Descendants of Italy's last king have made their first formal request to recover the crown jewels, which for nearly 76 years were hidden in a treasure chest in a vault in Bank of Italy.
The bank received the jewelry, consisting of more than 6.000 diamonds and 2.000 pearls mounted in brooches and necklaces worn by several queens and princesses, on June 5, 1946, three days after Italians voted to abolish the monarchy and nine days before the King Humbert II, who ruled for just 34 days, be sent into exile along with his male heirs.
Umberto II had commissioned Falcone Lucifero, minister of Royal House, of taking the jewels for safekeeping to Luigi Einaudi, who later became president of the Bank of Italy.
Rumor has it o Italian state did not confiscate real estate jewelry after the dismantling of the monarchy. An element that can help the descendants of House of Savoia, including the son of Umberto II, Vittorio Emanuele of Savoy, and three daughters, Maria Gabriella, Maria Pia and Maria Beatrice, regain possession.
The family also hopes that a cryptic note delivered next to the treasure chest, which said that the “precious” crown jewels are to be “entrusted to the custody of the central treasury” and “kept at the disposal of those entitled to it,” will help determine that the jewels belong to them and not to the State.
Sergio Orlandi, the family's lawyer, told the Corriere della Sera newspaper: “The Savoia family will recover the jewels.”
The first “mediation meeting” between Orlandi and representatives of the Bank of Italy and the Italian government to discuss the family’s claim took place this Tuesday (25). If the parties cannot reach a solution, the family will sue the State in an attempt to recover the jewelry, according to Corriere.
An informal request has already been rejected by the Bank of Italy in November. “The return request cannot be accepted, taking into account the responsibilities of the depositary,” said the bank's lawyers.
Until now, the family had never taken any formal action to recover the jewelry for fear it would fuel a wave of resentment.
Before returning from exile in Switzerland in 2003, Vittorio Emanuele said he would not claim the crown jewels, adding that “they are no longer ours”. However, he hoped that the jewelry would be put on public display.
Italy's crown jewels as propaganda
In 2006, a politician from the Piedmont region contacted Mario Draghi, the current Prime Minister of Italy who at the time was in his first year as president of the Bank of Italy, asking if the Crown Jewels could be displayed in an exhibition held as part of the Winter Olympics in Turin, the northern Italian city that hosted the royal palace. Draghi, in turn, asked the government, but the jewelry was never displayed.
Another factor that could support the family's case is that the jewelry would have been given as gifts to various royals or were personal purchases, rather than being given to the family to wear at official functions throughout the years of the monarchy.
It's unclear how much the gems are worth. Past estimates say the value could reach €300 million – almost 2 billion reais.
Umberto II spent his years of exile in Portugal and never set foot in Italy again. He died aged 78 in Geneva, where he was being treated for cancer, in 1983.
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