Cyril Lagvanec, PhD, the curator of the American-Italian Research Library located on the second floor of the East Bank Regional Library, will give a lecture on the House of Savoy at 7 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 29, at the East Bank Regional Library, 4747 W. Napoleon, Metairie

This event is free of charge and open to the public.

The House of Savoy is an Italian royal house established in 1003 in the historical Savoy region. Through gradual expansion, the family grew in power from ruling a small Alpine county north-west of Italy to absolute rule of the Kingdom of Sicily from 1713 to 1720, when they were handed the island of Sardinia, over which they would exercise direct rule from then onward.

Through its junior branch of Savoy-Carignano, the House of Savoy led the Italian unification in 1860 and ruled the Kingdom of Italy until 1946. It also ruled the Kingdom of Spain briefly in the 19th century. The Savoyard kings of Italy included Victor Emmanuel II, Umberto I, Victor Emmanuel III, and Umberto II. The last monarch reigned for a few weeks before being deposed following the institutional referendum of 1946, after which the Italian Republic was proclaimed.

For more information regarding this presentation, contact Chris Smith, Manager of Adult Programming for the library, at 504-889-8143 or wcsmith@jefferson.lib.la.us.