Cavaliere Felipe Frassinetti dell'ordine dei santi maurizio e lazzaro generale gran maestro GREAT ORDERS OF CHIVALRY THE ORDER OF SAINTS MAURICE AND LAZARUS The Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus tIS an Order of Chivalry of the Royal House of Savoy, founded as a religious-military Order and then adapted by the Savoy Kings as a Royal Order of Merit. The conditions which had led to it being given as a reward for service to the Italian State ceased with the decision of the late King Umberto II to leave Italy for permanent exile. The decree of the Italian Republic which purported to suppress its continued award was illegal, as the Order was originally a Papal foundation, entirely outside republican jurisdiction. Saint Maurice, Duke of Thebes, was the patron Saint of the House of Savoy and a Society of noble monks of that name had been founded on 13 February 1434, by Duke Amadeus VIII of Savoy, to accompany him on his retreat from secular life to that of a hermit. [1] Some writers have suggested that this association was a military Order, the precursor of the later Order of Saint Maurice, and that it survived until the period 1536-1559, when the territories of the Duke of Savoy were occupied by the French. This "Order" (more properly "Noble Association"), however, was suppressed in 1439, shortly after the Duke's election as (anti) Pope Felix V. [2] The Religious Military Order of Saint Maurice, which was created on 16 September 1572 by the Bull Christiani populi corpus of Pope Gregory XIII, at the request of Duke Emanuele-Filiberto of Savoy, [3] was named to commemorate this more ancient association. As an Order of the Church under the Cistercian rule, it had nothing other than its name in common with the earlier institution. Indeed, while the original military confraternity was the creation of the Duke of Savoy, the new Order was a Papal foundation, with the Duke of Savoy and his successors invested by the Supreme Pontiff as "Magistrum Magnum" (Grand Master) in perpetuity. [4] This Bull also granted the Grand Master the right to interpret, amend or correct the Statutes, thus legitimizing its use as an award for meritorious service and its recent restoration as an Order of Chivalry. L'ordine più antico, quello di San Lazzaro, fu fondato come ordine militare religioso al tempo del Regno Latino di Gerusalemme verso l'anno 1090.L'ordine era concepito per la cura dei lebbrosi, e molti suoi membri erano lebbrosi guariti divenuti cavalieri. Con la caduta di Acri nel 1291 i cavalieri di San Lazzaro lasciarono la Terra Santa e l'Egitto per trasferirsi prima in Francia, e poi, nel 1311, a Napoli. L'Ordine di San Maurizio, invece, venne fondato nel 1434 da Amedeo VIII di Savoia, in seguito divenuto l'antipapa Felice V. L'unificazione dei due ordini avvenne il 22 gennaio 1573 per volere del duca Emanuele Filiberto di Savoia tramite Magistrali Patenti[1]. Nelle costituzioni del nuovo ordine i cavalieri dovevano possedere quattro quarti di nobiltà e dovevano vivere in convento per almeno cinque anni. Carlo Alberto aprì l'ordine anche ai non nobili e Vittorio Emanuele II lo ridusse a Ordine dinastico onorifico con i cinque gradi tradizionali: cavaliere di gran croce, grande ufficiale, commendatore, cavaliere ufficiale, cavaliere. In base alla XIV disposizione transitoria e finale della Costituzione Italiana il 1º gennaio 1948, l'Ordine Mauriziano è conservato nel suolo dello Stato italiano riconducendolo all'esclusivo e originario compito di ente ospedaliero. Con la legge del 3 marzo 1951, nr.178, all'art.9, lo Stato italiano ha poi deciso di non riconoscere più l'ordine come Ordine cavalleresco perché appartenente a Casa Savoia come proprio Ordine dinastico. Tuttavia, alcuni giuristi pensano che le istituzioni dell'Ordine dei Santi Maurizio e Lazzaro, essendo nate da una bolla papale, possono essere evidentemente modificate solo dal papa. Per tale motivo è continuato da parte del re Umberto II prima, e di suo figlio Vittorio Emanuele poi, il conferimento di tale ordine. Bob Frassinetti, a guide to art, antique and collectibles in Buenos Aires and around all Argentina, dealer, curator, and developer as well as a free lance journalist from, working on the web, writing both for pleasure and work on art, antiques and collectibles, as well are neighboring countries, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay. "I've written for several Travel Adventure, Art & Antiques Magazines on and off the web and have researched Toys made here in Argentina, as well as Travel Adventure from Route 40 and Lighthouse Adventures along the Atlantic and Pacific coast, Dakar Rally 2009, 2010 and for a 3erd time, 2011, curator and developor-investor in the Building of a Gallery Museum in the Province of Cordoba, a unique Real Estate Investment here in Argentina. Travelling for Art and Antiques" and I have been on line since 1996 Living with art and antiques and travelling the south of South America. Argentina, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay Buenos Aires 2010 Argentina Check out Market Place Argentina our Forum for Buying and Selling from Argentina. 2012 Bob Frassinetti Copyright Roberto Dario Frassinetti