Emmanuel Philbert | |||||
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Prince of Carignano | |||||
Born |
Moutiers, France |
20 August 1628||||
Died | 21 April 1709 Palazzo Carignano, Turin, Italy |
(aged 80)||||
Spouse | Maria Angela Caterina d'Este | ||||
Issue Detail |
Victor Amadeus I, Prince of Carignano | ||||
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House | House of Savoy-Carignano | ||||
Father | Thomas Francis, Prince of Carignano | ||||
Mother | Marie de Bourbon |
Full name | |
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Italian: Emanuele Filiberto di Savoia French: Emmanuel Philibert de Savoie |
Emmanuel Philibert of Savoy (20 August 1628 – 23 April 1709), Prince of Carignano, was the son and heir of Thomas Francis, Prince of Carignano. He constructed the Palazzo Carignano in Turin.
He was born deaf, at Moûtiers, Savoy, now part of France. His being deaf greatly concerned his family. However, he eventually learned to communicate with others by lip-reading, and to speak a few words, though with great difficulty.
As a youth he was sent to the Spanish priest Don Manuel Ramirez, a famous teacher of the deaf in Spain. Under his guidance, Emmanuel Philibert learned to read and to write. He went on to study a range of sciences under the guidance of Alessandro Tesauro,showing great aptitude. His sister, Princess Louise Christine was the wife of Hereditary Prince Ferdinand Maximilian of Baden-Baden, they were the parents of the famous Türkenlouis, Ludwig Wilhelm of Baden-Baden.
In his 20s Emmanuel Philibert followed his father Thomas in the last of his campaigns in Lombardy, acquitting himself with great valour, and two years later he was named a colonel of cavalry in the service of his distant cousin Louis XIV, King of France.
In 1658 Emmanuel Philibert was created a lieutenant-general by his first cousin Charles Emmanuel II, Duke of Savoy, in the latter's absence, and in 1663 was appointed governor of the city of Asti. When Charles Emmanuel died in 1675, his son and heir Victor Amadeus was only nine years old, and Emmanuel Philibert became heir presumptive to Savoy unless and until Victor Amadeus had a male heir in turn (which was not to happen until 1699).
A great connoisseur of architecture, Emmanuel Philibert commissioned the Palazzo Carignano in Turin, built between 1679 and 1684. He also commissioned major renovations to the castle of Racconigi. Guarino Guarini rebuilt an older dwelling, while the project for the park was entrusted to André le Nôtre who realised magnificent French-style gardens.