Prince Amedeo, Duke of Aosta
Prince Amedeo | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Victor Emmanuel III | |||||
| Minister of the Colonies | Benito Mussolini Attilio Teruzzi | ||||
| Preceded by | Rodolfo Graziani | ||||
| Succeeded by | Pietro Gazzera (acting) | ||||
| Born | 21 October 1898 Turin, Kingdom of Italy | ||||
| Died | 3 March 1942 (aged 43) Nairobi, Kenya Colony | ||||
| Spouse | |||||
| Issue | |||||
| |||||
Prince Emanuele Filiberto, Duke of Aosta | |||||
| Mother | Princess Hélène of Orléans | ||||
| Italian Royalty |
| House of Savoy |
|---|
.svg) |
|
Victor Emmanuel II of Italy |
|
| Umberto I of Italy |
|
|
Victor Emmanuel III of Italy |
| Umberto II of Italy |
|
Prince Amedeo, 3rd Duke of Aosta (Amedeo Umberto Isabella Luigi Filippo Maria Giuseppe Giovanni di Savoia-Aosta; 21 October 1898 – 3 March 1942) was the third
(Africa Orientale Italiana, or AOI).Biography
Amedeo was born in
Amedeo was a very tall man (in stark contrast of the
Education and early military career
Amedeo was educated at St David's College,
Amedeo subsequently rejoined the Italian armed forces and became a pilot. In 1932, he joined the Italian Royal Air Force (
On 4 July 1931, upon the death of his father, Amedeo became the Duke of Aosta.
Viceroy and governor-general
In 1937, after the Italian conquest of
.World War II
When Italy declared war on the
In January 1941, the British launched a counter-invasion and the Italians went on the defensive in East Africa. The Italians fought throughout February. But, after fierce resistance, the Battle of Keren ended in Italian defeat,[6] after which the rest of Eritrea, including the port of Massawa, fell quickly. On 31 January, the Duke of Aosta reported that the Italian military forces in East Africa were down to 67 operational aircraft with limited fuel stocks. With supplies running low and with no chance of re-supply, the Duke of Aosta opted to concentrate the remaining Italian forces into several strongholds: Gondar, Amba Alagi, Dessie, and Gimma. He himself commanded the 7,000 Italians at the mountain fortress of Amba Alagi. With his water supply compromised, surrounded, and besieged by 9,000 British and Commonwealth troops and more than 20,000 Ethiopian irregulars, the Duke of Aosta surrendered Amba Alagi on 18 May 1941. Due to the gallant resistance of the Italian garrison, the British allowed them to surrender with honours of war.[7][8]
Death
Shortly after his surrender, the Duke of Aosta was interned in a prisoner-of-war camp in
Aftermath
Amedeo was well known and highly regarded for being a gentleman. In one instance, before he fled his headquarters at Addis Ababa, he wrote a note to the British to thank them in advance for protecting the women and children in the cities.
Count Galeazzo Ciano, Italian Foreign Minister under his father-in-law Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, paid Amedeo a high compliment in his famous diaries. Upon being given the news of the Duke's death Ciano wrote, "So dies the image of a Prince and an Italian. Simple in his ways, broad in outlook, and humane in spirit."
Emperor
Family
Amedeo was married 5 November 1927, in Naples, to his first cousin Princess Anne of Orléans (1906–1986),[10] daughter of Prince Jean, Duke of Guise, and his wife, Princess Isabelle of Orléans.
They had two daughters:
- Princess Margherita of Savoy-Aosta (7 April 1930 Capodimonte Palace - 10 January 2022); married Robert, Archduke of Austria-Este (son of the last Austrian emperor, Charles I) on 28 December 1953. They had five children.[citation needed]
- Miramare Castle - 18 November 2023 at Brasil); married Prince Casimir of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, son of Prince Gabriel of Bourbon-Two Sicilies and his second wife, Princess Cecylia Lubomirska, on 29 January 1967. They had four children.[citation needed]
Cultural depictions
Prince Amedeo's time in Italian Cyrenaica was depicted in the 1981 film Lion of the Desert; Amedeo was played by Sky du Mont.[11]
Amedeo was also briefly mentioned in A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway.
See also
- Colonial heads of Italian East Africa
- East African Campaign (World War II)
- History of Libya as Italian Colony
- Kingdom of Italy (1861–1946)
Ancestry
| Ancestors of Prince Amedeo, Duke of Aosta | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
References
- ^ Hanson, The Wandering Princess, 161. The school is often mis-identified as St Andrew's College.
- ^ Time Magazine, Muktar
- ^ Time Magazine, Peace in Libya
- ^ Lion of the Desert - Wikipedia Lion of the Desert
- ^ Time Magazine, War Without Water
- ^ Time Magazine, Last Act in East Africa
- ISBN 9780306805066.
- ^ Time Magazine Aosta on Alag?
- ^ Time Magazine, Died. Prince Amedeo di Savoia, Duke of Aosta
- ^ "Italian Royal Wedding 1927". British Pathe News.
- ISBN 9783631661253– via Google Books.
- Hanson, Edward (2017). The Wandering Princess: Princess Helene of France, Duchess of Aosta (1871–1951). Fonthill. ISBN 978-1-78155-592-7.
External links
- Newspaper clippings about Prince Amedeo, Duke of Aosta in the 20th Century Press Archives of the ZBW
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
