View source for Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861)

{{short description|Savoyard rule in Sardinia (1720–1861)}}
{{broader|Kingdom of Sardinia|Kingdom of Sardinia (1324–1720)}}
{{Infobox former country
| native_name            = {{native name|la|Regnum Sardiniae}}<br />{{native name|sc|Rennu de Sardigna}}<br />{{native name|it|Regno di Sardegna}}<br />{{native name|pms|Regn ëd Sardëgna}}
| conventional_long_name = Kingdom of Sardinia
| common_name            = {{plainlist|
* Sardinia
* Piedmont–Sardinia
}}
| year_start             = 1720
| year_end               = 1861
| image_flag             = State Flag and War Ensign of the Kingdom of Sardinia (1816-1848).svg
| flag_type              = [[Fifth flag of the Kingdom of Savoy-Sardinia|Flag]]<br />(1816–1848)
| image_coat             = Greater coat of arms of the Kingdom of Sardinia (1833-1848).svg
| symbol_type            = [[#Flags, royal standards, and coats of arms|Coat of arms]]<br />(1833–1848)
| national_motto         = [[FERT]]<br />(Motto for the [[House of Savoy]])
| national_anthem        = [[S'hymnu sardu nationale]]<br />"The Sardinian National Anthem"<br />{{center| }}
| image_map              = Piedmont-Sardinia_1850s.png
| image_map_caption      = Kingdom of Sardinia in 1859 including conquest of Lombardy; [[United Provinces of Central Italy|client states]] in light green
| status                 = Sovereign kingdom
| status_text            = [[Sovereign state]] under [[House of Savoy|Savoy]]<br />(1720–1861)
* [[Composite monarchy|Composite state]]<br />(1720–1847)
* [[Unitary state]]<br />(1847–1861)
| capital                = {{plainlist|
* [[Cagliari]]<br />(1324–1847)
* [[Turin]]<br />(1847–1861)
}}
| common_languages       = [[Italian language|Italian]] (official, 1760), [[French language|French]] (official, pre-1760), [[Piedmontese language|Piedmontese]], [[Ligurian (Romance language)|Ligurian]], [[Occitan language|Occitan]], [[Franco-Provençal|Arpitan]], [[Sardinian language|Sardinian]], [[Corsican language|Corsican]], [[Catalan language|Catalan]], and [[Spanish language|Spanish]]
| religion               = [[Catholic Church|Catholic]]<br />([[State religion|official]], 1848)
| demonym                = [[Sardinian people|Sardinian]]
| government_type        = {{plainlist|
* [[Absolute monarchy]]<br />(1720–1848)
* Parliamentary [[constitutional monarchy]]<br />(1848–1861)
}}
| title_leader           = [[List of monarchs of Sardinia|King]]
| year_leader1           = 1720 (first)
| leader1                = [[Victor Amadeus II]]
| year_leader2           = 1849–1861 (last)
| leader2                = [[Victor Emmanuel II of Sardinia|Victor Emmanuel II]]
| title_deputy           = [[List of Prime Ministers of the Kingdom of Sardinia|Prime Minister]]
| year_deputy1           = 1848 (first)
| deputy1                = [[Cesare Balbo]]
| year_deputy2           = 1860–1861 (last)
| deputy2                = [[Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour|Camillo Benso]]
| legislature            = [[Parliament of the Kingdom of Sardinia|Parliament]]
| house1                 = [[Subalpine Senate]]
| house2                 = [[Chamber of Deputies (Kingdom of Sardinia)|Chamber of Deputies]]
| era                    = [[Late modern period|Late modern]]
| event1                 = [[Treaty of The Hague (1720)|Became part of the Savoy state]]
| date_event1            = 1720
| event4                 = [[Perfect Fusion]]
| date_event4            = 1848
| event5                 = [[Treaty of Turin (1860)|Loss]] of [[Savoy]] and [[County of Nice|Nice]]
| date_event5            = 1860
| event_end              = [[Proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy|Became the new Kingdom of Italy]]
| stat_year1             = 1821
| stat_pop1              = 3,974,500
| currency               = {{plainlist|
* [[Cagliarese]]<br />(1720–1813)
* [[Sardinian scudo]]<br />(1755–1816)
* [[Piedmontese scudo]]<br />(1755–1816)
* [[French franc]]<br />(1800–1814)
* [[Sardinian lira]]<br />(1816–1861)
}}
| p1                     = Kingdom of Sardinia (1700–1720)
| s1                     = Kingdom of Italy
| flag_p1                = Flag_of_Sardinia.svg
| flag_p3                = Savoie flag.svg
| p3                     = Duchy of Savoy
| flag_p5                = Flag of Genoa.svg
| p5                     = Republic of Genoa
| flag_p9                = Flag of Italy (1861-1946).svg
| p9                     = United Provinces of Central Italy
| flag_p10               = Flag of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies (1860).svg
| p10                    = Kingdom of the Two Sicilies
| flag_s1                = Flag of Italy (1861-1946) crowned.svg
| flag_s2                = Flag of France.svg
| s2                     = Second French Empire
| today                  = {{ubl|[[Italy]]|[[France]]|[[Monaco]]}}
}}
{{history of Sardinia}}
The term '''Kingdom of Sardinia''' denotes the [[Savoyard state]] from 1720 to 1861.<ref name="Sandulli & Vesperini 2011, pp. 47–49">{{cite journal|last1=Sandulli|first1=Aldo |last2=Vesperini|first2=Giulio |year= 2011|title= L'organizzazione dello Stato unitario|journal= Rivista trimestrale di diritto pubblico|pages= 48–95|url= http://dspace.unitus.it/bitstream/2067/1886/1/RTDP-Giulio.pdf|language= it|access-date= 19 March 2013|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20181102041246/http://dspace.unitus.it/bitstream/2067/1886/1/RTDP-Giulio.pdf|archive-date= 2 November 2018|quote=[At p. 94] Dall'indagine sulla legislazione del quadriennio 1861-64, innanzi svolta, trova conferma quanto affermato all'inizio e, cioè, che quello italiano non fu uno Stato nuovo, ma prevalse la continuità con le istituzioni e l'apparato amministrativo sabaudo. Si navigò a vista, senza elaborare un piano di riforme volto a costruire in modo organico e duraturo, preferendo operare per adattamenti e giustapposizioni. È emerso piuttosto chiaramente che si intese assicurare in tempi brevi la costruzione di uno Stato centrale (e periferico) forte, comprimendo gradualmente, soprattutto a seguito dell'emersione della questione meridionale, l'autonomia degli enti locali e i progetti riformatori tendenti al decentramento.|trans-quote=From the investigation into the legislation of the four-year period 1861–64 carried out above, what was stated at the beginning is confirmed, that is, that the Italian state was not a new one, but continuity with the institutions and the administrative apparatus of Savoy prevailed. They navigated by sight, without developing a plan of reforms aimed at building in an organic and lasting way, preferring to operate by adaptations and juxtapositions. It emerged rather clearly that the intention was to ensure in a short time the construction of a strong central (and peripheral) state, gradually compressing, especially following the emergence of the Southern Question, the autonomy of local authorities, and reform projects tending towards decentralization.}}</ref><ref name="Casùla 2012, pp. 32–49">{{cite book |last=Casùla |first=Francesco Cesare |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eSdXAwAAQBAJ |title=Italia. <!-- - --> Il grande inganno. 1861–2011 |publisher=Carlo Delfino Editore; Logus mondi interattivi (e-book) |year=2012 <!-- 12-18 --> |isbn=978-88-98062-13-3 |edition=e-book |location=Sassari; Ussana |pages=32–49 |language=it |quote=... 1479, Regno di 'Sardegna e Corsica' malgrado non rappresentasse tutta la Sardegna e malgrado la Corsica non fosse interessata ma considerata solo ambita (non sarà mai conquistata). Poi, dal 1479, si chiamo solo Regno di Sardegna ... poi solo Regno di Sardegna (fino al 1861), poi Regno d'Italia (fino al 1946), e, finalmente, Repubblica Italiana. E, tutto questo, senza alcuna soluzione di continuità. |trans-quote=... 1479, Kingdom of 'Sardinia and Corsica' even though it did not represent all of Sardinia and even though Corsica was not interested but only considered coveted (it will never be conquered). Then, from 1479, it was called only the Kingdom of Sardinia ... then only the Kingdom of Sardinia (until 1861), then the Kingdom of Italy (until 1946), and, finally, the Italian Republic. And, all this, without any solution of continuity. |access-date=20 December 2024 |via=Google Books}}</ref>{{refn|Prior to the Savoyard acquisition, the name of the state was originally {{lang|la|Regnum Sardiniae}} or {{lang|la|Regnum Sardiniae et Corsicae}} (when the kingdom was still considered to include Corsica) in Latin. It is {{lang|it|Regno di Sardegna}} in Italian, {{lang|sc|Rennu de Sardigna}} {{IPA|sc|ˈrenːu ðɛ zaɾˈdiɲːa|}} in Sardinian, {{lang|pms|Regn ëd Sardëgna}} in Piedmontese, {{lang|co|Regnu di Sardegna}} in Corsican, {{lang|es|Reino de Cerdeña}} in Spanish, {{lang|ca|Regne de Sardenya}} {{IPA|ca|ˈrɛŋnə ðə səɾˈðɛɲə|}} in Catalan, and {{lang|fr|Royaume de Sardaigne}} in French. Despite this, every [[king of Sardinia]] continued to retain the nominal title of {{lang|la|Rex Corsicae}} (King of Corsica). The kingdom was initially called {{lang|la|Regnum Sardiniae et Corsicae}}, in that it was originally meant to also include the neighbouring island of Corsica, until its status as a [[Republic of Genoa|Genoese]] land was eventually acknowledged by [[Ferdinand II of Aragon]],<ref>{{cite book |last=Casùla |first=Francesco Cesare |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eSdXAwAAQBAJ |title=Italia. <!-- - --> Il grande inganno. 1861–2011 |publisher=Carlo Delfino Editore; Logus mondi interattivi (e-book) |year=2012 <!-- 12-18 --> |isbn=978-88-98062-13-3 |edition=e-book |location=Sassari; Ussana |pages=44–45 |language=it |access-date=20 December 2024 |via=Google Books}}</ref> who dropped the last original bit mentioning Corsica in 1479.<ref name="Casùla 2012, pp. 32–49"/> Since then, the coinage minted since the establishment of the kingdom also bore the reference to Sardinia only.<ref>{{cite book|last=Piras|first=Enrico|year=1996|title=Le monete della Sardegna, dal IV secolo a.C. al 1842|language=it|location=Sassari|publisher=Fondazione Banco di Sardegna}}</ref>|group=nb}} From 1720 to 1847, only the island of [[Sardinia]] proper was part of the Kingdom of Sardinia, while the other mainland possessions (principally the [[Duchy of Savoy]], [[Principality of Piedmont]], [[County of Nice]], [[Duchy of Genoa]], and others) were held by the [[House of Savoy]] in their own right, hence forming a [[composite monarchy]] and a [[personal union]],<ref>{{cite book |title=Sabaudian Studies: Political Culture, Dynasty, and Territory (1400–1700) |year=2013 |publisher=Penn State University Press |isbn=978-1-61248-094-7 |volume=12 |doi=10.5325/j.ctv1c9hnc2.7|jstor=10.5325/j.ctv1c9hnc2 }}</ref><ref name="Vester 2013, p. 261">{{cite book |last=Vester |first=Matthew |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cJ6YEAAAQBAJ |title=Sabaudian Studies: Political Culture, Dynasty, and Territory (1400–1700) |year=2013 <!-- -03-25 --> |publisher=Penn State Press |isbn=978-0-271-09100-6 |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=cJ6YEAAAQBAJ&dq=savoy+composite+state&pg=PA261 261]  |access-date=20 December 2024 |archive-date=16 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230816081859/https://books.google.com/books?id=cJ6YEAAAQBAJ&dq=savoy+composite+state&pg=PA261 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Kalinowska |first1=Anna |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iopFEAAAQBAJ |title=Power and Ceremony in European History: Rituals, Practices and Representative Bodies since the Late Middle Ages |last2=Spangler |first2=Jonathan |year=2021 <!-- -09-09 --> |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-350-15219-9 |access-date=2023-05-10 |archive-date=2023-08-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230816081842/https://books.google.com/books?id=iopFEAAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref> which was formally referred to as the "'''States of His Majesty the King of Sardinia'''".<ref name="Stobbs 2000, pp. 210–253">{{cite book |last=Stobbs |first=Christopher |chapter=Savoyard diplomacy in the eighteenth century (1684-1798) |date=2000 |chapter-url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/politics-and-diplomacy-in-early-modern-italy/savoyard-diplomacy-in-the-eighteenth-century-16841798/2294875305E40614DA05EC1B2C9548C2 |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/politics-and-diplomacy-in-early-modern-italy/291ADD375A8A8F4D189C69DADB39576F|title=Politics and Diplomacy in Early Modern Italy: The Structure of Diplomatic Practice, 1450–1800 |pages=210–253 |editor-last1=Belton |editor-first1=Adrian |access-date=20 December 2024 |series=Cambridge Studies in Italian History and Culture |location=Cambridge |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-511-52329-8 |editor-last2=Frigo |editor-first2=Daniela |archive-date=10 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230510152613/https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/politics-and-diplomacy-in-early-modern-italy/savoyard-diplomacy-in-the-eighteenth-century-16841798/2294875305E40614DA05EC1B2C9548C2 |url-status=live }}</ref> This situation was changed by the [[Perfect Fusion]] act of 1847, which created a unitary kingdom. Due to the fact that [[Piedmont]] was the seat of power and prominent part of the entity, the state is also [[Pars pro toto (geography)|referred to]] as '''Sardinia–Piedmont''' or '''Piedmont–Sardinia''', and sometimes erroneously as the '''Kingdom of Piedmont'''.<ref name="Hearder 1983">{{cite book |last=Hearder|first=Harry|url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/mono/10.4324/9781315836836-12/sardinia-piedmont-harry-hearder |archive-date=2023-01-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230119191432/https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/mono/10.4324/9781315836836-12/sardinia-piedmont-harry-hearder |url-status=live|title=Italy in the Age of the Risorgimento 1790–1870 |publisher=Routledge |year=1983 |isbn=978-1-315-83683-6 |chapter=Cavour and the Achievement of Unity (1852–61) |pages=53–78 |doi=10.4324/9781315836836-12 |access-date=2023-01-19}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |year=1999|last=Chastain|first=James| title=Sardinia-Piedmont, Kingdom of, 1848–1849 |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of 1848 Revolutions|url=https://www.ohio.edu/chastain/rz/sard.htm |archive-date=2023-01-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230119191322/https://www.ohio.edu/chastain/rz/sard.htm |url-status=live|access-date=2023-01-19 |publisher=Ohio University|postscript=. Updated 2005.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Mikaberidze |first=Alexander |title=The Napoleonic Wars: A Global History |year=2020 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-995106-2 |location=New York}}</ref>

Before becoming a possession of the House of Savoy, the medieval [[Kingdom of Sardinia]] had been part of the [[Crown of Aragon]] and then of the burgeoning [[Spanish Empire]]. With the [[Treaty of The Hague (1720)]], the island of Sardinia and its title of kingdom were ceded by the [[House of Habsburg|Habsburg]] and [[House of Bourbon|Bourbon]] claimants to the Spanish throne to the [[Duke of Savoy]], [[Victor Amadeus II]]. The Savoyards united it with their historical possessions on the Italian peninsula, and the kingdom came to be progressively identified with the peninsular states, which included, besides Savoy and [[Duchy of Aosta|Aosta]], dynastic possessions like the Principality of Piedmont and the County of Nice, over both of which the Savoyards had been exercising their control since the 13th century and 1388, respectively.

Under Savoyard rule, the kingdom's government, ruling class, cultural models, and centre of population were entirely situated in the peninsula.<ref>{{cite web |date=20 July 1998|title=Sardinia, Historical Kingdom |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Sardinia-historical-kingdom-Italy |access-date=20 December 2024 |archive-date=4 December 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241204001343/https://www.britannica.com/place/Sardinia-historical-kingdom-Italy |url-status=live |website= Encyclopædia Britannica Online|postscript=. Updated 14 November 2024 2023.}}</ref> The island of Sardinia had always been of secondary importance to the monarchy. While the capital of the island of Sardinia and the seat of its viceroys had always been [[Cagliari]] by law (''[[de jure]]''), it was the Piedmontese city of [[Turin]], the capital of Savoy since the mid 16th century, which was the ''[[de facto]]'' seat of power. This situation would be conferred official status with the [[Perfect Fusion]] of 1847, when all the kingdom's governmental institutions would be centralized in Turin. 

When the peninsular domains of the House of Savoy were occupied and eventually annexed by [[Napoleonic France]], the [[king of Sardinia]] temporarily resided on the island for the first time in Sardinia's history under Savoyard rule. The [[Congress of Vienna]] (1814–1815), which restructured Europe after Napoleon's defeat, returned to Savoy its peninsular possessions and augmented them with Liguria, taken from the [[Republic of Genoa]]. Following [[Geneva]]'s accession to [[Switzerland]], the [[Treaty of Turin (1816)]] transferred [[Carouge]] and adjacent areas to the newly-created Swiss [[Canton of Geneva]]. In 1847–1848, through an act of Union analogous to the [[Acts of Union 1800|one between Great Britain and Ireland]], the various Savoyard states were unified under one legal system with their capital in Turin, and granted a constitution, the ''[[Statuto Albertino]]''.

By the time of the [[Crimean War]] in 1853, the Savoyards had built the kingdom into a strong power. There followed the annexation of [[Lombardy]] (1859), the [[United Provinces of Central Italy|central Italian states]] and the [[Kingdom of the Two Sicilies]] (1860), [[Veneto|Venetia]] (1866), and the [[Papal States]] (1870). On 17 March 1861, to more accurately reflect its new geographic, cultural and political extent, the Kingdom of Sardinia [[Proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy|changed its name to the Kingdom of Italy]],<ref>{{cite book |last=Raspi |first=Raimondo Carta |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Storia_della_Sardegna/rps0AAAAIAAJ<!-- https://archive.org/details/storiadellasarde0000unse 978-88-425-0685-0 --> |title=Storia della Sardegna |publisher=Ugo Mursia Editore |year=1971 |location=Milan |language=it |access-date=26 December 2024 |via=Google Books}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia|last=Casula|first=Francesco Cesare|url=https://archive.org/details/di.-sto.-sa.-dizionario-storico-sardo-di-francesco-cesare-casula-carlo-delfino-editore-2001-2003-ocr|title=Regno di Sardegna|encyclopedia=<!-- Di.Sto.Sa. --> Dizionario storico sardo|language=it|location=Sassari|publisher=Carlo Delfino Editore|year=2001|page=70|isbn=978-88-7138-241-8|oclc=315870784|quote=Il regno, che dal 1475 si chiamò semplicemente Regno di Sardegna rimase giudidicamente aggregato in Corona (Corona d'Aragona, poi Corona di Spagna) fino alla fine della corona d'Aragona ... La sua storia procede fino al Risorgimento, quando, il 17 marzo 1861, ha cambiato nome in Regno d'Italia.|trans-quote=The kingdom, which from 1475 was simply called the Kingdom of Sardinia, remained legally aggregated in the Crown (Crown of Aragon, then Crown of Spain) until the end of the Crown of Aragon ... Its history continues until the Risorgimento, when, on 17 March 1861, it changed its name to the Kingdom of Italy.|access-date=26 December 2024|via=Internet Archive}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Ortu |first=Leopoldo |title= Storia della Sardegna dal Medioevo all'età contemporanea|edition=1st|language=it|location=Cagliari|publisher= CUEC Editrice|isbn=978-88-8467-647-4|oclc=711514132|year=2011}}</ref> and its capital was eventually moved first to [[Florence]] and then to [[Rome]]. The Savoy-led Kingdom of Sardinia was thus the legal [[predecessor state]] of the Kingdom of Italy, which in turn is the predecessor of the present-day [[Italian Republic]].<ref name="Sandulli & Vesperini 2011, pp. 47–49"/><ref name="Casùla 2012, pp. 32–49"/>

== Terminology ==
The Kingdom of Sardinia was the title with the highest rank among the territories possessed by the [[House of Savoy]], and hence this title was and still is used often to indicate the whole of their possessions.<ref name="Kalinowska & Spangler 2021, p. 158">{{cite book |last1=Kalinowska |first1=Anna |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iopFEAAAQBAJ |title=Power and Ceremony in European History: Rituals, Practices and Representative Bodies since the Late Middle Ages |last2=Spangler |first2=Jonathan |year=2021 <!-- -09-09 --> |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-350-15219-9 |page=158 |access-date=20 December 2024 |archive-date=2023-08-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230816081842/https://books.google.com/books?id=iopFEAAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref> In reality, the Savoys ruled not a unitary state, but a complex array of different entities and titles with different institutional, cultural, and legal backgrounds.<ref name="Vester 2013, p. 261"/> These included for example the [[Duchy of Savoy]], [[Duchy of Aosta]], [[Principality of Piedmont]], and [[County of Nice]], which were distinct and not juridically part of the [[Kingdom of Sardinia]], which included only the island of [[Sardinia]] itself.<ref name="Vester 2013, p. 261"/><ref name="Storrs 2000">{{cite book |last=Storrs |first=Christopher |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zZWqTszlL3EC |title=War, Diplomacy and the Rise of Savoy, 1690–1720 |year=2000 <!-- -01-13 --> |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-139-42519-3 |access-date=20 December 2024 |archive-date=16 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230816081903/https://books.google.com/books?id=zZWqTszlL3EC |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Bianchi & Wolfe 2017, p. 142">{{cite book |last1=Bianchi |first1=Paola |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YUUzDwAAQBAJ |title=Turin and the British in the Age of the Grand Tour |last2=Wolfe |first2=Karin |year=2017 <!-- -09-21 --> |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-107-14770-6 |page=142 |access-date=20 December 2024 |archive-date=16 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230816081841/https://books.google.com/books?id=YUUzDwAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref> The situation changed with the [[Perfect Fusion]] of 1847, an act of King [[Charles Albert of Sardinia]] that abolished the administrative differences between the mainland states and the island of Sardinia, creating a unitary kingdom. The Savoys themselves referred to their possessions as a whole as "'''the States of the King of Sardinia'''" (Italian: ''gli Stati del Re di Sardegna'').<ref name="Kalinowska & Spangler 2021, p. 158"/> Modern-day historians use the term ''[[Savoyard state]]'' to indicate this entity, which is an example of [[composite monarchy]] where many different and distinct territories are united in a [[personal union]] by having the same ruler.<ref name="Vester 2013, p. 261"/><ref name="Storrs 2000"/><ref name="Bianchi & Wolfe 2017, p. 142"/>

== History ==
=== Early history of Savoy ===
{{main|Duchy of Savoy}}
[[File:Lands_of_Victor_Amadeus_II,_Duke_of_Savoy_-_it.png|thumb|The Savoyards' Italian possessions in the early 18th century]]
During the 3rd century BC, the [[Allobroges]] settled down in the region between the [[Rhône]] and the [[Alps]]. This region, named Allobrigia and later "Sapaudia" in Latin, was integrated to the [[Roman Empire]]. In the 5th century, the region of Savoy was ceded by the [[Western Roman Empire]] to the [[Burgundians]] and became part of the [[Kingdom of Burgundy]].

[[Piedmont]] was inhabited in early historic times by Celto-[[Ligurian language (ancient)|Ligurian]] tribes such as the [[Taurini]] and the [[Salassi]]. They later submitted to the [[Ancient Rome|Romans]] ({{Circa|220 BC}}), who founded several colonies there including ''Augusta Taurinorum ''(Turin) and ''Eporedia'' ([[Ivrea]]). After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the region was repeatedly invaded by the Burgundians, the [[Goths]] (5th century), [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantines]], [[Lombards]] (6th century), and the [[Franks]] (773). At the time, what is known today as Piedmont, as part of the [[Kingdom of Italy (Holy Roman Empire)|Kingdom of Italy]] within the [[Holy Roman Empire]], was subdivided into several [[wiktionary:marks|marks]] and counties.

In 1046, [[Oddo of Savoy]] added Piedmont to their main segment of [[Savoy]], with a capital at [[Chambéry]] (now in France). Other areas remained independent, such as the powerful [[Comune|communes]] of [[Asti]] and [[Alessandria]], and the [[Marquisate|marquisates]] of [[Marquisate of Saluzzo|Saluzzo]] and [[Marquisate of Montferrat|Montferrat]]. The [[County of Savoy]] was elevated to a [[duchy]] in 1416, and Duke [[Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy|Emmanuel Philibert]] moved the seat to [[Turin]] in 1563.

=== Exchange of Sardinia for Sicily ===
{{main|Kingdom of Sardinia (1700–1720)|Kingdom of Sicily under Savoy}}
[[File:QUATTRO_MORI.jpg|thumb|19th-century coat of arms of the Kingdom of Sardinia under the Savoy dynasty]]
The Spanish domination of Sardinia ended at the beginning of the 18th century, as a result of the [[War of the Spanish Succession]]. By the [[Treaty of Utrecht]] (1713), Spain's European empire was divided: Savoy received [[Kingdom of Sicily|Sicily]] and parts of the [[Duchy of Milan]], while [[Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles VI]] (the [[Holy Roman Emperor]] and [[Archduke of Austria]]), received the [[Spanish Netherlands]], the [[Kingdom of Naples]], Sardinia, and the bulk of the Duchy of Milan.

During the [[War of the Quadruple Alliance]], [[Victor Amadeus II]], Duke of Savoy, Prince of Piedmont, and by now also King of Sicily, had to agree to yield Sicily to the Austrian Habsburgs and receive Sardinia in exchange. The exchange was formally ratified in the [[Treaty of The Hague (1720)|Treaty of The Hague]] of 17 February 1720. Because the Kingdom of Sardinia had existed since the 14th century, the exchange allowed Victor Amadeus to retain the title of king in spite of the loss of Sicily. From 1720 to 1798, when [[Napoleon]] invaded Italy, the ''de facto'' government resided in Turin; Cagliari, which had been the capital of the Kingdom of Sardinia since 1324, returned to be the ''de facto'' government during the Savoy exile from 1798 to 1814. When Napoleon was first resided, the ''de facto'' government returned to Turin but did not officially become the capital of the Kingdom of Sardinia until 1847.

Victor Amadeus initially resisted the exchange of Sardinia for Sicilia in 1720. Until 1723, he continued to style himself King of Sicily rather than King of Sardinia. The state took the official title of Kingdom of Sardinia, Cyprus, and Jerusalem,<ref>{{cite news |date=7 May 1831 |title=N/A<!-- The new King of Sardinia, Cyprus, and Jerusalem, is a » 7 May 1831 » The Spectator Archive --> |url=https://archive.spectator.co.uk/article/7th-may-1831/8/the-new-king-of-sardinia-cyprus-and-jerusalem-is-a |access-date=26 December 2024 |work=The Spectator |page=8 |via=The Spectator Archive}}</ref> as the House of Savoy still claimed the thrones of [[Kingdom of Cyprus|Cyprus]] and [[Kingdom of Jerusalem|Jerusalem]], although both had long been under [[Ottoman rule]]. In 1767–1769, [[Charles Emmanuel III of Sardinia|Charles Emmanuel III]] annexed the [[Maddalena archipelago]] in the [[Strait of Bonifacio]] from the [[Republic of Genoa]] and claimed it as part of Sardinia, which became a part of the Sardinian region since then.

[[File:SardiniePiemont.jpg|thumb|A map of the Kingdom of Sardinia in 1856, after the [[Perfect Fusion]]]]
Since the Iberian period in Sardinia, common languages included [[Sardinian language|Sardinian]], [[Corsican language|Corsican]], [[Catalan language|Catalan]], and [[Spanish language|Spanish]].<ref>{{cite book|editor-last1=Ingrassia|editor-first1=Giorgia|editor-last2=Blasco Ferrer|editor-first2=Eduardo|year=2009|title=Storia della lingua sarda<!-- See also https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/zrph.2011.117/html -->|language=it|volume=3|location=Sassari|publisher=Cuec Editrice|isbn=978-8-88467-543-9}}</ref> Other languages included [[French language|French]], [[Piedmontese language|Piedmontese]], [[Ligurian (Romance language)|Ligurian]], [[Occitan language|Occitan]], and [[Arpitan]]. During the Savoyard period as a composite state, [[Italian language|Italian]], which alongside French had already been made official in the peninsula since the 16th century via the Rivoli Edict,<ref>{{cite book |last=Bolognesi |first=Roberto |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_ModAQAAIAAJ |title=The Phonology of Campidanian Sardinian: A Unitary Account of a Self-organizing Structure |year=1998 |location=The Hague |publisher=Holland Academic Graphics |isbn=978-90-5569-043-5 |access-date=23 December 2024|via=Google Books}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Cardia|first=Amos|year=2006|title=S'italianu in Sardìnnia|language=Sardinian|location=Ghilarza|publisher=Iskra|isbn=978-88-901-3675-7}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Matton|first1=Antonello|last2=Sanna|first2=Piero|year=2007|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zkNgaNVxdZUC|title=Settecento sardo e cultura europea. Lumi, società, istituzioni nella crisi dell'Antico Regime|language=it|location=Milan|publisher=FrancoAngeli Storia|page=18|isbn=978-88-464-8520-5|access-date=23 December 2024|via=Google Books}}</ref> was introduced to Sardinia in 1760.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://salimbasarda.net/istoria/sitalianu-in-sardigna-impostu-a-obligu-de-lege-cun-boginu/|url-status=dead|title=Limba Sarda 2.0S'italianu in Sardigna? Impostu a òbligu de lege cun Boginu – Limba Sarda 2.0|website=Limba Sarda 2.0|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151001072128/https://salimbasarda.net/istoria/sitalianu-in-sardigna-impostu-a-obligu-de-lege-cun-boginu/|archive-date=1 October 2015|access-date=28 November 2015}}</ref> With the Regio Biglietto of 25 July 1760, Italian was made a priority over French in Piedmont. The Kingdom of Sardinia's attempt of promotion of a unitary language was incisive,<ref>{{cite book |last=Caruana |first=Sandro |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xp7ptrf5AMgC |title=Lingue, letterature, nazioni. Centri e periferie tra Europa e Mediterraneo |year=2012 |publisher=FrancoAngeli |isbn=978-88-204-0899-2 |location=Milan |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=xp7ptrf5AMgC&pg=PA490 490] |language=it |access-date=26 December 2024 |via=Google Books}}</ref> and also the replacement of Spanish with Italian has been described as a "revolution of ideas".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Mattone |first1=Antonello |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zkNgaNVxdZUC |title=Settecento sardo e cultura europea. Lumi, società, istituzioni nella crisi dell'antico regime |last2=Sanna |first2=Piero |year=2007 |publisher=FrancoAngeli |isbn=978-88-464-8520-5 |location=Milan |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=zkNgaNVxdZUC&pg=PA19 19] |language=it |access-date=26 December 2024 |via=Google Books}}</ref> Since French was still in use in some provinces, the ''[[Statuto Albertino]]'' (1848) authorised the use of French.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Peverelli |first1=Pietro |title=Comenti intorno allo Statuto del Regno di Sardegna |year=1849 |publisher=Tip. Castellazzo e Degaudenzi |location=Turin |page=128 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_IVkAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA128 |access-date=26 December 2024|via=Google Books}}</ref>

=== Napoleonic Wars and the Congress of Vienna ===
In 1792, the Kingdom of Sardinia and the other states of the Savoy crown joined the [[War of the First Coalition]] against the [[French First Republic]], but was beaten in 1796 by [[Napoleon]] and forced to conclude the disadvantageous [[Treaty of Paris (1796)]], giving the French army free passage through Piedmont. On 6 December 1798 General [[Barthélemy Catherine Joubert|Joubert]] occupied Turin and forced [[Charles Emmanuel IV of Sardinia|Charles Emmanuel IV]] to abdicate and leave for the island of Sardinia. The provisionary government voted to unite Piedmont with France. In 1799, the Austro-Russians briefly occupied the city, but with the [[Battle of Marengo]] (1800), the French regained control. The island of Sardinia, having defeated the armies of the [[French expedition to Sardinia]] without the royal army's help, stayed out of the reach of the French for the rest of the war. 

The refusal by the Savoyards of recognizing the Sardinian's rights and representaion in government<ref>"The resentment of the Sardinian Nation towards the Piedmontese had been growing for more than half a century, when they [Piedmontese] began to keep for themselves all the lucrative employments on the island, to violate the ancient privileges granted to the Sardinians by the Kings of Aragon, to promote to the highest positions people of their own kind while leaving to the Sardinians only the episcopates of Ales, Bosa and Castelsardo, that is Ampurias. The arrongance and scorn with which the Piedmontese had been treating the Sardinians by calling them bums, dirty, cowards and other similar and irritating names, and above all the most common expression of ''Sardi molenti'', that is "Sardinian donkeys", did little but worsen their disposition as the days passed, and gradually alienated them from this nation." Tommaso Napoli, ''Relazione ragionata della sollevazione di Cagliari e del Regno di Sardegna contro i Piemontesi''</ref><ref>"The hostility against the Piedmontese was no longer a matter of employments, like the last period of Spanish rule, the dispatches of the viceroy Balbiano and the demands of the ''[[Stamenti]]'' may paint it out to be. The Sardinians wanted to get rid of them not only because they stood as a symbol of an anachronistic dominion, hostile to both the autonomy and the progress of the island, but also and perhaps especially because their presumptuosness and intrusiveness had already become insufferable." Raimondo Carta Raspi, ''Storia della Sardegna'', Editore Mursia, Milano, 1971, pp.793</ref><ref>"Che qualcosa bollisse in pentola, in Sardegna, poteva essere compreso fin dal 1780. Molte delle recriminazioni contro il governo piemontese erano ormai più che mature, con una casistica di atti, fatti, circostanze a sostenerle, tanto per la classe aristocratica, quanto per le altre componenti sociali." Onnis, Omar (2015). ''La Sardegna e i sardi nel tempo'', Arkadia, Cagliari, p.149</ref> caused the Sardinian Vespers (also known as the "Three years of revolution") started by {{lang|sc|sa dii de s'aciappa}}<ref>[http://www.condaghes.it/scheda.asp?id=978-88-86229-23-4&ver=sa ''Sa dì de s´acciappa – Dramma storico in due tempi e sette quadri''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180625021719/http://www.condaghes.it/scheda.asp?id=978-88-86229-23-4&ver=sa |date=2018-06-25 }}, Piero Marcialis, 1996, Condaghes</ref> ("the day of the pursuit and capture"), commemorated today as [[Sa die de sa Sardigna]], when people in Cagliari started chasing any Piedmontese functionaries they could find and expelled them from the island. Thus, Sardinia became the first European country to have engaged in a revolution of its own, the episode not being the result of a foreign military importation like in most of Europe.<ref>"Mentre a Parigi si ghigliottinava Robespierre e il governo repubblicano prendeva una piega più moderata, la Sardegna era in piena rivoluzione. Primo paese europeo a seguire l'esempio della Francia, peraltro dopo averne respinto le ''avance'' militari. La rivoluzione in Sardegna, insomma, non era un fenomeno d'importazione. [...] Le rivoluzioni altrove furono suscitate dall'arrivo delle armi francesi e da esse protette (come la [[Parthenopean Republic|rivoluzione napoletana del 1799]]). È un tratto peculiare, quasi sempre trascurato, della nostra stagione rivoluzionaria." Onnis, Omar (2015). ''La Sardegna e i sardi nel tempo'', Arkadia, Cagliari, p.152</ref>

In 1814, the Crown of Savoy enlarged its territories with the addition of the former [[Republic of Genoa]], now a duchy, and it served as a [[buffer state]] against France. This was confirmed by the [[Congress of Vienna]], which returned the region of Savoy to its borders after it had been annexed by France in 1792.<ref>Wells, H. G., Raymond Postgate, and G. P. Wells. The Outline of History, Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1956. p. 753</ref> By the [[Treaty of Stupinigi]] (1817), the Kingdom of Sardinia extended its protectorate over the [[Principality of Monaco]]. In 1821, the Kingdom of Sardinia's reported population amounted to 3,974,500.<ref>{{cite book |last=Cummings |first=Jacob |title=An Introduction to Ancient and Modern Geography |year=1821 |location=Boston; Cambridge|publisher=Cummings and Hilliard |isbn=978-1-341-37795-2 |page=98 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=59sBAAAAYAAJ |access-date=23 December 2024|via=Google Books}}</ref>

In the reaction after Napoleon, the country was ruled by the conservative monarchs [[Victor Emmanuel I of Sardinia|Victor Emmanuel I]] (1802–1821), [[Charles Felix of Sardinia|Charles Felix]] (1821–1831), and [[Charles Albert]] (1831–1849), who fought at the head of a contingent of his own troops at the [[Battle of Trocadero]], which restored the reactionary [[Ferdinand VII of Spain|Ferdinand VII]] to the Spanish throne. Victor Emanuel I disbanded the entire [[Napoleonic Code]] and returned the lands and power to the nobility and the Church. This reactionary policy went as far as discouraging the use of roads built by the French. These changes typified Sardinia.

The Kingdom of Sardinia industrialized from 1830 onward. A constitution, the ''[[Statuto Albertino]]'', was enacted during the [[Revolutions of 1848]] under liberal pressure. In addition to make Turin its official capital, the ''Statuto Albertino'' made [[Roman Catholicism]] "the only State religion".<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7ITQ4zjeXokC|title=Religious Intolerance and Discrimination in Selected European Countries|first= Hubert|last= Seiwert|year=2011| isbn= 978-3-643-99894-1| page =166|location=Münster|publisher=LIT Verlag Münster|quote=In 1848, the Statute or constitution issued by King Carlo Alberto for the kingdom of Sardinia (better known as Piedmont, from its capital in Turin) proclaimed 'the only State religion' the Roman Catholic one.|access-date=23 December 2024|via=Google Books}}</ref> Earlier in 1847, the island of Sardinia, a Piedmontese dependency for more than a century, lost its own residual autonomy to the peninsula through the [[Perfect Fusion]] issued by Charles Albert. As a result, the kingdom's fundamental institutions were deeply transformed, assuming the shape of a constitutional and centralized monarchy on the French model; under the same pressure, Charles Albert [[First Italian War of Independence|declared war]] on [[Austrian Empire|Austria]]. After initial success, the war took a turn for the worse and Charles Albert was defeated by [[Marshal Radetzky]] at the [[Battle of Custozza (1848)]].

=== Savoyard struggle for the Italian unification ===
[[File:Francesco_Hayez_041.jpg|thumb|[[Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour]]]]
[[File:With_Victor_Emmanuel.jpg|thumb|[[Victor Emmanuel II of Italy|King Victor Emmanuel II]] meets [[Giuseppe Garibaldi]] in Teano, 26 October 1860.]]
{{main|Italian unification}}
Like all the various [[duchies]] and [[city-states]] on the [[Apennine peninsula]] and associated islands, the Kingdom of Sardinia was troubled with political instability under alternating governments. After a short and disastrous renewal of the war with Austria in 1849, Charles Albert abdicated on 23 March 1849 in favour of his son [[Victor Emmanuel II]]. In 1852, a liberal ministry under [[Count Camillo Benso di Cavour]] was installed and the Kingdom of Sardinia became the engine driving [[Italian unification]]. The Kingdom of Sardinia took part in the [[Crimean War]], allied with the [[Ottoman Empire]], [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|Britain]], and [[French Second Empire|France]], and fighting against [[Russian Empire|Russia]].

In 1859, France sided with the Kingdom of Sardinia in a war against [[Austrian Empire|Austria]], the [[Austro-Sardinian War]]. [[Napoleon III]] did not keep his promises to Cavour to fight until all of the [[Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia]] had been conquered. Following the bloody battles of [[Battle of Magenta|Magenta]] and [[Battle of Solferino|Solferino]], both French victories, Napoleon thought the war too costly to continue and made a separate peace behind Cavour's back in which only [[Lombardy]] would be ceded. Due to the Austrian government's refusal to cede any lands to the Kingdom of Sardinia, they agreed to cede Lombardy to Napoleon, who in turn then ceded the territory to the Kingdom of Sardinia to avoid "embarrassing" the defeated Austrians. Cavour angrily resigned from office when it became clear that Victor Emmanuel would accept this arrangement.

=== Garibaldi and the Thousand ===
On 5 March 1860, [[Duchy of Parma and Piacenza|Parma, Piacenza]], [[Grand Duchy of Tuscany|Tuscany]], [[Duchy of Modena|Modena]], and [[Romagna]] voted in referendums to join the Kingdom of Sardinia. This alarmed Napoleon, who feared a strong Savoyard state on his south-eastern border and he insisted that if the Kingdom of Sardinia were to keep the new acquisitions they would have to cede Savoy and Nice to France. This was done through the [[Treaty of Turin (1860)|Treaty of Turin]], which also called for referendums to confirm the annexation. Subsequently, [[Italian irredentism in Savoy|somewhat controversial referendums]] showed over 99.5% majorities in both areas in favour of joining France.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=pKQBAAAAYAAJ Wambaugh, Sarah & Scott, James Brown (1920), ''A Monograph on Plebiscites, with a Collection of Official Documents'', New York: Oxford University Press, p. 599]</ref>

In 1860, [[Giuseppe Garibaldi]] started his campaign to conquer southern Italy in the name of the Kingdom of Sardinia. [[The Thousand]] quickly toppled the [[Kingdom of the Two Sicilies]], which was the largest of the states in the region, stretching from [[Abruzzo]] and [[Naples]] on the peninsula to [[Messina]] and [[Palermo]] on Sicily. He then marched to [[Gaeta]] in the central peninsula. Cavour was satisfied with the unification while Garibaldi, who was too revolutionary for the king and his prime minister, also wanted to conquer Rome.

Garibaldi was disappointed in this development, as well as in the loss of his home province, Nice, to France. He also failed to fulfill the promises that had gained him popular and military support by the Sicilians: that the new nation would be a republic, not a kingdom, and that the Sicilians would see great economic gains after unification. The former did not come to pass until 1946.

=== Towards the Kingdom of Italy ===
On 17 March 1861, law no. 4671 of the [[Parliament of the Kingdom of Sardinia]] [[Proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy|proclaimed the Kingdom of Italy]], so ratifying the [[Annexation|annexations]] of all other Apennine states, plus Sicily, to the Kingdom of Sardinia.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ortino |first1=Sergio |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8Jjby--IbmMC |title=The Changing Faces of Federalism: Institutional Reconfiguration in Europe From East to West |last2=Zagar |first2=Mitja |last3=Mastny |first3=Vojtech |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-7190-6996-3 |page=183 |publisher=Manchester University Press |access-date=3 March 2014}}</ref> The institutions and laws of the kingdom were quickly extended to all of Italy, abolishing the administrations of the other regions. Piedmont became the most dominant and wealthiest region in Italy and the capital of Piedmont, Turin, remained the Italian capital until 1865, when the capital was moved to [[Florence]]. As part of the [[Brigandage in the Two Sicilies]], many revolts exploded throughout the peninsula, especially in southern Italy and on the island of Sicily, because of the perceived unfair treatment of the south by the Piedmontese ruling class. The [[House of Savoy]] ruled the Kingdom of Italy until 1946, when Italy was declared a [[republic]] by [[referendum]]. The result of the [[1946 Italian institutional referendum]] was 54.3% in favor of a republic.

== Economy ==
Major progress in the economy was achieved during the government of [[Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour]]. Cavour believed that economic progress had to precede political change, and stressed the advantages of railroad construction in the peninsula.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.ohio.edu/chastain/ac/cavour.htm |title=Coppa, Frank J., "Cavour, Count Camillo Benso di (1810–1861)", ''Encyclopedia of 1848 Revolutions'', Ohio University, 1998 |access-date=2023-05-07 |archive-date=2010-06-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100609173106/http://www.ohio.edu/chastain/ac/cavour.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> He was a strong supporter of transportation by [[steam engine]], sponsoring the building of many railroads and canals. Between 1838 and 1842 Cavour began several initiatives in attempts to solve economic problems in his area. He experimented with different agricultural techniques on his estate, such as growing [[sugar beets]], and was one of the first Italian landowners to use chemical fertilizers.<ref>Beales & Biagini, ''The Risorgimento and the Unification of Italy'', p. 108.</ref> He also founded the Piedmontese Agricultural Society.

=== Currency ===
The currency in use in Savoy was the [[Piedmontese scudo]]. During the [[Napoleonic Wars]], it was replaced in general circulation by the [[French franc]]. In 1816, after regaining their peninsular domains, the scudo was replaced by the [[Sardinian lira]], which in 1821 also replaced the [[Sardinian scudo]], the coins that had been in use on the island throughout the period.

== Government ==
Before 1847, only the island of Sardinia proper was part of the [[Kingdom of Sardinia]]. The other mainland possessions, which primarily included the [[Duchy of Savoy]], [[Principality of Piedmont]], [[County of Nice]], and [[Duchy of Genoa]], among others, were held by the Savoys in their own right. This resulted in the formation a [[composite monarchy]] and a [[personal union]]. This personal union was formally referred to as the "States of His Majesty the King of Sardinia", such as in the documents of the Congress of Vienna.<ref name="Stobbs 2000, pp. 210–253"/> The [[Perfect Fusion]] (Italian: ''Fusione perfetta'') was the 1847 act of the Savoyard King [[Charles Albert of Sardinia]] which abolished the administrative differences between the mainland states and the island of Sardinia, in a fashion similar to the [[Nueva Planta decrees]] between the [[Crown of Castile]] and the realms of the [[Crown of Aragon]] between 1707 and 1716 and the [[Acts of Union 1800|Acts of Union]] between [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Great Britain]] and [[Kingdom of Ireland|Ireland]] in 1800.

In 1848, King Charles Albert granted the [[Statuto Albertino]], which functioned as the constitution of the state. The Statute was proclaimed only because of concern at the revolutionary insurrection agitating Italy in 1848. At the time, Charles Albert was only following the example of other Italian rulers, but his Statute was the only constitution to survive the repression that followed the [[First Italian War of Independence|First War of Independence]] (1848–49). The Statute remained the basis of the legal system after [[Italian unification]] was achieved in 1860 and the Kingdom of Sardinia became the Kingdom of Italy. Even though it suffered deep modifications, especially during the [[Fascist Italy (1922–1943)|fascist government]] of [[Benito Mussolini]] (who ruled with the tacit approval of King [[Victor Emmanuel III of Italy|Victor Emmanuel III]]), the Statute lasted mostly unaltered in the structure until the implementation of the [[Constitution of Italy|republican constitution]] in 1948, which superseded several primary features of the document, with specific regard to those of monarchical nature. The head of state was the [[List of monarchs of Sardinia|King of Sardinia]], while the head of the government was the [[List of prime ministers of the Kingdom of Sardinia|Prime minister of the Kingdom of Sardinia]].

=== Military ===
The [[Royal Sardinian Army]] and the [[Royal Sardinian Navy]] functioned as the military of Kingdom of Sardinia until they became the [[Royal Italian Army]] on 4 May 1861 and the [[Regia Marina]] on 17 March 1861.

== Flags, royal standards, and coats of arms ==
{{main|Flag of Sardinia}}
When the Duchy of Savoy acquired the [[Kingdom of Sicily under Savoy|Kingdom of Sicily]] in 1713 and the Kingdom of Sardinia in 1723, the [[flag of Savoy]] became the flag of a naval power. This posed the problem that the same flag was already in use by the [[Knights of Malta]]. Because of this, the Savoyards modified their flag for use as a [[naval ensign]] in various ways, adding the letters [[FERT]] in the four cantons, or adding a blue border, or using a blue flag with the Savoy cross in one canton. Eventually, King [[Charles Albert]] of Savoy adopted from Revolutionary France the [[Italian tricolor]], surmounted by the Savoyard shield, as his flag. This flag would later become the flag of the [[Kingdom of Italy]], and the tricolor without the Savoyard escutcheon remains the [[flag of Italy]].

<gallery class="center" caption="Coat of arms">
File:Greater coat of arms of the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720-1815).svg|(1720–1815)
File:Greater coat of arms of the Kingdom of Sardinia (1815-1831).svg|(1815–1831)
File:Stemma del Regno di Sardegna 1831.svg|(1831–1848)
File:Coat of arms of the Kingdom of Italy variant (1848-1870).svg|(1848–1861)
</gallery>
<gallery class="center" caption="State flags">
File:State Flag of the Savoyard States (late 16th - late 18th century).svg|Royal standard of the Savoyard kings of Sardinia of Savoy dynasty (1720–1848) and state flag of the Savoyard states (late 16th–late 18th century)
File:State Flag and War Ensign of the Kingdom of Sardinia (1816-1848).svg|State flag and war ensign (1816–1848), civil flag crowned
File:Flag of the Kingdom of Sardinia (1848-1851).svg|State and war flag (1848–1851)
File:Flag of Italy (1861-1946) crowned.svg|State flag and war ensign (1851–1861)
</gallery>
<gallery class="center" caption="Other flags">
File:Merchant Flag of the Kingdom of Sardinia (c.1799-1802).svg|Merchant flag (c. 1799–1802)
File:War Ensign of the Kingdom of Sardinia (1785-1802).svg|War ensign of the [[Royal Sardinian Navy]] (1785–1802)
File:Merchant Flag of the Kingdom of Sardinia (1802-1814).svg|Merchant flag (1802–1814)
File:War Ensign of the Kingdom of Sardinia (1802-1814).svg|War ensign (1802–1814)
File:Merchant Flag and War Ensign of the Kingdom of Sardinia (1814-1816).svg|Merchant flag and war ensign (1814–1816)
File:Civil Flag and Civil Ensign of the Kingdom of Sardinia (1816-1848).svg|Civil flag and civil ensign (1816–1848)
File:War Ensign of the Kingdom of Sardinia (1816-1848) aspect ratio 31-76.svg|War ensign of the Kingdom of Sardinia (1816–1848), aspect ratio 31:76
File:Flag of Italy (1861-1946).svg|Civil and merchant flag (1851–1861), the Italian tricolore with the coat of arms of Savoy as an [[inescutcheon]]
</gallery>
<gallery class="center" caption="Royal standards">
File:Royal standard of Italy (1861 - 1880).svg|(1848–1861) and Kingdom of Italy (1861–1880)
File:Royal Standard of the Crown Prince of Italy (1861–1880).svg|Crown Prince (1848–1861) and Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Italy (1861–1880)
</gallery>
* Sources:
** {{cite web |last=Breschi|first=Roberto|date=2004|url=http://www.rbvex.it/sardegna.html |title=Bandiere degli Stati preunitari italiani: Sardegna |website=Rbvex.it|language=it|access-date=31 May 2019 |archive-date=31 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190531182859/http://www.rbvex.it/sardegna.html |url-status=live }}
** {{cite web |last=Ollé|first=Jaume |date=11 October 1998|url=https://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/it-sar-k.html |website=Flags of the World|title= Kingdom of Sardinia – Part 1 (Italy) |access-date=31 May 2019 |archive-date=25 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170225161154/https://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/it-sar-k.html |url-status=live }}
** {{cite web |last=Ollé|first=Jaume |date=13 October 1998|url=https://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/it-sark2.html |website=Flags of the World|title=Kingdom of Sardinia – Part 2 (Italy) |access-date=20 December 2024 |archive-date=25 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170225161154/http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/it-sark2.html |url-status=live }}

== Maps ==
=== Territorial evolution of the Kingdom of Sardinia from 1859 to 1860 ===
<gallery class="left">
File:Italia1859.png|1859: {{legend|#ff8040|Kingdom of Sardinia}} {{legend|#0000ff|[[Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia|Kingdom Lombardy–Venetia]]}} {{legend|#00ff00|Duchies [[Duchy of Parma|Parma]]–[[Duchy of Modena and Reggio|Modena]]-[[Grand Duchy of Tuscany|Tuscany]]}} {{legend|#fd0000|[[Papal States]]}} {{legend|#ffff00|[[Kingdom of the Two Sicilies]]}}<br />On the eve of the [[Second Italian War of Independence]]
File:Italia1860.png|1860: {{legend|#ff8040|Kingdom of Sardinia}} {{legend|#0000ff|[[Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia|Kingdom Lombardy–Venetia]]}} {{legenda|#fe9e7f|[[United Provinces of Central Italy]]}}{{legend|#fd0000|[[Papal States]]}} {{legend|#ffff00|[[Kingdom of the Two Sicilies]]}}<br />After the annexation of [[Lombardy]] and before the annexation of the [[United Provinces of Central Italy]]
File:RegnoItalia1861.png|1861: {{legend|#ff8040|Kingdom of Sardinia}} {{legend|#0000ff|[[Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia|Kingdom Lombardy–Venetia]]}} {{legend|#d8241c|[[Papal States]]}}<br />After the [[Expedition of the Thousand]], and on the eve of the [[proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy]]
</gallery>

== See also ==
{{Commons|Kingdom of Sardinia}}
* [[List of viceroys of Sardinia]]
* [[History of Savoy from 1815 to 1860]]

== Notes ==
{{reflist|group=nb}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== Bibliography ==
* Antonicelli, Aldo (2016). [http://www.academia.edu/download/53790998/FROM_GALLEYS_TO_SQUARE_RIGGERS_THE_MODERNIZATION_OF.pdf "From Galleys to Square Riggers: The Modernization of the Navy of the Kingdom of Sardinia"].{{dead link|date=July 2022|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} ''The Mariner's Mirror''. '''102''' (2): 153–173.
* {{cite book |last=Hearder |first=Harry |title=Italy in the Age of the Risorgimento, 1790–1870 |publisher=Longman |year=1986 |isbn=0-582-49146-0 |location=London}}
* Luttwak, Edward (2009). ''The Grand Strategy of the Byzantine Empire''. The Belknap Press. {{ISBN|9780674035195}}.
* [[Denis Mack Smith|Mack Smith, Denis]] (1971). [https://archive.org/details/victoremanuelcav0000mack<!-- [[iarchive:victoremanuelcav0000mack|online]] --> ''Victor Emanuel, Cavour and the Risorgimento'']. Oxford University Press.
* {{cite book |last=Martin |first=George Whitney |title=The Red Shirt and the Cross of Savoy |publisher=Dodd, Mead and Co. |year=1969 |isbn=0-396-05908-2 |location=New York}}
* {{cite book |last=Murtaugh |first=Frank M. |title=Cavour and the Economic Modernization of the Kingdom of Sardinia |publisher=Garland Publishing |year=1991 |isbn=978-0-8153-0671-9 |location=New York}}
* Romani, Roberto (2012). [https://www.jstor.org/stable/41349645 "Reluctant Revolutionaries: Moderate Liberalism in the Kingdom of Sardinia, 1849–1859"]. ''Historical Journal''. pp. 45–73.
* Romani, Roberto (2018). "The Reason of the Elites: Constitutional Moderatism in the Kingdom of Sardinia, 1849–1861". In ''Sensibilities of the Risorgimento''. Brill. pp.&nbsp;192–244.
* Schena, Olivetta (2019). "The Role Played by Towns in Parliamentary Commissions in the Kingdom of Sardinia in the Fifteenth and Sixteenth centuries". ''Parliaments, Estates and Representation''. '''39'' (3): 304–315.
* {{cite book|last=Storrs|first=Christopher|title=War, Diplomacy and the Rise of Savoy, 1690–1720|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1999|isbn=0-521-55146-3}}
* {{cite book|last=Thayer|first= William Roscoe |title=The Life and Times of Cavour vol 1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zfwNAQAAMAAJ |year=1911}} Old interpretations but useful on details; volume 1 goes to 1859]; [https://books.google.com/books?id=sK_CnX3-ZMQC volume 2 online covers 1859–62].

=== In Italian ===
* AAVV. (edited by F. Manconi), ''La società sarda in età spagnola'', Consiglio Regionale della Sardegna, Cagliari, 2 volumes, 1992–1993.
* Blasco Ferrer Eduardo, ''Crestomazia Sarda dei primi secoli'', collection Officina Linguistica, Ilisso, Nuoro, 2003, {{ISBN|9788887825657}}.
* Boscolo Alberto, ''La Sardegna bizantina e alto giudicale'', Edizioni Della Torre, Cagliari, 1978.
* {{cite book |author-link=Francesco Cesare Casula |last=Casula |first=Francesco Cesare |title=La storia di Sardegna |publisher=Carlo Delfino Editore |location=Sassari |year=1994 |isbn=8871380843}}
* Coroneo Roberto, ''Arte in Sardegna dal IV alla metà dell'XI secolo'', AV eds., Cagliari, 2011.
* Coroneo Roberto, ''Scultura mediobizantina in Sardegna'', Nuoro, Poliedro, 2000.
* Gallinari Luciano, "Il Giudicato di Cagliari tra XI e XIII secolo. Proposte di interpretazioni istituzionali", in ''Rivista dell'Istituto di Storia dell'Europa Mediterranea'', no. 5, 2010.
* Manconi Francesco, ''La Sardegna al tempo degli Asburgo'', Il Maestrale, Nuoro, 2010, {{ISBN|9788864290102}}.
* Manconi Francesco, ''Una piccola provincia di un grande impero'', CUEC, Cagliari, 2012, {{ISBN|8884677882}}.
* Mastino Attilio, ''Storia della Sardegna Antica'', Il Maestrale, Nuoro, 2005, {{ISBN|9788889801635}}.
* Meloni Piero, ''La Sardegna Romana'', Chiarella, Sassari, 1980.
* Motzo Bachisio Raimondo, ''Studi sui bizantini in Sardegna e sull'agiografia sarda'', Deputazione di Storia Patria della Sardegna, Cagliari, 1987.
* Ortu Gian Giacomo, ''La Sardegna dei Giudici'', Il Maestrale, Nuoro, 2005, {{ISBN|9788889801024}}.
* Paulis Giulio, ''Lingua e cultura nella Sardegna bizantina: testimonianze linguistiche dell'influsso greco'', Sassari, L'Asfodelo, 1983.
* Spanu Luigi, ''Cagliari nel seicento'', Edizioni Castello, Cagliari, 1999.
* Zedda Corrado and Pinna Raimondo, "La nascita dei Giudicati. Proposta per lo scioglimento di un enigma storiografico", in ''Archivio Storico Giuridico di Sassari'', second series, no. 12, 2007.

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{{viceroyalties of the Spanish Empire}}
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