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Umberto I
King of Italy
Reign	January 9, 1878 - July 29, 1900
Coronation	January 9, 1878
Born	14 March 1844
	Turin, Italy
Died	July 29, 1900
	Monza, Italy
Buried	Pantheon, Rome
Predecessor	Vittorio Emanuele II
Successor	Vittorio Emanuele III
Consort	Margherita of Savoy
Issue	Vittorio Emanuele
Royal House	House of Savoy
Royal anthem	Marcia Reale
Father	Vittorio Emanuele II
Mother	Maria Adelaide

Umberto I, King of Italy or Humbert I of Italy (Umberto Ranieri Carlo Emanuele Giovanni Maria Ferdinando Eugenio di Savoy), (14 March 1844 – 29 July 1900) was the King of Italy from 9 January 1878 until his death. He was deeply loathed in left-wing circles, especially among anarchists, because of his hard-line conservatism and support of the Bava-Beccaris massacre in Milan. He was killed by anarchist Gaetano Bresci two years after the incident. He is the only head of Italian state to have been assassinated.

Contents 1 Youth 2 Reign 2.1 First assassination attempt 2.2 Turmoil 2.3 Alliances and colonialism 2.4 Bava-Beccaris massacre 2.5 Death 3 Titles and honours as King of Italy 4 Quotes 5 Ancestors 6 External links

The son of Vittorio Emanuele II and of Adelaide, archduchess of Austria, Umberto was born in Turin, then capital of the kingdom of Sardinia, on March 14, 1844. His education was entrusted to, amongst others, Massimo Taparelli, marquis d'Azeglio and Pasquale Stanislao Mancini.

Since March 1858 he had a military career in the Sardinian army, beginning with the rank of captain. Umbreto took part to the Italian Wars of Independence: he was present at the battle of Solferino in 1859, and in 1866 commanded the XVI Division at the Villafranca battle that followed the Italian defeat at Custoza.

On 21 April 1868 Umberto married his first cousin, Margherita Teresa Giovanna, Princess of Savoy. Their son was Victor Emmanuel, prince of Naples; later Victor Emmanuel III of Italy.

Ascending the throne on the death of his father (January 9, 1878), Umberto adopted the title "Umberto I of Italy" rather than "Umberto IV" (of Savoy), and consented that the remains of his father should be interred at Rome in the Pantheon, and not in the royal mausoleum of Basilica of Superga.

Italian Royalty House of Savoy Victor Emmanuel II Children    Princess Marie Clothilde    Umberto I (born 1844)    Amadeo I, King of Spain (born 1845)    Maria Pia, Queen of Portugal (born 1847)     Vittoria (born 2 December 1848)    Emanuele Alberto (born 16 March 1851), Count of Mirafiori and Fontanafredda. Grandchildren    Emanuele Filiberto, Duke of Aosta    Vittorio Emanuele, Count of Turin    Luigi, Duke of Abruzzi    Umberto, Conte of Salemi Great Grandchildren    Amedeo, Duke of Aosta    Aimone, King of Croatia Great Great Grandchildren    Margherita, Archduchess of Austria-Este    Princess Maria Christina    Amedeo, Duke of Aosta Great Great Great Grandchildren    Princess Bianca    Aimone, Duke of Apulia    Princess Mafalda Umberto I Children    Victor Emmanuel III Victor Emmanuel III Children    Princess Yolanda    Princess Mafalda    Umberto II    Giovanna, Queen of Bulgaria    Princess Maria Umberto II Children    Princess Maria Pia    Victor Emmanuel, Prince of Naples    Princess Maria Gabriella    Princess Maria Beatrice Grandchildren    Emanuele Filiberto, Prince of Venice and Piedmont Great Grandchildren    Princess Vittoria    Princess Luisa

While on a tour of the kingdom, accompanied by Premier Benedetto Cairoli, he was attacked by an anarchist, Giovanni Passannante, during a parade in Naples on (November 17, 1878). The king warded off the blow with his sabre, but Cairoli, in attempting to defend him, was severely wounded in the thigh. The would-be assassin was condemned to death, but the king commuted the sentence to one of penal servitude for life. The incident upset the health of Queen Margherita for several years.

The reign of Umberto I was a time of social upheaval, though it was later claimed to have been a tranquil belle époque. Social tensions mounted as a consequence of the relatively recent occupation of the kingdom of the two Sicilies, the spread of socialist ideas, public hostility to the colonialist plans of the various governments, especially Crispi's, and the numerous crackdowns on civil liberties. The protesters included the young, then left-wing, Benito Mussolini.

In foreign policy Umberto I approved the Triple Alliance with Austria-Hungary and Germany, repeatedly visiting Vienna and Berlin. Many in Italy, however, viewed with hostility an alliance with the former Austrian enemies in the independence wars, who were still occupying areas claimed by Italy.

He was also favourably disposed towards the policy of colonial expansion inaugurated in 1885 by the occupation of Massawa. He was suspected of aspiring to a vast empire in north-east Africa, a suspicion which tended somewhat to diminish his popularity after the disaster of Adowa on 1 March 1896.

Main article: Bava-Beccaris massacre

During the colonial wars in Africa, large demonstrations over the rising price of bread were held in Italy and on May 7, 1898 the city of Milan was put under military control by General Fiorenzo Bava-Beccaris, who ordered the use of cannons on the demonstrators; as a result, about 100 people were killed according to the authorities (even though some claim the death toll was about 350); about a thousand were wounded. King Umberto sent a telegram to congratulate Bava Beccaris on the restoration of order and later decorated him with the medal of Great Official of Savoy Military Order, greatly outraging a large part of the public opinion.

To a certain extent his popularity was enhanced by the firmness of his attitude towards the Vatican, as exemplified in his telegram declaring Rome "untouchable" (20 September 1886), and affirming the permanence of the Italian possession of the "Eternal City".

Being increasingly unpopular, Umberto I was victim of yet another murder attempt, by an unemployed ironsmith, Pietro Acciarito, who tried to stab him near Rome on 22 April 1897.

Finally, he was murdered with four revolver shots by the Italo-American anarchist Gaetano Bresci in Monza, on the evening of 29 July 1900. Bresci claimed he wanted to avenge the people killed by Bava Beccaris. Official propaganda of the day gave the assassinated King the nickname "the Good".

He was buried in the Pantheon in Rome, by the side of his father Victor Emmanuel II, on 9 August 1900. He was also the last Savoy to be buried there, as his son and successor Victor Emmanuel III died in exile.

Umberto the First, by the Grace of God, King of Italy, King of Sardinia, Cyprus, Jerusalem, Armenia, Duke of Savoy, count of Maurienne, Marquis (of the Holy Roman Empire) in Italy; prince of Piedmont, Carignano, Oneglia, Poirino, Trino; Prince and Perpetual vicar of the Holy Roman Empire; prince of Carmagnola, Montmellian with Arbin and Francin, prince bailliff of the Duchy of Aosta, Prince of Chieri, Dronero, Crescentino, Riva di Chieri e Banna, Busca, Bene, Brà, Duke of Genoa, Montferrat, Aosta, Duke of Chablais, Genevois, Duke of Piacenza, Marquis of Saluzzo (Saluces), Ivrea, Susa, del Maro, Oristano, Cesana, Savona, Tarantasia, Borgomanero e Cureggio, Caselle, Rivoli, Pianezza, Govone, Salussola, Racconigi con Tegerone, Migliabruna e Motturone, Cavallermaggiore, Marene, Modane e Lanslebourg, Livorno Ferraris, Santhià Agliè, Centallo e Demonte, Desana, Ghemme, Vigone, Count of Barge, Villafranca, Ginevra, Nizza, Tenda, Romont, Asti, Alessandria, del Goceano, Novara, Tortona, Bobbio, Soissons, Sant'Antioco, Pollenzo, Roccabruna, Tricerro, Bairo, Ozegna, delle Apertole, Baron of Vaud e del Faucigni, Lord of Vercelli, Pinerolo, della Lomellina, della Valle Sesia, del marchesato di Ceva, Overlord of Monaco, Roccabruna and 11/12th of Menton, Noble patrician of Venice, patrician of Ferrara.

• "Remember to be a king all you need to know is how to sign your name, read a newspaper and mount a horse".

8. Charles Emmanuel of Savoy, 6th Prince of Carignano

4. Charles Albert of Sardinia

9. Princess Maria Christina of Saxony

2. Victor Emmanuel II of Italy

10. Ferdinand III, Grand Duke of Tuscany

5. Maria Theresa of Austria and Tuscany

11. Luisa of the Two Sicilies

1. Umberto I of Italy

12. Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor

6. Archduke Rainer of Austria

13. Infanta Maria Louisa of Spain

3. Adelaide, Queen of Sardinia

14. Charles Emmanuel of Savoy, 6th Prince of Carignano

7. Princess Elisabeth of Savoy-Carignano

15. Princess Maria Christina of Saxony

• External link: Genealogy of recent members of the House of Savoy

This article incorporates text from theEncyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.

Umberto I of Italy House of Savoy Born: March 14 1844 Died: July 29 1900
Regnal titles
Preceded by Victor Emmanuel II	King of Italy 1878-1900	Succeeded by Victor Emmanuel III