May 26: Napoleon I assumed the title of King of Italy, and was crowned with the Iron Crown of Lombardy, in 1805, in the Duomo di Milano, gothic cathedral of Milan.

It was on May 26, 1805 that the famed Corsican conqueror Napoleone Buonaparte was crowned “King of Italy” with the sacred Iron Crown of Lombardy in Milan.

Napoleon Bonaparte, Emperor of France since 1804, endeavored to unite his Italian heritage with the Revolutionary and Imperial France. So he chose to be crowned King of Italy in 1805, with the Iron Crown of Lombardy, in the Gothic Cathedral of Milan.

Kingdom of Italy in 1807, shown in yellow

The following year, Napoleon dissolved the Holy Roman Empire and forced Franz II to abdicate to the imperial title but allowed him to wear the crown as king of Austria.

Kingdom of Italy in 1811, shown in pink

With the deposition of Napoleon I in 1814, until the Unification of Italy in 1861, there was no Italian monarch who assumed the title of King of Italy.

Napoleon I King of Italy

The “Risorgimento” (Resurgence) was the political movement that managed to unite Italy, and successfully established the dynasty of the House of Savoy that included Sardinia and the Two Sicilies (modern Sicily and Naples).

The monarchy was replaced by the Italian Republic after a referendum on June 2, 1946, and King Umberto II left the country.