Give us back our jewels: the Savoy will sue the Italian state

For 76 years the Savoy’s jewels have been kept in a vault at the Bank of Italy, and now they want them back. There is talk of more than six thousand diamonds and two thousand pearls embellishing necklaces, earrings, brooches and tiaras.

In an interview with Corriere della Sera, Emanuele Filiberto, heir to the Savoy family and in the forefront of this cause along with princesses Maria Gabriella, Maria Pia, and Maria Beatrice, said, "On this battle the family is very united. Not least because seventy-six years after that 1946, it was time to come out and demand back what belongs to the House of Savoy. We just want the return of private family property." He added that he would be willing to take this battle"all the way to the European Court if necessary. We are going forward through legal channels, but it is not a hostile act toward Italy, much less toward Premier Draghi.“ He then recalls that ”already at the time of the Turin 2006 Winter Games, the Piedmont region also took an interest in exhibiting the jewels in the city. From the Bank of Italy there were no questions, but everything was blocked because it needed the authorization of the Presidency of the Council. The important thing is that after keeping them under lock and key for 76 years,“ Emanuele Filiberto concludes, ”they will return to the light. But before they return them to us, then we will decide in what form to make them available for public use."

The Savoy family will sue the government in order to get the family jewels back, suing the Prime Minister’s Office, the Ministry of Economy and the Bank of Italy. Their lawyer, Sergio Orlandi, explained that it was decided to sue after an attempt at mediation with the government, which, however, refused to return them. The lawyer sent the relevant bodies a Pec to "provide within ten days of receipt of this, the return of the above, granting, also, the contextual vision, having the heirs themselves the full right. May the Bank of Italy contact the firm of the undersigned for the necessary and confidential arrangements.“ ”Failing this,“ he concludes, ”the competent Judicial Seats will be referred to, in order to obtain the rights due to the heirs."

Give us back our jewels: the Savoy will sue the Italian state

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