Supreme Order of the Holy Annunciation

Order of the Chain

It was founded in 1362 by Amadeus VI , Earl of Savoy (1343-1383) under the name of the Order of the Chain ( Italian: Ordine del collare ). The order was established on the occasion of the marriage of the sister of Count Bianchi with Galeazzo Visconti.

Amadeus VIII Peace-loving (1391-1451 gg.) In 1409 established the charter of the order, supplemented in 1431 and 1433. This statute determined that the number of knights, not exceeding fifteen, symbolizes the fifteen joys of the Virgin Mary .

The temple of the order was defined as the temple of Pierre Chatel. It contains the graves of the first gentlemen.

The life of the knights was determined by religious rules, special procedures for the initiation, burial and testament of property were provided.

Knights were required to always wear the badges of the order and not be members of other orders.

In 1433, it was provided for expulsion from the order, to which the brothers were subjected, who committed misconduct against honor, honesty and loyalty. In the history of the order, four were expelled from it: the first in the 17th century was Filiberto Ferrero Fieschi, the prince of Masserano, guilty of helping the Spaniards against the duke , the last - Benito Mussolini in 1943.

Order of the Annunciation

In 1518, the Duke of Charles III the Good gave the order the name of the Order of the Annunciation (Annunciation). The number of knights is set at 20.

In the same period, the order was proclaimed sovereign, which removed the order from the jurisdiction of ordinary magistracy.

In 1570 and 1577, the Duke Emanuel Philibert continued the transformation of the order, in particular, he excluded from the maximum number of twenty knights the Crown Prince and the Duke himself.

Applicants must have had nobility of origin at least in the fifth generation. The new charter also introduces more and more privileges for knights. They are all senators, no one has power over them, except for the sovereign, they are exempt from taxes. Then the temple of the Order became the Camaldolesi Church in Turin .

From 1721, the order began to belong to the Sardinian kingdom and existed unchanged until 1840, when the king of Sardinia, Carl Albert, declared the Collegno monastery as the temple of the order, until 1855, when Victor Emmanuel II moved the temple of the order to the Palatine Chapel of the Royal Palace in Turin.

From 1860 to 1946, the order was the highest order of the Italian Kingdom. Since 1860, Victor Emmanuel first violated the rule of noble origin of the gentlemen.

Since July 3, 1869, the Order was given the character of the Order of Merit. Now they could be granted to those who did not belong to the aristocracy, for great military and civil merits to the monarchy. The number of knights of the order, while remaining officially no more than twenty, was actually increased by the fact that clergymen and foreigners were excluded from the maximum number. Cavaliers of the order were called the cousins ​​of the king and received the right to be called "Excellency" ( Italian eccellenza ). Initiation into the order was now made by the decision of the knights, and by the decision of the king, who only listened to the opinions of the knights. In some cases, the signs of the order were also assigned to persons of non-Catholic faith, such as, for example, in 1815 the Duke of Wellington and in 1915 the Prince of Wales.

A royal decree of August 25, 1876 established that the Secretary of the Order should be the Chairman of the Council of Ministers.

By a decree of March 14, 1924, Victor Emmanuel III established that, in addition to priests and foreigners, royal blood can be added to twenty knights of the order in a straight line to the fourth knee.

The order ceased to be recognized in Italy after the fall of the monarchy and the expulsion of King Umberto II , however, it remained as a dynastic order and continues to be awarded by the king and his heirs in exile.

The badge of the order is the neck chain, consisting of “Savoy knots” interspersed with roses and the inscription FERT. The golden sign of the order was attached to the chain - three intertwined “Savoy knots”. The origin of roses as links in the chain is associated with the golden rose, which Pope Urban V handed to Count Amedeo VI in 1344. The rose symbolizes the virginity of Mary.

Initially, the chain of the order was a simple work: a gold hoop consisting of two rounded plates that were fastened on the back of the neck with a hook, four inscriptions “FERT” were minted on these two plates. On the front, on the chest, there was a sign of the order, which could have variations - to the taste of the holder, images of crosses, flowers and other symbols could be added to it. Amadeus VIII approved the form of order signs. They consisted of a silver gilded chain and a pendant-sign, consisting of three “Savoy knots”, symbolizing an indissoluble union, and should not have other leaving. There should have been fifteen roses in the chain.

In 1518, Duke Charles III of Good added the Annunciation scene to the pendant. Roses in the chain also changed, from now on there were seven red and seven white roses in the chain, and the central rose became half white and half red with gold spikes at the edges.

In the charter of Karl Emanuel, it was established that the order sign can be worn on a chain or without it, with a silk bow, depending on the situation. Subsequently, varieties of the chain were introduced - large and small.

In 1869, the use of the large and small chains was officially approved. A large chain was worn on the day of the Nativity of Christ , on the Feast of the Annunciation, during national and palace celebrations. Together with the large chain, the chest star of the order was established, which should be worn along with the large chain. A star was worn on the left side of the chest. In all other cases, it was prescribed to wear a small chain without a star. A large chain after the death of the owner, except for rare officially authorized cases, was returned by the relatives of the deceased to the King. Each returned chain was registered in the list of knights of the order.

As of 2008, the gentlemen of the order are:

• Victor Emmanuel of Savoy, Prince of Naples
• Emanuel Philibert of Savoy, Prince of Venice
• Amadeo of Savoy d'Aosta
• Aimone d`Aosta, Duke of Apulia (deprived of his order by his uncle, Prince Victor Emmanuel, but did not recognize this decision)
• Emperor of Japan Akihito
• King of Spain Juan Carlos I
• King of Bulgaria Simeon II
• Cardinal Angelo Sodano
• Ambassador Pellegrino Chigi
• King of Greece Constantine II
• Prince Alexander Pavlovich Yugoslav
• Grand Duke of Luxembourg Henry
• King of Romania Mihai I
• Prince of Mauritius of Hesse
• Marquis Alfredo Solaro del Borgo
• Prince Karl of Württemberg
• King of Belgium Albert II
• Prince Mariano Hugo zu Windishgretz
• Cesarevich and Grand Duke George Mikhailovich
• Crown Prince of Nicholas II Petrovich-Negosh Montenegrin

• 1800 - Alexander Vasilievich Suvorov
• 1857 - Grand Dukes Konstantin Nikolaevich and Mikhail Nikolaevich
• 1859 - Minister of Foreign Affairs Alexander Mikhailovich Gorchakov
• 1865 - Grand Duke Alexander Alexandrovich (future Emperor Alexander III )
• 1869 - Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich
• 1883 - Prince Vladimir Dolgorukov , Governor-General of Moscow and the Heir, Tsesarevich and Grand Duke Nikolai Alexandrovich (future Emperor Nicholas II )
• 1890 - Grand Dukes Georgy Alexandrovich and Nikolai Konstantinovich
• 1900 - Grand Duke Peter Nikolaevich
• 1901 - Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich
• 1902 - Grand Dukes Konstantin Konstantinovich , Dmitry Konstantinovich , George Mikhailovich , Alexander Mikhailovich , Prince of Imperial Blood George Maximilianovich, 6th Duke of Leuchtenberg
• 1909 - Minister of the imperial court and inheritance, Adjutant General Baron Vladimir Frederiks and Heir, Cesarevich and Grand Duke Alexei Nikolaevich
• 1911 - Prince of Imperial Blood John Konstantinovich Romanov
• 1976 - Vladimir Kirillovich Romanov

• Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
• Italy military awards
• Category: Knights of the Highest Order of the Holy Annunciation

• Annunziata // Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary : in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.
• All about the most famous orders of the world / S.Yu. Radelov . - Bestiary, 2013 .-- S. 56. - 112 p. - ISBN 978-609-456-049-1 .
• Order of the House of Savoy (Italian)
• Ordine Supremo del Collare della Santissima Annunziata (Italian)