{i} region in southeastern France; name of a mountain range in southeastern France; name of a historical European dynasty; name of a historical conference held in the Savoy palace in London
the Savoy a very famous hotel in central London, next to the River Thames. French Savoie Italian Savoia Historical region, southeastern France and northwestern Italy. From the 11th century the counts of Savoy ruled it as part of the kingdom of Arles under the suzerainty of what would become the Holy Roman Empire. It became virtually independent and expanded across the Alps to include the plain of Piedmont in Italy. In the 18th century Piedmont and Savoy were incorporated into the kingdom of Sardinia, and the dukes of Savoy became kings of Sardinia. Savoy and Piedmont were ceded to France in 1792, but Savoy was restored to its traditional rulers in 1815, with the addition of Genoa. In 1860 Sardinia, Genoa, and Piedmont joined other Italian states to form the Kingdom of Italy. The house of Savoy was the ruling house of Italy until 1946, when the Italian Republic was established. Eugene of Savoy Savoy house of François Eugène prince de Savoie Carignan
orig. François-Eugène, prince de Savoie-Carignan born Oct. 18, 1663, Paris, France died April 24, 1736, Vienna, Austria French-Austrian general. Born in Paris, he was the son of the count de Soissons, of the house of Savoy-Carignan, and of Olympe Mancini (see Mancini family), niece of Jules Mazarin. Louis XIV severely restrained Eugene's ambitions, prompting him to leave France and enter the service of Emperor Leopold I. He later served Joseph I and Charles VI. He quickly distinguished himself in battle and advanced in rank to imperial field marshal at age
He fought notably against the Turks in central Europe and the Balkans and against France in the War of the Grand Alliance and the War of the Spanish Succession. With his friend the duke of Marlborough, he won the important victory at the Battle of Blenheim (1704) and ousted the French from Italy. In 1718 he won a great triumph over the Turks, taking the city of Belgrade. He later served as governor in the Austrian Netherlands (1714-24). An outstanding strategist and an inspired leader, he was regarded as one of the greatest soldiers of his generation
Historic dynasty of Europe and the ruling house of Italy (1861-1946). Its founder was Umberto I the Whitehanded (d. 1048?), who held the county of Savoy and areas east of the Rhône River and south of Lake Geneva. His medieval successors, including Amadeus VI, added territory in the western Alps where France, Italy, and Switzerland converge. In 1416 the house was raised to ducal status in the Holy Roman Empire, after which it declined until the late 16th century. Although under French domination in the 17th century, the house under Victor Amadeus II acquired territory in northeastern Italy and attained the royal title, first of the kingdom of Sicily (1713), which he exchanged for Sardinia (1720). The house was powerful in the Risorgimento, and under the kings Victor Emmanuel I, Victor Emmanuel II, and Charles Albert it contributed to the 19th-century unification of Italy. It then lost its prominence, and the monarchs Umberto I and Victor Emmanuel III served mainly as figureheads until the vote for a republic in 1946 ended Savoy rule