Italian nobility

The Italian nobility (Italian: Nobiltà italiana) comprised individuals and their families of the Italian Peninsula, and the islands linked with it, recognized by the sovereigns of the Italian city-states since the Middle Ages, and by the kings of Italy after the unification of the region into a single state, the Kingdom of Italy.

Nobles had a specific legal status and held most of the wealth and various privileges denied to other classes, mainly politicians. In most of the former Italian pre-unification states, it was the only class that had access to high-level government positions. They also practically monopolized the most distinguished positions in the city-states and in the Catholic Church for a long time. There were several different systems of nobility over time and in different regions.^[1]

From the Middle Ages until March 1861, Italy was not a single country. It was a region consisting of a number of separate kingdoms and other states, with many reigning dynasties. These were often related by marriage to each other and to other European royal families.

Recognition of Italian nobility ceased with the creation of the Italian Republic in 1946. Although many titles still exist, they are used as a matter of social courtesy and are not recognised under the law. A limited number of noble titles granted by the pope were formally acknowledged according to Article 42 of the Lateran Treaty until its abrogation in 1985.