Italian Republic There are five
orders of knighthood awarded in recognition of service to the
Italian Republic. Below these sit a number of other decorations, associated and otherwise, that do not confer knighthoods. The degrees of knighthood, not all of which apply to all orders, are Knight (
Cavaliere abbreviated
Cav.), Officer (
Ufficiale abbreviated
Uff.), Commander (
Commendatore abbr.
Comm.), Grand Officer (''Grand'Ufficiale
, abbr. Gr. Uff.
), Knight Grand Cross (Cavaliere di Gran Croce
, abbr. Cav. Gr. Croce
) and Knight Grand Cross with cordon (Cavaliere di Gran Croce con cordone''). Italian citizens may not use within the territory of the Republic honours or distinctions conferred on them by non-national orders or foreign states, unless authorised by
Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The use of awards of the
Holy See (including the
Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre) is to be authorized by
Presidency of the Council of Ministers, while the use of those of the
Sovereign Military Order of Malta, enjoying formal recognition in Italy, do not need any authorization to boast. The Royal
House of Savoy, Italy's former Royal Family, also continues to bestow knighthoods in three orders of chivalry previously recognised by the
Kingdom of Italy. In fact,
Umberto II, the last King of Italy did not abdicate, and so he preserved his
fons honorum: today the Grand Mastership of the orders remain under the prerogatives of Head of the
House of Savoy, claimed between
Emanuele Filiberto, Prince of Venice and
Aimone, Duke of Aosta. Today these continue merely as dynastic orders of the Royal House in exile. While their bestowal is suppressed by law in Italy, the use of those decorations conferred prior to 1951 is recognised, exclusive of any right of precedence in official ceremonies. However the Savoy orders, are theoretically recognized by the
Holy See amongst others, for example the
Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus were recognized by
papal bull of
Pope Gregory XIII, where he bestowed upon
Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy and his Savoy successors, the right to confer this knighthood in perpetuity. The
House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies from the
Kingdom of the Two Sicilies additionally continues to bestow knighthoods, including the
Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George which is fully recognised by the Italian republic. Also the Houses of
Bourbon-Parma and
Habsburg-Tuscany continues to do so.
The Kingdom of Italy The
Sardinian orders of the Most Holy Annunciation, of Saints Maurice and Lazarus and the Military and Civil orders of Savoy were continued on the
unification of Italy in 1861. These were augmented during the Liberal period by the Order of the Crown of Italy, the Chivalrous Order of Agricultural, Industrial and Commercial Merit, the Colonial Order of the Star of Italy and later, by the Civil and Military Order of the Roman Eagle. In contrast to the Republican orders, the feminine style
Dama is used for women. The
Knight Bachelor, usually transmitted by male
primogeniture, was similar to a British
baronetcy but older. These
Cavaliere Ereditario were not, however, members of an order of chivalry.
The Kingdom of two Sicilies == Decorations ==