Umberto I

The son of Victor Emanuel II , the elder brother of Amadeus of Spain .

Even before accession to the throne, Umberto proved himself as a brave soldier in the second battle of Kustots , which the Italians, however, lost. At the same time, Umberto was not a particularly gifted politician, he lacked paternal flexibility - he relied excessively on simple power methods, did not always make concessions, and even completely ignored certain problems of the country, considering them to be “incurable traits of an Italian character” (in particular, the impoverishment of the peasantry of southern Italy, which took on disastrous proportions and to a large extent contributed to the radicalization of Italian society and the strengthening of immigration to America). Offended by the fact that the French “took Tunisia from under his nose” (1881), he allowed Bismarck to carry Italy into the Triple Alliance . Due to armed reprisals against striking workers undertaken on his orders, he was extremely unpopular. In addition, during his reign, Italy embarked on the path of colonial conquest, wars were launched in Somalia and Ethiopia , costing the country enormous material and significant casualties, but yielding essentially no results (the Italians acquired, ultimately, arid, arid , poor for the resources of Somalia, moreover, with the rebellious Muslim population, it was simply not able to either recoup costs or give satisfaction to public opinion).

November 17, 1878 in Naples , an attempt was made on him by the anarchist Giovanni Passannante . On April 22, 1897, the second unsuccessful attempt was also carried out by the anarchist Petro Achcharito .

In 1900, he was shot dead in Monza by Italian anarchist Gaetano Breschi, who lived in the USA.

Many streets and public buildings are named after Umberto I in Italy, including the largest Roman hospital and the majestic Umberto I Gallery ("Galleria Umberto I") in Naples.

Umberto I, like his father, is buried in the Roman Pantheon .

The Legend of the Double

King of Italy Umberto I once went into a small restaurant in the city of Monza to have lunch. The order from his Majesty respectfully accepted the owner of the institution. Looking at the owner of the restaurant, the king suddenly realized that in front of him was his exact copy. The owner of the restaurant and his face and physique was very much like his majesty. The men talked and found other similarities: both the king and the owner of the restaurant were born on the same day and year (March 14, 1844). They were born in the same city. Both are married to women named Margarita. The owner of the restaurant opened his restaurant on the day of the coronation of Umberto I. But the coincidence did not end there. In 1900, King Umberto was informed that the owner of the restaurant, in which the king liked to be from time to time, died in a gunshot accident. No sooner had the king expressed his condolences than he himself was shot by an anarchist from the crowd surrounding the carriage.

Since 1868 he was married to his cousin Margarita of Savoy . The couple had their only son - the future king Victor Emmanuel III ( 1869 - 1947 ).

• Giorgio Candeloro . Storia dell'Italia moderna. - Mil. : Feltrinelli, 1986.