King of Italy (; ) was the title given to the ruler of the Kingdom of Italy after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. The first who might have taken the title (he might have styled himself as dux only) was Odoacer, a barbarian warlord, in the late 5th century, followed by the Ostrogothic kings up to the mid-6th century. With the Frankish conquest of Italy in the 8th century, the Carolingians assumed the title, which was maintained by subsequent Holy Roman Emperors throughout the Middle Ages. The last Emperor to claim the title was Charles V in the 16th century. During this period, the holders of the title were crowned with the Iron Crown of Lombardy.
A Kingdom of Italy was restored from 1805 to 1814 with Napoleon as its only king, centred in Northern Italy. Not until the Italian unification in the 1860s was an independent Kingdom of Italy covering the entire Italian Peninsula restored. From 1861 the House of Savoy held the title of King of Italy until the last king, Umberto II, was exiled in 1946 when Italy became a republic.
History After the deposition of the last Western Emperor in 476, Odoacer was appointed Dux Italiae (Duke of Italy) by the reigning Byzantine Emperor Zeno. Later, the Germanic foederati, the Scirians and the Heruli, as well as a large segment of the Italic Roman army, proclaimed Odoacer ('King of Italy). In 493, the Ostrogothic king Theoderic the Great killed Odoacer, and set up a new dynasty of kings of Italy. Ostrogothic rule ended when Italy was reconquered by the Byzantine Empire in 552.
In 568, the Lombards entered the peninsula and ventured to recreate a barbarian kingdom in opposition to the Empire, establishing their authority over much of Italy, except the Exarchate of Ravenna and the duchies of Rome, Venetia, Naples and the southernmost portions. In the 8th century, estrangement between the Italians and the Byzantines allowed the Lombards to capture the remaining Roman enclaves in northern Italy. However, in 774, they were defeated by the Franks under Charlemagne, who deposed their king and took up the title "king of the Lombards". After the death of Charles the Fat in 887, Italy fell into instability and a number of kings attempted to establish themselves as independent Italian monarchs. During this period, known as the Feudal Anarchy (888–962), the title Rex Italicorum ("King of the Italians" or "King of the Italics") was introduced. After the breakup of the Frankish Empire, Otto I added Italy to the Holy Roman Empire and continued the use of the title Rex Italicorum. The last to use this title was Henry II (1004–1024). Subsequent emperors used the title "King of Italy" until Charles V. They were crowned in Pavia, Milan and Bologna.
In 1805, Napoleon was crowned with the Iron Crown of Lombardy at the Milan Cathedral. The next year, Holy Roman Emperor Francis II abdicated his imperial title. From the deposition of Napoleon (1814) until the unification of Italy (1861), there was no Italian monarch claiming the overarching title. The Risorgimento successfully established the House of Savoy dynasty over the whole peninsula and, uniting the kingdoms of Sardinia and the Two Sicilies, it formed the modern Kingdom of Italy. The monarchy was superseded by the Italian Republic, after a institutional referendum was held on 2 June 1946, after World War II. The Italian monarchy formally ended on 12 June of that year and Umberto II left the country.
Kingdom of Odoacer (476–493) Initially named Dux Italiae (Duke of Italy) by Zeno, the Roman Emperor in Constantinople, he later was recognized as King of Italy by the foederati in control of the Italian peninsula. He was deposed by the Ostrogoths, who established their own kingdom.
Image Name Life Coronation Ceased to be King Odoacer c. 433 – 15 March 493 AD 4 September 476 15 March 493
Ostrogothic Kingdom (493–553) Theodoric the Great was invited by the emperor Zeno to take Italy from Odoacer and rule it in Zeno's name. He defeated Odoacer in 493, establishing a new kingdom in place of Odoacer's. Officially, the Ostrogothic kings ruled the Roman citizens in Italy as a viceroy of the Roman emperors, and their own Gothic people as their king, though functionally they ran their kingdom entirely independently from the Roman authority in Constantinople. Their greatest extent was during Theodoric's reign; as Roman Emperors from the east began to exert more power and retake control of Roman territory, the last Ostrogothic king fell to the Emperor Justinian in 553.
Image Name Life Coronation Ceased to be King Theodoric the Great 454 – 30 August 526 15 March 493 30 August 526 Athalaric c. 516 – 2 October 534 526 2 October 534 Queen Amalasuintha 495 – 30 April 535 2 October 534 30 April 535 Theodahad c. 480 – December 536 535 December 536 Vitiges ? – 542 536 540 Ildibad ? – 541 540 541 Eraric ? – 541 541 541 Totila ? – 1 July 552 541 1 July 552 Teia ? – 552/553 552 552/553
Interregnum (527–578) Byzantine Roman authority in Italy was briefly re-established under Justinian, though his gains were lost under his successor Justin II, after a new Germanic tribe, the Lombards, invaded from the north and established their kingdom in 568.
ImageNameLifeCoronationCeased to be KingJustinian I482 – 14 November 5651 April 52714 November 565Justin II?– 5 October 57814 November 5655 October 578
Kingdom of the Lombards (568–756)
The Lombards under Alboin established their kingdom in the extreme north of Italy in 568, gradually pushing the Byzantine Romans back from the peninsula until only the Exarchate of Ravenna remained under Roman control. This finally fell in the 750s, with the Lombards gaining control of most of the peninsula. The last Lombard King of Italy, Desiderius, was deposed by his son-in-law Charlemagne, who folded it into the larger Carolingian Empire, which evolved over time into the Holy Roman Empire.
Image Name Life Coronation Ceased to be King Alboin 530s – 28 June 572 568 572 Cleph ? – 574 572 574 Rule of the Dukes (interregnum) 574 – 584 574 584 Authari c. 550 – 5 September 590 584 September 590 Agilulf c. 555 – April 616 591 616 Adaloald 602-628 626 Arioald ? – 636 626 636 Rothari 606 – 652 636 652 Rodoald 630– 653 652 653 Aripert I ? – 661 653 661 Perctarit & Godepert ? – 668 661 662 Grimoald 610 – 671 662 671 Garibald 655 - 671 671 671 Perctarit (restored) ? – 688 671 688 Alahis 680 – 689 688 689 Cunincpert ? – 700 689 700 Liutpert ?– 702 700 701 Raginpert ? - 701 701 701 Aripert II ? – 712 701 712 Ansprand 657 -712 712 712 Liutprand 680 – 744 712 744 Hildeprand ?- 744 744 744 Ratchis ? – 749 744 749 Aistulf ? – 756 749 756 Desiderius – 756 774
Kingdom of Italy (781–962)
Carolingian Dynasty (774–887) Charlemagne ruled over northern Italy as King of the Lombards. In 781, he named his son Pepin as King of Italy, though he still maintained suzerainty over the land. Charlemagne was crowned Roman Emperor in 800, while the Kingdom of Italy became one of the constituent kingdoms of the Empire. Beginning with Louis the Pious in 818, the Kingdom was ruled directly by the Carolingian Emperor himself.
Image Name Life Coronation Ceased to be King Charles I (Charlemagne)2 April 748 – 28 January 814June 77428 January 814 Pepin777 – 8 July 8107818 July 810 Bernard797 – 17 April 818c. July 810late 817 Lothair I795 – 29 September 85517 April 81829 September 855 Louis II825 – 12 August 87515 June 84412 August 875 Charles II13 June 823 – 6 October 87725 December 8756 October 877 Carloman830 – 22 March 880877879 Charles III the Fat839 – 13 January 88812 April 880November 887
After 887, Italy fell into instability, with many rulers claiming the kingship simultaneously.
Unruochings (887–896)
Image Name Life Coronation Ceased to be King Berengar Ic. 845 – 7 April 924c. 888c. 896 (first reign)
Berengar was deposed by the King of East Francia, Arnulf of Carinthia, in the mid-890s.
Widonids (claimants) (887–898)
Image Name Life Coronation Ceased to be King Guyc. 845 – 12 December 894February 88912 December 894 Lambertc. 880 – 15 October 89830 April 892896 (first reign)
Carolingian Dynasty (restored) (894–896)
Image Name Life Coronation Ceased to be King Arnulfc. 850 – 8 December 899894 (as claimant)896 Ratoldfl. 896c. 896896
In 896, Arnulf and Ratold lost control of Italy, which was divided between Lambert of Italy and Berengar I of Italy.
Widonids (restored) (896–898)
Image Name Life Coronation Ceased to be King Lambertc. 880 – 15 October 89830 April 89215 October 898 (first reign)
After Lambert's death, Berengar I took his territory and reunified Italy. Unruochings (restored) (896–924)
Image Name Life Coronation Ceased to be King Berengar Ic. 845 – 7 April 924c. 8887 April 924 (second reign)
Bivinids (Carolingian by adoption) (901–905)
In 900, Louis III, a grandson of Louis II of Italy, was invited into Italy as their king by nobles in opposition to Berengar I.
Image Name Life Coronation Ceased to be King Louis IIIc. 880 – 5 June 928February 901before 21 April 905
Elder House of Welf (922–926)
Image Name Life Coronation Ceased to be King Rudolphc. 885 – 13 July 937922926
Bosonids (926–950)
Image Name Life Coronation Ceased to be King Hughc. 880 – 10 April 948926947 Lothair IIc. 927 – 22 November 95094722 November 950
Anscarids (950–961)
Image Name Life Coronation Ceased to be King Berengar IIc. 900 – 4 August 966November 950c. 25 December 961 Adalbertc. 934-c. 973November 950c. 25 December 961
In 951 Otto I invaded Italy and was crowned with the Iron Crown of Lombardy. In 952, Berengar and Adalbert became his vassals but remained kings until being deposed by Otto.
Holy Roman Empire (962–1556)
Otto is considered to be the founding emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, and the Kingdom of Italy was considered one of the constituent realms of the Empire. Beginning in the 12th century, states such as the Republic of Venice and the Papal States captured more and more territory from the Kingdom of Italy, and the Empire's territory on the Peninsula shrunk over time. After Charles V, the emperors stopped being crowned with the Iron Crown of Lombardy and the Italian title fell into disuse. Imperial control in Italy receded to Trent and South Tyrol until the dissolution of the Empire in 1806. Southern Italy had never been part of the Holy Roman Empire; it remained initially under the control of various Byzantine fiefs until the Norman Kingdom of Sicily (later the Kingdom of Naples) took control of the area in the 11th century. Central Italy, along the Rome-Ravenna axis, was part of the Papal States, under the direct personal rule of the pope. The Duke of Savoy was de jure a vassal of the Holy Roman Emperor, with the Duke being Prince and Perpetual Vicar of the Holy Roman Empire.
Ottonian dynasty (962–1024) Image Name Life Coronation Ceased to be King Otto I 23 November 912 – 7 May 973 962Lodovico Antonio Muratori, Giuseppe Oggeri Vincenti, Annali d'Italia, 1788, pp. 78–81. 7 May 973 Otto II 955 – 7 December 983 7 December 983 Otto III 980 – 23 January 1002 23 January 1002 Arduin 955–1015 1002 1014 Henry II 6 May 973 – 13 July 1024 1004 13 July 1024
Salian dynasty (1027–1125) Image Name Life Coronation Ceased to be King Conrad I 990 – 4 June 1039 1026 4 June 1039 Henry III 29 October 1017 – 5 October 1056 1039 5 October 1056 Henry IV 11 November 1050 – 7 August 1106 1056 December 1105 Conrad II of Italy 1074–1101 1093 1101 Henry V 8 November 1086 – 23 May 1125 1106 23 May 1125
Süpplingenburg dynasty (1125–1137) Image Name Life Coronation Ceased to be King Lothair III 9 June 1075 – 4 December 1137 1125 4 December 1137
House of Hohenstaufen (1128–1197) Image Coat of Arms Name Life Coronation Ceased to be King Conrad III 1093 – 15 February 1152 1138(also crowned in 1128 in opposition to Lothair) 1152 Frederick I 1122 – 10 June 1190 1154 1186 Henry VI November 1165 – 28 September 1197 1186 28 September 1197
House of Welf (1208–1212)