At Adelaide Castle – the Civic Archaeological Museum of the City of Susa, the program of events related to the exhibition "The Savoys. A Thousand Years of History and Power" continues.
On Friday, May 8th, at 5:30 pm, the presentation of the book "SAVOIA. The Family Tree and the Protagonists of the Dynasty," written by Andrea Carnino and Pierangelo Calvo and published by Susalibri of Sant'Ambrogio di Torino in the "Storie d'Italia" series, will take place. The authors will be present and will engage with the public in a discussion led by the Director of Adelaide Castle. Following this, a social gathering will take place.
The Book
"SAVOIA. The Family Tree and the Protagonists of the Dynasty" is a unique work: each chapter is dedicated to a sovereign, from Umberto I Biancamano, founder of the dynasty, to King Umberto II, each accompanied by their respective family tree. Through the marriages of the monarchs' sons and daughters, readers will be able to trace the numerous family ties that linked the Savoy family to the most important Imperial and Royal Houses of Europe. A specific section is dedicated to the cadet branches, while a comprehensive family tree at the end connects the Biancamano to the current members of the House.
The book, written in a simple and accessible format, combines the "big" and the "small" history: it discusses not only the counts, dukes, and kings, but also their residences and their ties to the many small noble families rooted in our territories—such as the Provana family—and to the municipalities of Piedmont. A case in point is the 1618 event, when Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy, to raise funds to pay his army, put the hamlets of Buttigliera, Uriola, and Nicola up for sale, intending to secede from Avigliana. They were purchased by Giovanni Carron, who on April 25, 1619, was granted the title of Lord of Buttigliera Alta. Much has been written about the House of Savoy, but no text has yet been so comprehensive in its genealogical structure.
A particularly original feature is the presence, in each chapter, of a QR code linking to constantly updated in-depth information: a tool that opens the book to contributions not only from the authors but also from readers, who are invited to become protagonists of the work themselves.
The preface is by Bruna Bertolo, author of numerous studies on the House of Savoy, while the introduction is by HRH Prince Serge of Yugoslavia, son of HRH Royal Princess Maria Pia of Savoy, daughter of King Umberto II and Queen Maria José.
The Authors
Andrea Carnino, originally from Avigliano, has always had a passion for history. After graduating with a master's degree in Business Administration, he was registered in the Register of Journalists in the Publicists section in 2021. He collaborates with the online newspaper Il Torinese.it and with the Tricolore Press Agency. He has been a history communicator for years, teaching at several University Institutes. Thanks to his consultancy, several municipalities in Piedmont and Liguria have joined the Grimaldi di Monaco Historic Sites Association in Italy.
Pierangelo Calvo, born in Chivasso in 1958, has been a member of the Collegio Agrotecnici of the Province of Turin since 1990 and was the administrative manager of the family business from 1990 to 2018. In 1997, he began the restoration of one of the oldest family homes into a unique rural ethnographic museum. Following the appointment of Pope Jorge Bergoglio, he exhibited numerous documents in shows recounting the history of his family, originally from Robella d'Asti, which are housed in the rural archives of the same residence. Passionate about the history of the Savoy dynasty in the Pinerolo area since 2004, he has curated thematic exhibitions in the area, displayed at public and private sites. Since 2018, he has written approximately 60 history articles for the column assigned to him by the online newspaper "Nonsolocontro," created by Turin journalist Nadia Bergamini of La Stampa. Since retiring, he has been a history professor at the Universities of the Third Age in Rivoli, Leinì, and Volpiano.
