Royal Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus | |
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Awarded by House of Savoy | |
Type | Dynastic order of chivalry |
Established | 16 September 1572 (Order of Saint Maurice: 1434) (Order of Saint Lazarus: 1119) |
Royal house | House of Savoy |
Religious affiliation | Catholic |
Motto | FERT |
Eligibility | Military, civilian |
Awarded for | Distinguished merits |
Status | Currently Constituted |
Sovereign | Prince Vittorio Emanuele, Prince of Naples |
Grand Master | Prince Emanuele Filiberto of Savoy, Prince of Venice |
Grades | Grand Cordon, Special Class Grand Cordon Grand Officer Commander Officer Knight/Dame |
Statistics | |
Total inductees | Circa 2,000 |
Precedence | |
Next (higher) | Royal Supreme Order of the Most Holy Annunciation |
Next (lower) | Royal Order of the Crown |
Ribbon bar |
The Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus (Italian: Ordine dei Santi Maurizio e Lazzaro) is a Roman Catholic dynastic order of knighthood bestowed by the House of Savoy, founded in 1572 by Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy, through amalgamation approved by Pope Gregory XIII of the Order of Saint Maurice, founded in 1434, with the medieval Order of Saint Lazarus, founded circa 1119, considered its sole legitimate successor. Its headquarters are situated at the Lierna Castle in Lombardy, Italy. Its current Grand Master is Vittorio Emanuele, Prince of Naples, since 1983, albeit contested by his cousin and throne rival Prince Amedeo, Duke of Aosta.
The order was formerly awarded by the Kingdom of Italy (1861–1946) with the heads of the House of Savoy as the Kings of Italy. Originally a chivalric order of noble nature, it was restricted to subjects of noble families with proofs of at least eight noble great-grandparents. The order's military and noble nature was and is still combined with a Roman Catholic character.
After the abolishment of the monarchy and the foundation of the Italian Republic in 1946, the legacy of the order is maintained by the pretenders of the House of Savoy and the Italian throne in exile.