Consulta Araldica

The '''''Consulta Araldica''''' ({{langx|en|Heraldic Consult}}) was a college instituted by royal decree on 10 October 1869 to advise the Italian government on noble titles, coats of arms and related matters. It was a department of the Ministry of the Interior, combining the roles of the various heraldic colleges which had existed in pre-unification Italy, including the ''Tribunale Araldico'' of Lombardy, the ''Commissione Araldica'' of Venice and the ''Congregazione Araldica Capitolina'' of Rome. [[File:Stemma della famiglia Camondo.jpg|thumb|Arms of the Camondo family, granted in 1868 by the Consulta Araldica.]] The Consulta Araldica<ref name="cnicg">[https://web.archive.org/web/20120130105419/http://www.cnicg.net/ca1886.asp Ordinamento e Regolamento della Regia Consulta Araldica]</ref> was dissolved following the adoption of the Constitution of the Italian Republic in 1948 and the abolition of state recognition and regulation of noble titles.<ref name=CorCost-sent101-26giu1967>Constitutional Court of Italy's [http://www.cortecostituzionale.it/giurisprudenza/pronunce/scheda_indice.asp?sez=indice&Comando=LET&NoDec=101&AnnoDec=1967&TrmD=&TrmM= sentence (law)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081010105846/http://www.cortecostituzionale.it/giurisprudenza/pronunce/scheda_indice.asp?sez=indice&Comando=LET&NoDec=101&AnnoDec=1967&TrmD=&TrmM= |date=2008-10-10 }} number 101 at 26 June 1967. Published in the Gazzetta Ufficiale no.177 of 17 July 1967.</ref> Although today no government official or office can grant titles of nobility, some of the Consulta Araldica's functions are still performed by the Heraldic Office<ref>[http://www.governo.it/Presidenza/ufficio_cerimoniale/ufficio/attribuzioni.html Dipartimento del Cerimoniale di Stato - Ufficio Onorificenze e Araldica pubblica]</ref> within the Office of the Prime Minister.<ref name=CorCost-sent101-26giu1967/>

Despite its name, the Consulta Araldica rarely dealt with armorial heraldry. However, an official ''Blasonario'', or armorial, was in an early draft stage when the monarchy was abolished in 1946. Plans had called for this to include the blazons of Italian families whether titled or not.{{Citation needed|date=May 2022}}

For Italian titles please refer to the Consulta Araldica's official directories approved by the Council of Ministers and by Royal Decree – Libro d'Oro della Nobiltà Italiana.<ref name="cnicg" /><ref>[http://www.acs.beniculturali.it/index.php?it/112/araldica Archivio Centrale dello Stato, Sezione Araldica, (State Archive, Heraldry), Rome]</ref> The Corpo della Nobiltà Italiana is a private association. Other nobility associations exist as well.

== Further reading == *{{cite book|title=Elenco storico della nobiltà italiana (compilato in conformità dei decreti e delle lettere patenti originali e sugli atti ufficiali di archivio della Consulta araldica dello Stato italiano), Sovrano Militare Ordine di Malta|publisher= Tipografia Poliglotta Vaticana, Roma 1960|location=Rome}}

==References== This article was originally based on its counterpart in the Italian Wikipedia, as retrieved on 2006-09-24: [http://it.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Consulta_Araldica&oldid=4367731 Consulta Araldica].

Category:Heraldic authorities Category:Italian heraldry Category:Italian nobility Category:Government agencies established in 1869 Category:Government agencies disestablished in 1948 Category:1869 establishments in Italy