38 Vatikan: Bruststern des Christus - Orden - persönliches Exemplar König Carlo Albertos von Sardinien (1798-1849).
Silver, with the order's cross in gold and enamel. Mounted on a double pin. The star body is hand-embossed silver.
A magnificent example of the finest early Italian goldsmithing.
A highly significant historical piece from the collection of arguably the most important 19th-century ruler of the House of Savoy.
Charles Albert Amadeus, Italian: Carlo Alberto Amadeo (born October 2, 1798, in Turin; died July 28, 1849, in Porto) was King of Sardinia-Piedmont and Duke of Savoy from 1831 to 1849.
Charles Albert was the son of Charles Emmanuel of Savoy-Carignan and his wife Maria Christina of Saxony, daughter of Duke Charles of Courland. As early as 1800, he succeeded his father in the French and Piedmontese possessions with the title of Prince of Carignan. However, until he came of age, he remained under the guardianship of his mother, who remarried the Prince of Montléart. He was educated in Dresden, Geneva, and later in Paris in an intellectual atmosphere. From 1817 onward, he lived on his estates in Piedmont, where he took the lead in the revolution in 1821.
After King Victor Emmanuel I of Sardinia abdicated on March 13, 1821, following an uprising by the secret society of the Carbonari, he was temporarily appointed regent by the Carbonari, as the new king, Charles Felix—a younger brother of Victor Emmanuel I—was still in Modena. Charles Albert, who may have supported the Carbonari, issued a liberal constitution, which was repealed by Charles Felix upon his return. Charles Felix sent him to Spain, where he was to support the monarchist forces of France and suppress the liberal revolution, thereby enabling Ferdinand VII to return to the throne. This restored Charles Albert’s tarnished reputation among the conservatives.
In 1831, King Charles Felix died childless, and Charles Albert succeeded him to the throne as a distant cousin. He initially continued his father’s conservative policies, entered into a military alliance with Austria, and suppressed liberal movements. Nevertheless, during his reign he implemented reform projects, created a legal code modeled on the Code Napoléon, reorganized the military, and supported the arts and sciences. Shortly after assuming the throne, he opened the exclusive Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus to members of the bourgeoisie and established the Civil Order of Merit of Savoy. In 1836, he financed the Reduit Carlo Alberto, named after him, in the fortress of Fenestrelle, and in 1840 he made contact with moderate liberals and began to turn increasingly against Austria. With the Fusione Perfetta of 1847, the Royal Sardinian States, which had previously been united only by personal union, were merged into a unified state under the name “Kingdom of Sardinia.”
On March 4, 1848, he approved a constitution that established a constitutional monarchy. Following the outbreak of a revolution in the Austrian-ruled Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia, influenced by Camillo Benso di Cavour, he declared war on Austria on March 23, 1848.
After initial successes (Battle of Goito), he suffered a defeat at the Battle of Custozza near Lake Garda against Count Joseph Radetzky and concluded an armistice on August 9, 1848. Following an uprising in Tuscany, war broke out again, in which Charles Albert was defeated by Radetzky at Novara on March 23, 1849. Consequently, Charles Albert decided to abdicate in favor of his son Victor Emmanuel II.
He departed that very evening. He traveled by carriage to the Principality of Monaco, where he arrived on March 26. In Nice, he received a passport that allowed him to travel freely through France, Spain, and Portugal. On April 1, he reached Bayonne. He continued on to Torquemada, Valladolid, León, and La Coruña, where he arrived on April 10 and where the roads ended. On horseback, he reached Lugo in bad weather and crossed the border into Portugal at Caminha on April 15. From there, he reached Viana do Castelo, Póvoa de Varzim, and finally Porto on April 19.
Charles Albert was ill and was lodged at the Hotel do Peixe, where he stayed for two weeks while his condition worsened. He then moved into the home of a private citizen (Rua de Entre Quintas) overlooking the sea. Here, on May 3, he welcomed Giacinto Provana di Collegno and Luigi Cibrario, who brought him greetings from the Sardinian government. To them he said:
“Despite my abdication, should a new war ever break out against Austria... I will spontaneously, even as a simple soldier, charge into the ranks of the enemy... what I have sought will one day be achieved. […] The nation may have had better principles than I, but no one loved it as much. To make it free, independent, and great... I made every sacrifice with a joyful heart... I sought death [in battle] and did not find it...”
The former king suffered from a cough and waning strength; he had two heart attacks. He read letters and newspapers that came from Italy. He wrote to his wife; and he wrote extensively to the Countess of Robilant. He forbade his mother, his wife, and his children from visiting him.
In June, his health continued to deteriorate. From July 3 onward, he could no longer get out of bed and was shaken by increasingly frequent coughing fits. On the morning of July 28, he felt better; then he suffered a third heart attack. The Portuguese priest Antonio Peixoto, who provided him with spiritual assistance, administered the last rites. Karl Albrecht murmured: In manus tuas, Domine, commendo spiritum meum (“Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit.”) He fell asleep with the crucifix on his chest and died at 3:30 p.m. at the age of just under 51.
The body was embalmed and laid in state in Porto Cathedral. On September 3, the ships Monzambano and Goito arrived under the command of Eugenio di Savoia, cousin of the deceased. On September 19, the body was placed aboard the Monzambano, which set sail for Genoa that very evening, arriving there on October 4. The funeral took place on October 13 in Turin Cathedral, attended by a large crowd, and was celebrated by Alexis Billiet, Archbishop of Chambéry, and five Piedmontese bishops. The following day, the body was interred in the crypt of the Basilica of Superga near Turin.