Descendants of Italy's last king should not have crown jewels, court rules
A court in Italy has rejected a request made by the descendants of the country's last king to reclaim the crown jewels, with the judge ordering that the national treasures remain the property of the state.
In February 2022, the descendants of Italy's last monarch sued the Italian state to reclaim the jewels, which for almost 78 years have been stashed in a treasure chest in a safety deposit box at the Bank of Italy – the country's central bank – amid a long-running saga over their ownership.
The legal action came after the offspring of King Umberto II of Savoy failed to reach an agreement with the bank to return the jewels, which comprise more than 6,000 diamonds and 2,000 pearls mounted on brooches, necklaces and tiaras worn by various princesses and queens during the monarchy's 85-year existence and valued at €300m (£253m).
The Rome civil court threw out the former Savoy family's bid on Thursday to have their ownership rights recognised, describing the claim as 'manifestly unfounded'.
Olina Capolino, a lawyer for the Bank of Italy, welcomed the ruling. 'As a citizen, I now hope the state will soon put these historic jewels on display in a museum,' she said.
The Bank of Italy took delivery of the jewels on 5 June 1946, three days after Italians voted to abolish the monarchy and nine days before Umberto II, who ruled for just 34 days, was banished into exile along with his male heirs.
Umberto II had asked Falcone Lucifero, the then minister of the royal house, to bring the jewels to Luigi Einaudi, then governor of the Bank of Italy, who later became president, for safekeeping.
The jewels are said to have been the only part of the royal estate that were not confiscated by the Italian state after the monarchy was scrapped, a fact the Savoia family hoped would allow them to win back possession.
After the verdict, Sergio Orlandi, lawyer for the royal descendants, announced that his clients would appeal to the European court of human rights. In their appeal, the heirs of the former royal family will also demand that the Italian state reimburse them the value of all properties once owned by the last king of Italy.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
39 minutes ago
- Yahoo
MAHA adviser: Report's citation errors ‘great disservice' to Trump, RFK Jr.
Calley Means, a top adviser to Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and proponent of Kennedy's 'Make America Healthy Again' movement, said Monday that flaws in a recent MAHA report were a 'disservice' to the Trump administration. Despite the issues, including false citations, Means defended the documents findings. 'Just to be super direct on the report, it was a great disservice to President Trump and Bobby Kennedy that that report had some errors in its citations,' Means told NewsNation's 'On Balance' host Leland Vittert. 'I think the reason it's primetime is because of the content of the report.' 'There was not one word of the MAHA report that was factually corrected — a couple footnote errors,' he added. The HHS report, focused primarily on digging into the root causes of chronic diseases in children, was heralded as a 'milestone' for Kennedy and the Trump administration's health care endeavors when it was released May 22. It cited hundreds of studies to highlighted four main factors as contributors to poor health: ultraprocessed foods, environmental chemicals, digital behavior and 'overmedicalization.' But the administration's celebration of its release quickly unraveled after the news outlet NOTUS found some of the studies cited did not exist or did not back up the report's conclusions. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt downplayed the citation problems last week and reaffirmed the administration's 'complete confidence' in Kennedy. 'I understand there were some formatting issues with the MAHA report that are being addressed, and the report will be updated,' Leavitt told reporters Thursday. 'But it does not negate the substance of the report, which, as you know, is one of the most transformative health reports that has ever been released by the federal government.' Means similarly sought to highlight the report's findings despite the multitude of errors that it cited to reach its conclusions. 'The content of the report really explained that every major government piece of public health advice over the past 30 years has been fake in a real substantial way,' said Means, the brother of Trump's surgeon general nominee Casey Means. The health adviser, hired as a special employee to HHS earlier this year, told Vittert that he's currently working on a 'budgetary analysis' for the White House. 'We right now have double the rates of obesity and diabetes as Europe,' he said. 'If you take the rates of obesity and diabetes in the United States to European levels, we save trillions in cost.' A major focus will be on stopping the government from 'subsidizing' ultraprocessed foods, including through changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), commonly referred to as food stamps. 'We have a fundamental, unmistakable, blaring problem with ultraprocessed food consumption,' Means said. 'And that's not because of personal choice, it's not because of free will, it's not the free market; we subsidize ultraprocessed food with free lunch subsidies, with agriculture subsidies, with our SNAP.' 'We are not only recommending ultra processed food with the dietary guidelines — which we're going to fix them, they still do — but subsidizing,' he said. The Means siblings have been prominent figures in the MAHA effort with both being quickly tapped for roles in Kennedy's HHS — but they have also drawn rebuke from the health chief's former vice presidential running mate Nicole Shanahan and others. Shanahan wrote in a post on social platform X last month that she was 'promised' neither would be appointed to federal posts if she supported Kennedy's confirmation. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
39 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Record number of Russians support peace talks, end of war in Ukraine, poll shows
The number of Russian citizens who support peace talks and an end to the war in Ukraine has reached a record high since the start of the full-scale invasion, according to a poll by the independent Russian pollster Levada Center published on June 2. Some 64% of the respondents favored peace talks, representing a 6% increase since March. Meanwhile, the number of people who supported the war's continuation decreased from 34% in March to 28% in May. Compared to previous survey results, in May 2023, 48% of respondents believed that the war should continue. In May 2024, this figure dropped to 43%. The news comes after the second round of direct peace talks between Ukraine and Russia occurred in Istanbul. The parties agreed on a new prisoner exchange, as well as the repatriation of 6,000 bodies of fallen Ukrainian soldiers. No agreement on a ceasefire was reached. The share of supporters of peaceful negotiations is higher among women (73%), people under 24 (77%), residents of villages and towns with populations under 100,000 (67% each), as well as those who believe that the country is going in the wrong direction (76%) and those who disapprove of Russian President Vladimir Putin's presidential performance (77%). The share of those who support continuing the war is higher among men (39%), respondents aged 55 and older (35%), residents of Moscow (40%), those who believe that things in the country are going in the right direction (32%), and those who approve of the activities of the current president (30%). A majority of respondents (73%) believe that Russia and Ukraine should address the hostilities' root causes and only then agree on a ceasefire. On the contrary, some 18% think that the parties will first reach a truce and ceasefire and then resolve all other issues. Only 3% of Russians believe Russia is an obstacle to peace. At the same time, 14% of respondents believe that the U.S. is to blame, while 36% each see Ukraine and European countries as major obstacles in peace negotiations. The center conducted the survey from May 22 to 28, involving 1,613 people aged 18 and older in 50 regions of Russia. Read also: Growing up under missiles — Ukrainian childhoods shaped by war (Photos) We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
San Francisco Chronicle
an hour ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Simone Inzaghi resigns as coach of Inter Milan amid Saudi interest
MILAN (AP) — The 5-0 rout by Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final was Simone Inzaghi's final match in charge of Inter Milan. 'The time has come for me to say goodbye to this club after a run of four years during which I gave everything,' Inzaghi wrote in a letter to Inter fans on the club website Tuesday. Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal is reportedly trying to lure Inzaghi with an offer of more than 20 million euros ($23 million) per season. Inzaghi coached Inter to the Serie A title last year, and was also in charge when the Nerazzurri lost the 2023 Champions League title to Manchester City. He was at Inter for exactly four years and had one more season remaining on his contract. It's unclear now who will coach Inter at the Club World Cup in the United States starting June 14. Inter opens against Monterrey on June 17 — a day before Al-Hilal opens against Real Madrid. There has been speculation that Inter would go after Cesc Fabregas, who coached Como to a 10th-place finish in Serie A. Inter finished second in the Italian league last month, one point behind champion Napoli. Inter was in the running for a treble until it lost to city rival AC Milan in the Italian Cup semifinals in April. Having also been beaten by Milan in the Italian Super Cup final in Saudi Arabia in January, the Nerazzurri didn't win a trophy this season. The coaching change at Inter is just one of many managerial moves among the top Italian teams this offseason, with Milan, Roma, Atalanta and others making changes.
