Victor Amadeus III (Vittorio Amedeo Maria; 26 June 1726 – 16 October 1796) was King of Sardinia and ruler of the Savoyard states from 20 February 1773 to his death in 1796. Although he was politically conservative, he carried out numerous administrative reforms until he declared war on Revolutionary France in 1792.[1] He was the father of the last three mainline Kings of Sardinia.
Early life and personality
Prince Victor Amadeus with his father, portrait by Clementi
As a young prince, he surrounded himself with intellectuals and ministers, many of whom would come to prominence in his reign. He was privately conservative and a very religious person, and, as a young boy, stayed far from public life. His father felt him to be unsuitable to hold power.
Good-natured but naive, Savoy was loved by his subjects for his generosity.[3]
Portrait of Victor Amadeus III in coronation robes
When Victor Amadeus came to the throne in 1773 he started working on bureaucratic and military aspects of the reign. He was suspicious of anything innovative. However, he did implement several public works as well as paying a great deal of attention to his administration and armed forces. He approved and set up two new important cultural state institutions on the advice of the bourgeoisie and aristocracy alike. He started works of improvements in the port of Nice, and had dams in the Arce and the road of the Côte built.
At the outbreak of the French Revolution, Victor Amadeus III allowed his two sons-in-law, the Counts of Artois and Provence and the Princesses Marie Adélaïde and Victoire to stay in his kingdom under his protection. After four years of fighting, the French under Bonaparte had finally beaten the Piedmontese army in the Battle of Montenotte (12 April 1796), the Battle of Millesimo (13–14 April 1796) and the Battle of Mondovi (21 April 1796). On 26 April the French proclaimed the Republic of Alba in the occupied territories. Two days later, with the Armistice of Cherasco, the republic was ceded back to Victor Amadeus.
He was forced to sign the Treaty of Paris on 15 May, abandoning the First Coalition against the French Republic. The terms of the treaty required him to cede the fortresses of Cuneo, Ceva, Alessandria and Tortona to France, and allow free passage of the latter's armies towards Italy. He was also compelled to cede Nice and Savoy.
He died on 16 October 1796 at the Castle of Moncalieri having suffered an attack of apoplexy. Victor Amadeus died leaving an economically damaged kingdom and two key provinces – Savoy and Nice – devastated, having suffered at the hands of French revolutionary forces. He was buried at the Basilica of Superga in Turin.[5]
