Umberto Rainerio Carlo Emanuele Giovanni Maria Ferdinando Eugenio, Prince of Piedmont He was born on March 14, 1844, in Turin, Piedmont, Kingdom of Sardinia (now Italy). Having received a fully military education, Umberto fought in the war against Austria (1866). The calm and decisive leadership that he displayed in saving his troops in the Italian debacle of Custoza (June 1866) earned him great popularity. His marriage to his cousin Margherita Teresa Giovanna, Princess of Savoy (April 22, 1868), and the birth of their son, the future victor Emmanuel III (November 11, 1869), also earned him public sympathy, despite the prevailing anti-monarchical sentiment.
After the death of his father, Victor Manuel II, Umberto ascended to the throne on January 9, 1878; his respect for the constitutional regime, as well as his attempt to reconcile various political and regional elements in Italy, dispelled the suspicions of the leftists. However, he maintained an authoritarian view of the king’s prerogative, which he used, probably under the influence of the ambitious and energetic queen, to lead Italy into the Triple Alliance (May 20, 1882) with Germany and Austria-Hungary. He also urged Italy to enter the arms race despite the country’s limited resources, and encouraged colonial adventures in Africa.
A tariff war with France led his reign to serious economic difficulties (1888) and, the defeat of the Italians by the Ethiopians at the Battle of Adwa (1896), meant the failure of Italian colonialism.
In the face of growing social unrest, Umberto he accepted the imposition of martial law (1898) which was followed by harsh repression, especially in Milan.
This period of turbulence culminated on July 29, 1900 in the assassination of Umberto by an Italian-American anarchist, Gaetano Bresci. Umberto He was buried in the Pantheon in Rome, next to his father Victor Emmanuel II, on August 9, 1900.