Italy votes to retain monarchy in 1946

[Deleted]

Leading on from my post in the Vanished Countries thread.

Suppose Italy narrowly voted to retain the monarchy in the 1946 referendum and Umberto II remains as King.  Could Umberto have restored the Italian people's faith in their monarchy, or was the House of Savoy too tainted and doomed in the long term?

[Adam in Stroud]

I don't know much about his qualities as a king and I don't think there's much evidence to go on. But the House of Savoy were pretty mediocre as kings of Italy and don't seem to have done much to bring the nation together before Mussolini, let alone afterwards.

It's odd because some of the earlier members of the dynasty were quite impressive; I suppose that's easier to achieve in a place where there's a traditional loyalty to the dynasty going back centuries, rather than in a country where to half the population you're pretty much foreign.

[Devil Wincarnate]

Here's a curiosity for you.  In the 1860s, the 'brigandage' in the South was really an uprising against the Savoys, in favour of keeping the old monarchy of the Two Sicilies.

In the referendum, those same southern regions were the areas that voted most heavily to retain the Savoys.

[Deleted]

Dec 6, 2018 17:53:17 GMT Devil Wincarnate said:

Here's a curiosity for you.  In the 1860s, the 'brigandage' in the South was really an uprising against the Savoys, in favour of keeping the old monarchy of the Two Sicilies.

In the referendum, those same southern regions were the areas that voted most heavily to retain the Savoys.

The depth and persistence of Italy's North/South split is in itself fascinating.

[Toylyyev]

Dec 5, 2018 22:57:12 GMT Adam in Stroud said:

I don't know much about his qualities as a king and I don't think there's much evidence to go on. But the House of Savoy were pretty mediocre as kings of Italy and don't seem to have done much to bring the nation together before Mussolini, let alone afterwards.

It's odd because some of the earlier members of the dynasty were quite impressive; I suppose that's easier to achieve in a place where there's a traditional loyalty to the dynasty going back centuries, rather than in a country where to half the population you're pretty much foreign.

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