Sardinia, kingdom of

Sardinia, kingdom of, name given to the possessions of the house of Savoy (see Savoy, house of) in 1720, when the island of Sardinia was awarded (by the Treaty of London) to Duke Victor Amadeus II of Savoy to compensate him for the loss of Sicily to Austria. Besides Sardinia, the kingdom included Savoy, Piedmont, and Nice; Liguria, including Genoa, was added by the Congress of Vienna in 1815. During the Risorgimento the kingdom expanded to include almost all Italy. Lombardy was added in 1859. In 1860, Parma, Modena, Bologna, Marche, and the Romagna (i.e., the Papal States except Rome and Latium) were annexed by the kingdom. After the annexation (1861) of the Two Sicilies, Victor Emmanuel II of Sardinia was proclaimed king of Italy. Although the name of the kingdom of Sardinia was derived from the island, Turin was its capital except from 1799 to 1814, when the mainland territories were annexed by France. During that period, Cagliari, on Sardinia, was the royal residence.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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