Order of the Crown of Italy

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
TypeDynastic Order of Knighthood
Established20 February 1868
Royal houseHouse of Savoy
EligibilityMilitary, civilian
Awarded forMeritorious Service or Achievement
StatusRarely constituted
FounderKing Victor Emmanuel II
Grand MasterPrince Emanuele Filiberto, Prince of Venice
Chairman of the CouncilVacant
GradesKnight 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 Today the Order of the Crown has been replaced by the Order of Merit of Savoy and is still conferred on new knights by the current head of the house of Emanuele Filiberto, Prince of Venice.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]

  1. ^ Founded by Royal Decree No. 4251 of 20 February 1868, renewed by Royal Decree No. 4850 of 24 January 1869, Royal Magistral Decree of 17 November 1907 and Royal Decree No. 276 of 16 March 1911
  2. ^ Ordini Cavallereschi del Regno d'Italia Archived 2006-05-07 at the Wayback Machine Corpo della Nobiltà Italiana (retrieved 10 September 2009)