House of Savoy

The House of Savoy (Italian: Casa Savoia, French: Maison de Savoie, Arpitan: Mêson de Savouè) is a royal house (formally a dynasty) that was established in 1003 in the historical region of Savoy, which was originally part of the Kingdom of Burgundy and now lies mostly within southeastern France. Through gradual expansions, the family grew in power, first ruling the County of Savoy, a small Alpine county northwest of Italy, and later gaining absolute rule of the Kingdom of Sicily. During the years from 1713 to 1720, they were handed the Kingdom of Sardinia and would exercise direct rule from then onward as Piedmont–Sardinia, which was the legal predecessor state of the Kingdom of Italy and the Italian Empire, which in turn are the predecessors of the present-day Italian Republic.