Ordine della Corona d'Italia

Order of the Crown of Italy Ordine della Corona d'Italia
Star of the Grand Cordon set of the Order
Awarded by The Head of the Italian Royal Family
Type	Dynastic Order of Knighthood
Established	20 February 1868
Royal house	House of Savoy
Eligibility	Military, civilian
Awarded for	Meritorious Service or Achievement
Status	Rarely constituted
Founder	King Victor Emmanuel II
Grand Master	Prince Vittorio Emanuele, Prince of Naples
Chairman of the Council	Prince Emanuele Filiberto, Prince of Venice
Grades	Grand Cordon, Special Class Grand Cordon Grand Officer Commander Officer Knight/Dame
Precedence
Next (higher)	Royal Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus
Next (lower)	Royal Civil Order of Savoy Royal Military Order of Savoy
Ribbon bar

The Order of the Crown of Italy, Italian: Ordine della Corona d'Italia, was founded as a national order in 1868 by King Vittorio Emanuele II, to commemorate the unification of Italy in 1861. It was awarded in five degrees for civilian and military merit.

Compared with the older Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus (1572), the Order of the Crown of Italy was awarded more liberally and could be conferred on non-Catholics as well; eventually, it became a requirement for a person to have already received the Order of the Crown of Italy in at least the same degree before receiving the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus.

The order has been suppressed by law since the foundation of the Republic in 1946. However, Umberto II did not abdicate his position as fons honorum and it remained under his Grand Mastership as a dynastic order. While the continued use of those decorations conferred prior to 1951 is permitted in Italy, the crowns on the ribbons issued before 1946 must be substituted for as many five pointed stars on military uniforms.

The various degrees of the order, with corresponding ribbons, were as follows:

Members of the order have included: