Italy. Rome. 1924. Ministerial document with the signature of the King Vittorio Emanuele III and the War Minister Pietro Gazzera. Victor Emmanuel III. (1869 –1947) was King of Italy (29 July 1900 – 9 May 1946). In addition, he claimed the thrones of Ethiopia and Albania as Emperor of Ethiopia (1936–41) and King of the Albanians (1939–43), which were not recognised by all great powers. During his long reign (45 years), which began after the assassination of his father Umberto I, the Kingdom of Italy became involved in two World Wars. His reign also encompassed the birth, rise, and fall of Italian Fascism. Victor Emmanuel abdicated his throne in 1946 to his son Umberto II, hoping to strengthen the support for the monarchy against an ultimately successful referendum to abolish it. He then went in exile to Alexandria, Egypt, where he died and was buried the following year. Armando Diaz, 1st Duke of the Victory (December 5, 1861 – February 28, 1928) was an Italian general of Spanish descent and a Marshal of Italy. Born in Naples to a father of distant Spanish heritage, and an Italian mother (Irene Cecconi), Diaz began his military career as a student at the Military Academy of Turin, where he became an artillery officer. He was a colonel commanding the 93rd infantry during the Italo-Turkish War, and major general in 1914. On the outbreak of World War I, he was assigned to the high command as head of the unit's operations under General Luigi Cadorna. He was promoted to 2-star general in June, 1916, and assumed the command of the 49th division and then the 23rd army corps. After the war Armando Diaz was appointed as a senator. In 1921 he was ennobled by King Victor Emmanuel III and given the victory title of 1st Duca della Vittoria ("Duke of Victory"). Benito Mussolini named him Minister of War, and he was promoted to Field Marshal. Upon retirement, in 1924, he was given the honor of Marshal of Italy (Maresciallo d'Italia). Diaz died in Rome in 1928; he was buried in the church of Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri, next to Admiral Paolo Thaon di Revel.

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