Duchy of Savoy

The Duchy of Savoy (Italian: Ducato di Savoia; French: Duché de Savoie) was a country in Western Europe that existed from 1416 until 1860.

It was created when Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor, raised the County of Savoy into a duchy for Amadeus VIII. The duchy was an Imperial fief, subject of the Holy Roman Empire, until 1792, with a vote in the Imperial Diet. From the 16th century, Savoy belonged to the Upper Rhenish Circle.

Its territory included the current French departments of Savoy, Haute-Savoie and the Alpes-Maritimes, the current Italian region of Aosta Valley, a large part of Piedmont and the County of Geneva in Switzerland, which was then lost to the Old Swiss Confederacy.

Throughout its history, it was ruled by the House of Savoy and formed a part of the larger Savoyard state, which in 1720 became known as the Kingdom of Sardinia (also called "Kingdom of Savoy-Sardinia").

The main Vulgar languages that were spoken within the Duchy of Savoy were Piedmontese and Arpitan.