Savoy

This article is about the eponymous cultural-historical region. For other uses, see Savoy (disambiguation). For the two French departments in the same region, see Savoie and Haute-Savoie.
Savoy
Coat of arms of Savoy
Coat of arms
Anthem: Le Chant des Allobroges
The Song of the Allobroges
Location of Savoy
CapitalChambéry
Largest cityAnnecy
Common languages
Demonym(s)
  • Savoyard (in common use nowadays)[1]
  • Savoisian (used before annexation)
  • Savoyan (historic; nowadays obsolete)
LegislatureSovereign Senate of Savoy (dissolved in 1860)
Establishment
• Foundation of County
1003
• Promotion to Duchy by Emperor Sigismund
February 19, 1416
June 14, 1860
Area
• Total
10,416 km2 (4,022 sq mi)
Population
• 2020 census
1,274,956
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)
UTC+2 (CEST)
Drives onright
Calling code33

Savoy (/səˈvɔɪ/;[2] French: Savoie [savwa] ⓘ) [n 1] is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps. Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south and west and to the Aosta Valley in the east.

Savoy emerged as the feudal County of Savoy ruled by the House of Savoy during the 11th to 14th centuries.[3] The original territory, also known as "ducal Savoy" or "Savoy proper", is largely co-terminous with the modern French Savoie and Haute-Savoie départements, but the historical expansion of Savoyard territories, as the Duchy of Savoy (1416–1860) included parts of what is now western Italy and southwestern Switzerland. The current border between France and Italy is due to the Plombières Agreement of 1858, which in preparation for the unification of Italy ceded western Savoy to France, while the eastern territories in Piedmont and Liguria were retained by the House of Savoy, which was to become the ruling dynasty of Italy.

  1. ^ Jack D. Street. "The Independence of Savoy and the Autonomy of the Valle d'Aosta", The French Review, Vol 71, No 3, Feb. 1998, pp 396–404 JSTOR 398970 accessed 4 Oct 2008.
  2. ^ "Savoy on www.oxforddictionaries.com". Archived from the original on 2018-12-25. Retrieved 2014-02-16.
  3. ^ The Romance of the House of Savoy (Vol.1). Weil, Alethea. Putnam, New York (1898), Intro. p.1


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