Charles Emmanuel III (27 April 1701 – 20 February 1773) was Duke of Savoy, King of Sardinia and ruler of the Savoyard states from his father's adbication on 3 September 1730 until his death in 1773. He was the paternal grandfather of the last three mainline kings of Sardinia.
At the time of his birth, when he was known as Duke of Aosta, Charles Emmanuel was not the heir to Savoy; his older brother Victor Amadeus, Prince of Piedmont, was the heir apparent. Charles Emmanuel was the second of three sons that would be born to his parents. His older brother died in 1715 and Charles Emmanuel then became heir apparent.
As a result of his aid in the War of the Spanish Succession, Victor Amadeus II was made king of Sicily in 1713 under the Treaty of Utrecht which ended the war. Victor Amadeus was forced to exchange Sicily for the less important Kingdom of Sardinia in 1720 after objections from an alliance of four nations, including some of his former allies.
On 3 September 1730, Victor Amadeus who, in his later years had exhibited reticence and melancholy, abdicated the throne and retired from the royal court. His son became King Charles Emanuel III. He had not been a favorite of his father's, who had neglected his education except on the military field, where the son had sometimes accompanied the father.
After some time spent at his residence in Chambéry, however, the former king started to intervene in his son's government. Victor Amadeus reclaimed the throne, accusing his son of incompetence. He established himself in Moncalieri, but Charles Emmanuel managed to have the former king arrested by the Crown Council, in order to prevent him from attacking Milan and probably causing an invasion of Piedmont. Victor Amadeus was then confined to the Castle of Rivoli, where he later died without further interference with his son's regime.
The War of Polish Succession
In the War of the Polish Succession Charles Emmanuel sided with the French-backed king Stanislaw I. After the treaty of alliance signed in Turin, on 28 October 1733, he marched on Milan and occupied Lombardy without significant losses. However, when France tried to convince Philip V of Spain to join the coalition, he asked to receive Milan and Mantua in exchange. This was not acceptable for Charles Emmanuel, as it would recreate a Spanish domination in Italy as it had been in the previous centuries. While negotiations continued about the matter, the Savoy-French-Spanish troops attacked Mantua under the supreme command of Charles Emmanuel himself.
Charles Emmanuel in armour
Sure that in the end Mantua would be assigned to Spain, he voluntarily thwarted the expedition. The Franco-Piedmontese army was victorious in two battles at Crocetta and Guastalla. In the end, when Austria and France signed a peace, Charles was forced to leave Lombardy. In exchange, he was given some territories, including Langhe, Tortona and Novara.
Charles Emmanuel sided with Maria Theresa of Austria in the War of the Austrian Succession, receiving financial and naval support from Great Britain and the Dutch Republic. After noteworthy but inconclusive initial successes, he had to face the French-Spanish invasion of Savoy and, after a failed allied attempt to conquer the Kingdom of Naples, the County of Nice. When the enemy army invaded Piedmont, in 1744 he defended Cuneo against the Spanish-French besiegers. The following year, with some 20,000 men, he was faced with an invasion of two armies with a total of some 60,000 troops. The important strongholds of Alessandria, Asti and Casale fell. In 1746, after receiving reinforcements from Austria, he was able to recapture Alessandria and Asti. In 1747, he obtained a crushing victory over the French at the Battle of Assietta, and his territories were saved when the main battleground moved northwards to the Netherlands.
He declined to participate in the Seven Years' War (1756–63), preferring to concentrate on administrative reforms, maintaining a well-disciplined army and strengthening his fortresses. In an attempt to improve the poor condition of the newly acquired Sardinia, he also restored the Universities of Sassari and Cagliari.
Charles Emmanuel's ancestors were avid art collectors. He added many new paintings to the collection he inherited from his ancestors. He also received paintings from the collection of Prince Eugene of Savoy who had remained childless. The collection contained many works of Flemish and Dutch painters. As a result, the Sabauda Gallery in Turin was the largest collection in Italy of 16th and 17th-century Flemish and Dutch paintings. In 1731 he established a tapestry workshop in Turin. The Flemish battle painter Jan Peeter Verdussen was his court painter and painted many of his military victories.[2]
^ abHuberty, Michel; Giraud, Alain; Magdelaine, F. and B. (1985). L'Allemagne Dynastique, Tome IV – Wittelsbach. France: Laballery. pp. 82, 141, 166, 202, 273, 310–311. ISBN2-901138-04-7.
^Huberty, Michel. Giraud, Alain. Madeleine, F. and B. L'Allemagne Dynastique, Tome I – Hesse-Reuss-Saxe. Laballery. France. 1976 pp. 108-109, 129-130, 146-147, 153-154. ISBN2-901138-01-2
Raggi, Giuseppina (2019). "The Lost Opportunity: Two Projects of Filippo Juvarra Concerning Royal Theaters and the Marriage Policy between the Courts of Turin and Lisbon (1719-1722)". Music in Art: International Journal for Music Iconography. 44 (1–2): 119–137. ISSN1522-7464.
