For your consideration is a rare and historically important HRH Prince Vittorio Emanuele of Naples / House of Savoy Signed Manuscript Document Autograph Card. Card measures approximately 6.25″ x 4.25″. Signed by hand in blue ink. Guaranteed original and authentic! Prince Vittorio Emanuele of Savoy, Prince of Naples (Vittorio Emanuele Alberto Carlo Teodoro Umberto Bonifacio Amedeo Damiano Bernardino Gennaro Maria di Savoia; born 12 February 1937) is the only son of Umberto II, the last King of Italy and his wife Marie-José of Belgium. Vittorio Emanuele also uses the title Duke of Savoy and claims the headship of the House of Savoy. These claims were disputed by supporters of his third cousin, Prince Aimone, 6th Duke of Aosta. He has lived for most of his life in exile, following the constitutional referendum of 1946 which affirmed the abolition of the monarchy and the creation of the Italian Republic. On several occasions he has been the centre of controversy in Italy and abroad due to a series of incidents, including remarks that were seen by some as anti-semitic. He was revealed to be a member of Propaganda Due (P2), the state within a state responsible for high-level corruption and political manipulation. In France he was tried on a murder charge, of which he was cleared of unlawful killing but convicted of a firearms offence. On 16 June 2006, following an investigation started by John Woodcock of the Public Prosecutor’s Office in Potenza, Italy, Vittorio Emanuele was arrested on charges of criminal association, racketeering, conspiracy, corruption and exploitation of prostitution. A trial on these charges began in Potenza, Italy on 21 December 2009. Vittorio Emanuele di Savoia was acquitted of all charges in 2007 and 2010. Vittorio Emanuele lobbied the Parliament of Italy over the years in which the law prohibiting his return was in force, to be allowed to return to his homeland after 56 years in exile. In 1999, he filed a case at the European Court of Human Rights, in which the Prince charged that his lengthy exile violated his human rights. In September 2001, the court decided to hold a hearing on the case at a date later to be fixed. In order to achieve a return to his homeland, he renounced any claim to the defunct throne and to Italy’s crown jewels. He publicly assured the Italian government that the nation and the crown properties, confiscated by the State in 1946, “are no longer ours”, referring to the House of Savoy. “For that matter we have no claim on the Crown jewels”, he said. “We have nothing in Italy and we are not asking for anything”. Vittorio Emanuele also dropped his case at the European Court of Human Rights. [citation needed] In February 2002, Vittorio Emanuele and his son Emanuele Filiberto wrote a signed letter, published through a law firm, in which they formally expressed their loyalty to the Constitution of Italy. On 23 October 2002, the provision in the constitution that barred male members of the former royal house from returning to Italy was repealed. As part of a deal with the government, Vittorio Emanuele signed an agreement renouncing all claims to the defunct throne and recognizing the Republic as the only lawful government of Italy. Vittorio Emanuele was permitted to re-enter the country from 10 November 2002. On 23 December 2002, he made his first trip home in over half a century. On the one-day visit he, his wife and his son had a 20-minute audience with Pope John Paul II at the Vatican. Upon their first visit in 2003 to Naples, where Vittorio Emanuele was born, and from where his family sailed into exile in 1946, the reception of the Savoys was mixed; most people were indifferent to them, some hostile, a few supportive. The media reported that many in Naples were not happy to see the return of the family, when hundreds of noisy demonstrators chanted negative slogans as they progressed through the city. Demonstrations were staged by two traditionally opposing factions: anti-monarchists on one hand, and supporters of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, the royal house deposed when Italy was united in 1861 under the House of Savoy. This item is in the category “Collectibles\Historical Memorabilia\Royalty Collectibles”. The seller is “galleryoff5th” and is located in this country: US. This item can be shipped worldwide.
- Royal: HRH Prince Vittorio Emanuele of Naples / House of Savoy
- To Commemorate: Coronation
- Type: Card
- Modification Description: Hand-signed by HRH Prince Vittorio Emanuele of Naples / House of Savoy
- Royalty: Italian Royalty
- Year: 2021
- Country: Italy
- Theme: Royalty
- Features: Antique, Illustrated, Official Release
- Country/Region of Manufacture: Italy
- Modified Item: Yes
- Vintage: Yes
