Savoy
Savoy
(səvoi`), Fr. Savoie, Alpine region of E France. The boundaries of old Savoy have changed with time, but presently the region comprises the departments of SavoieSavoie, department (1990 pop. 351,400), SE France, bordering Italy. Chambéry is the capital.
..... Click the link for more information. and Haute-SavoieHaute-Savoie
department (1990 pop. 577,600), E France, in the northern part of the old duchy of Savoy. Annecy is the capital.
..... Click the link for more information. . It is bounded on the N by Lake Geneva, on the W by the Rhône River, on the S by DauphinéDauphiné
, region and former province, SE France, bordering on Italy. It is now divided into three departments, Haute-Alpes, Isère, and Drôme. In the east the Alps culminate in the Barre des Écrins; their magnificent scenery attracts many tourists.
..... Click the link for more information. , and on the E by the Alpine crest on the Swiss and Italian borders. ChambéryChambéry
, town (1990 pop. 55,603), capital of Savoie dept., E France, in the Alpine trough. It is a communications and commerce center as well as a railway and air transport hub. Manufactures include metals and construction materials.
..... Click the link for more information. is the historic capital of French Savoy. The region commands many important passes connecting France and Italy (notably the historic Little Saint BernardSaint Bernard,
two Alpine passes, both used since antiquity. The Great Saint Bernard (alt. 8,110 ft/2,472 m), on the Italian-Swiss border, links Valais canton, Switzerland, with Valle d'Aosta, Italy.
..... Click the link for more information. and the Mont CenisCenis, Mont
, Ital. Moncenisio, Alpine pass, 6,831 ft (2,082 m) high, on the French-Italian border. It is one of the great invasion routes in Italian history. Napoleon I built a new road there in 1810.
..... Click the link for more information. ) and includes the French portion of the highest Alpine peak, Mont BlancMont Blanc
, Alpine massif, on the French-Italian border, SE of Geneva. One of its several peaks, also called Mont Blanc (15,771 ft/4,807 m), is the highest peak in France and the second highest in Europe.
..... Click the link for more information. . Agriculture and dairying have long been the region's chief occupations. Tourism is also important, and there are many spas, the most notable at Évian-les-BainsÉvian-les-Bains
or Évian,
town (1993 est. pop. 7,027), Haute-Savoie dept., E France, on Lake Geneva. It is a fashionable spa at the foot of the Alps. Évian-les-Bains's mineral water is bottled and exported to all parts of the world.
..... Click the link for more information. . Savoy was inhabited by the AllobrogesAllobroges
, Celtic tribe in Gaul, inhabiting later Dauphiné and Savoy. They were conquered (121 B.C.) by Quintus Fabius Maximus, who was called Allobrogicus in commemoration of the victory. In the time of Julius Caesar they sided with Rome.
..... Click the link for more information. at the time Julius Caesar conquered the region. It became part of the first kingdom of BurgundyBurgundy
, Fr. Bourgogne , historic region, E France. The name once applied to a large area embracing several kingdoms, a free county (see Franche-Comté), and a duchy.
..... Click the link for more information. (5th cent.) and later of the kingdom of ArlesArles, kingdom of,
was formed in 933, when Rudolf II, king of Transjurane Burgundy, united the kingdom of Provence or Cisjurane Burgundy to his lands and established his capital at Arles.
..... Click the link for more information. (10th cent.), after which it was ceded to the Holy Roman Empire. In the 11th cent., Humbert the Whitehanded, a lord of Arles, consolidated the various feudal territories of the region, and from then on the region's history is closely linked with the house of Savoy (see Savoy, house ofSavoy, house of,
dynasty of Western Europe that ruled Savoy and Piedmont from the 11th cent., the kingdom of Sicily from 1714 to 1718, the kingdom of Sardinia from 1720 to 1861, and the kingdom of Italy from 1861 to 1946.
..... Click the link for more information. ). Under Amadeus VIII, Savoy became (early 15th cent.) a duchy extending far into France, Italy, and Switzerland. By the beginning of the 16th cent. the rule of the dukes had grown weak, and Savoy fell under French and Swiss dominance. Emmanuel Philibert greatly restored the territory and fortunes of the region and moved the ducal residence to Turin (1559), after which Savoy became essentially an Italian rather than a French state. When Victor Amadeus II became king of Sardinia in 1713, Savoy became a part of that new state (see Sardinia, kingdom ofSardinia, kingdom of,
name given to the possessions of the house of Savoy (see Savoy, house of) in 1720, when the island of Sardinia was awarded (by the Treaty of London) to Duke Victor Amadeus II of Savoy to compensate him for the loss of Sicily to Austria.
..... Click the link for more information. ). Annexed by France in 1792, Savoy was returned to Sardinia in 1815. Finally, by the Treaty of Turin (1860), PiedmontPiedmont
, Ital. Piemonte, region (1991 pop. 4,302,565), 9,807 sq mi (25,400 sq km), NW Italy, bordering on France in the west and on Switzerland in the north. Turin is the capital of the region, which is one of the richest in Italy.
..... Click the link for more information. , then the ruling part of Savoy, ceded French Savoy to France. The region was annexed after a plebiscite.
Savoy
Savoy
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