34 Spanien: Orden Karl III. Großkreuz - persönliches Exemplar König Carlo Albertos von Sardinien (1798-1849).
Gold and enamel. A beautifully stitched original sash made of the finest moiré silk with a stitched ribbon rosette.
A magnificent piece of the very finest jeweller’s quality from the first half of the 19th century.
A highly significant historical piece from the collection of what is arguably the most important ruler of the House of Savoy in the 19th century.
Charles Albert Amadeus, Italian: Carlo Alberto Amadeo (born 2 October 1798 in Turin; died 28 July 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 to 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 onwards, 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 13 March 1821 following an uprising by the secret society of the Carbonari, he was temporarily appointed regent by the latter, 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 Charles Albert, who may have supported the Carbonari, promulgated a liberal constitution, which was subsequently repealed by Charles Felix upon his return. The latter 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 code of law modelled on the Code Napoléon, reorganised the military and supported the arts and sciences. Shortly after ascending 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 4 March 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 23 March 1848. Following 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 9 August 1848. Following an uprising in Tuscany, war broke out once more, in which Charles Albert was defeated by Radetzky at Novara on 23 March 1849. Consequently, Charles Albert decided to abdicate in favour of his son Victor Emmanuel II.
He departed that very evening. He travelled by carriage to the Principality of Monaco, where he arrived on 26 March. In Nice, he was issued with a passport enabling him to travel without difficulty through France, Spain and Portugal. On 1 April, he reached Bayonne. He continued on to Torquemada, Valladolid, León and La Coruña, where he arrived on 10 April and where the roads ended. On horseback, in bad weather, he reached Lugo and crossed the border into Portugal at Caminha on 15 April. From there, he reached Viana do Castelo, Póvoa de Varzim and finally Porto on 19 April.
Charles Albert was ill and was accommodated at the Hotel do Peixe, where he stayed for two weeks whilst his condition deteriorated. He then moved into the house of a private individual (Rua de Entre Quintas) overlooking the sea. Here, on 3 May, he welcomed Giacinto Provana di Collegno and Luigi Cibrario, who brought him greetings from the Sardinian government. He said to them:
“Despite my abdication, should a new war ever break out against Austria … I shall spontaneously, even as a simple soldier, charge into the ranks of the enemy … one day what I have sought shall be achieved. […] The nation may have had better principles than I, but no one loved it so much. To make it free, independent and great … I have made every sacrifice with a glad heart … I sought death [in battle] and did not find it ...”
The former king suffered from a cough and declining strength; he had suffered two heart attacks. He read letters and newspapers arriving from Italy. He wrote to his wife; and he wrote frequently to the Countess of Robilant. He forbade his mother, his wife and his children from visiting him.
In June, his health deteriorated further. From 3 July onwards, he was unable to get out of bed and was shaken by increasingly frequent coughing fits. On the morning of 28 July, he felt better; then he suffered a third heart attack. The Portuguese priest Antonio Peixoto, who was providing 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 pm, aged just under 51.
The body was embalmed and laid in state in Porto Cathedral. On 3 September, the ships Monzambano and Goito arrived under the command of Eugenio di Savoia, cousin of the deceased. On 19 September, the body was taken aboard the Monzambano, which set sail for Genoa that very evening, arriving there on 4 October. The funeral took place on 13 October in Turin Cathedral, attended by a large crowd, and was celebrated by the Archbishop of Chambéry, Alexis Billiet, and five Piedmontese bishops. The following day, the body was interred in the crypt of the Basilica of Superga near Turin.