto and Margherita’s Display 47 2.3 The Royal Marketplace: Exchange Between Crown and Country 56 Chapter 3: Royal and National Education: A ‘Laboratory for Italianità’ 73 3.1 Teaching Neapolitans, Lombards and Sicilians to Become Italian 77 3.2 From Piedmontese to Italian: Educating the Royal Family 85 3.3 Teaching Italians to Speak: From ‘Dialects’ to Standardised Italian 97 3.4 Brothers in Arms: The Savoia and Their Soldiers 105 Chapter 4: Gender and Family: Realms of Royalty 116 4.1 The Evolution of Monarchical Gender Roles 122 4.2 The Public Realm of Royalty: Gender, Portrayal and Perception 137 4.3 The ‘Publicly Private’ Realm 145 Fathers & Husbands 149 Mothers & Wives 155 Royal Children 162 Chapter 5: Mobility: Royals on the Move 169 5.1 Physical Mobility 177 The Railways and National Unity in Europe and Italy 179 Royalty and Railways in Post-1850s Italy 183 5.2 Mobility of Symbols 200 5.3 Transmissible Mobility 213 Chapter 6: Conclusion 226 6.1 Royal Heirs: Nationalising and being Nationalised 229 6.2 The Crown and the Construction of Italianità 231 6.3 The Modernisation of Monarchy 237 Appendix 241 Chapter 1. Introduction 241 Chapter 2. The Royal Shop Window in the Nation’s Market Place: Selling the Savoia Narrative 241 Chapter 3. Royal and National Education: A ‘Laboratory for Italianità’ 242 Chapter 4. Gender and Family: Realms of Royalty 246 Chapter 5. Mobility: Royals on the Move 250 Chapter 6. Conclusion 254 Bibliography 257 Archives 257 Newspapers & Periodicals 259 Published Primary Sources 260 Published Secondary Sources 269 Unpublished Secondary Source 293 Index 294 This book explores the evolution of the role of the heirs to the throne of Italy between 1860 and 1900. It focuses on the future kings Umberto I (1844-1900) and Vittorio Emanuele III (1869-1947), and their respective spouses, Margherita of Savoia (1851-1926) and Elena of Montenegro (1873-1952). It sheds light on the soft power the Italian royals were attempting to generate, by identifying and examining four specific areas of monarchical activity: firstly, the heirs public role and the manner in which they attempted to craft an Italian identity through a process of self-presentation; secondly, the national, royal, linguistic and military education of the heirs; thirdly, the promotion of a family-centred dynasty deploying both male and female elements in the public realm; and finally the readiness to embrace different modes of mobility in the construction of italianita. By analysing the growing importance of the royal heirs and their performance on the public stage in post-Risorgimento Italy, this study investigates the attempted construction of a cohesive national identity through the crown and, more specifically, the heirs to the throne