Order of the Crown of Italy

Order of the Crown of Italy
Ordine della Corona d'Italia
Order of the Crown of Italy; Ordine della Corona d'Italia;
	Star of the Grand Cordon set of the Order
Awarded by ; ; The Head of the Italian Royal Family
Type	Dynastic Order of Knighthood
Established	20 February 1868
Royal house	House of Savoy
Eligibility	Military, civilian
Awarded for	Meritorious Service or Achievement
Status	Rarely constituted
Founder	King Victor Emmanuel II
Grand Master	Prince Emanuele Filiberto, Prince of Venice
Chairman of the Council	Vacant
Grades	Knight Grand Cross; Grand Officer; Commander; Officer; Knight
Precedence
Next (higher)	Royal Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus
Next (lower)	Royal Civil Order of Savoy; Royal Military Order of Savoy
	; Ribbon bar; ;

The Order of the Crown of Italy (Italian: Ordine della Corona d'Italia or OCI) was founded as a national order in 1868 by King Vittorio Emanuele II, to commemorate the unification of Italy in 1861.^[1] It was awarded in five degrees for civilian and military merit. Today the Order of the Crown has been replaced by the Order of Merit of Savoy and is still conferred on new knights by the current head of the house of Emanuele Filiberto, Prince of Venice.

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.^[2]

Grades

The various degrees of the order, with corresponding ribbons, were as follows:

Class (English)	Class (Italian)	Manner of wear
Knight Grand Cross	Cavaliere di Gran Croce decorati del Grande Cordone	Badge on sash on right shoulder, plus star on left chest
Grand Officer	Grande Ufficiale dell'Ordine della Corona d'Italia	Star on left chest
Commander	Commendatore dell'Ordine della Corona d'Italia	Badge on necklet
Officer	Ufficiale dell'Ordine della Corona d'Italia	Badge on ribbon with rosette on left chest
Knight	Cavaliere dell'Ordine della Corona d'Italia	Badge on ribbon on left chest

Insignia

Medals


Kingdom of Italy
Knight	Officer	Commander	Grand Officer	Knight Grand Cross
Italian Republic and Savoy House
Knight	Officer	Commander	Grand Officer	Knight Grand Cross

Members

Members of the order have included:

Isaac Artom (1829–1900), Italian writer diplomat, and politician
Harry Woodburn Blaylock (1878–1928), Canadian lawyer and businessman^[3]
Aaron Bradshaw Jr. (1894–1976), United States Army; World War II, commanded anti-aircraft forces of U.S. Fifth Army
John Buchan (1875–1940), Scottish novelist and diplomat
Vice Admiral Felice Napoleone Canevaro (1838–1926), Italian admiral and diplomat
Sydney Wentworth Carroll (1877-1958), theatrical producer, after production of Napoleon: The Hundred Days, written by Benito Mussolini^[4]^[5]^[6]
Major-General Walter Clutterbuck (1894–1987), British Army, World War II
Admiral Angelo Ugo Conz [it] (1871-1948), Italian Navy, World War I, Italian Admiral and Senator
Adolf von Deines (1845–1911), Prussian diplomat and General of the Cavalry
Arthur Conan Doyle (1859–1930), Scottish statesman and Sherlock Holmes author
Commander Sir Thomas Fisher, RN, British naval officer, managing director of the Canadian Pacific Steamship Company
James Whitelaw Hamilton (1860–1932), Scottish artist, member of the Royal Scottish Academy
William Ernest Powell Giles (1835–1897), Australian explorer and gambler
Thomas Hanbury (1832–1907), English philanthropist and creator of the Giardini Botanici Hanbury
Major General James Murray Robert Harrison DSO, CB (1880–1957), Royal Artillery, British Army, in recognition of services on the Italian front during World War I
Vice Admiral Jules James (1885–1957) Commander, U.S. Naval Forces, Mediterranean at the close of World War II, decorated by the last King of Italy, Umberto II during his 34-day reign in 1946
Rear Admiral Katō Hiroharu (Grand Officer in 1920), Imperial Japanese Navy^[7]
Major General Clayton P. Kerr (1900–1977), United States Army general, World War II member of the Allied mission to the Italian Royal Army
Edward King, Viscount Kingsborough, in recognition of his work in researching and compiling his 'Antiquities of Mexico'
Giovanni Marinelli (1879–1944), Italian Fascist politician
Major General Robert A. McClure (1897–1957), father of U.S. Army Special Operations, Director of Information and Media Control at Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF) during World War II
Brigadier General Billy Mitchell (1879–1936), United States Army air power advocate
Cesare Nava (1861–1933), Italian politician
Edwin B. Parker (1868–1929), American lawyer and politician, member of the War Industries Board and arbiter with Germany, Austria, and Hungary following World War I^[8]
Charles Poletti (1903–2002), American lawyer and politician, Governor of New York, and colonel in the United States Army; served in Italy during World War II
John Rylands (1801–1888), English entrepreneur and philanthropist
Most Reverend Pietro Sfair (1888-1974), Titular Archbishop of Nisibis dei Maroniti and Council Father at the Second Vatican Council
Alfred T. Smith (1874–1939), U.S. Army brigadier general^[9]
Alexander William Stewart (1868–1933), Scottish naval architect, engineer, and inventor
Rear Admiral Yates Stirling Jr. (1872–1948), United States Navy sea power advocate
General Sebastiano Visconti Prasca (1883–1961), Italian Royal Army
William Verbeck "WILLIAM VERBECK, EDUCATOR, IS DEAD; General and Former Commander of New York National Guard, Succumbs at 69.HEADED MANLIUS SCHOOL In 1927 He Was Made Commander of Crown of Italy--Received Citizenship by Legislative Act". The New York Times. 1930-08-25. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-11-24.</ref>
Giacomo Vuxani (1886–1964), Italian politician and patriot
Brigadier General George H. Weems, United States Army, World War II
Major General Arthur R. Wilson (1894–1956), United States Army, World War II, commanded Coastal Base Section in Naples
Russell Wilson (1876–1946), four-term mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio
Horatio Herbert Kitchener (1850-1916), Field Marshal in the British Army

Order of Merit of Savoy

The Order of Merit of Savoy was founded by Vittorio Emanuele, Prince of Naples, on 23 January 1988, „within the framework of the Civil Order of Savoy“. Current Grand Master is Emanuele Filiberto, Prince of Venice.^[10]

The insignia are the same as those of the Civil Order, but with the white vitreous enamel of the Order of the Crown. The ribbon is blue with a broad white centre stripe.

The order has the same classes as the Order of the Crown, additionally a Gold Cross of Merit and a Silver Cross of Merit is awarded below the Knight's cross.