black nobility

English

Etymology

Calque of Italian nobiltà nera

Noun

black nobility

  1. The Roman aristocratic families who sided with the papacy under Pope Pius IX after the Savoy family-led army of the Kingdom of Italy entered Rome on 20 September 1870, overthrew the Pope and the Papal States, and took over the Quirinal Palace; and any nobles subsequently ennobled by the Pope prior to the 1929 Lateran Treaty.
    Synonym: black aristocracy
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