Wallingford Man Receives Honors From the Italian Royal Family at Vatican

A former Wallingford Town Council Vice Chairman was honored by the Italian royal family at the Vatican in Rome earlier this month.

Prince Victor Emmanuel IV of Savoy, the head of the Italian royal family, invested Jerry Farrell, Jr. as a Cavaliere Ufficiale del Ordine dei Santi Maurizio e Lazzaro (Knight Official of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus), at an investiture ceremony held at the Pontifical Urban University.  

Previously, in 2009, the Prince had invested Farrell, who also is former Connecticut Commissioner of Consumer Protection, as a Cavaliere (Knight) of the order; his naming this month as a Cavaliere Ufficiale (Knight Official) was a promotion made by the Prince in recognition of Farrell’s charitable and civic work.

Farrell is a graduate of Holy Trinity School in Wallingford , an honors graduate of Choate Rosemary Hall, a cum laude graduate of the College of the Holy Cross, and received his juris doctorate from Villanova University Law School . 

A proud Italian-American, Farrell is the great grandson of Michael and Emilia Audisio, who were among the first Italian immigrants to settle in Wallingford, coming to town in 1904.  He was Wallingford’s 2003 Italian-American of the Year and the 2011 Connecticut Italian-American Lawyer of the Year.  Farrell resides in Wallingford with his wife Natalie and their children, Michael and Emilia.

The Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus was created by Pope Gregory XIII in 1572 and the ability to create knights in the order given in perpetuity by the pope to the Savoy family. In 1572, the Savoy family, as the Dukes of Savoy, ruled over parts of modern-day France , Switzerland and Italy .  Among the regions the Savoys ruled over was the region of Piemonte, in what is today northern Italy .  The Savoy capital was in Torino ( Turin ).  In 1861, the Savoy ruler, Victor Emmanuel II, joined with General Guiseppe Garibaldi in the unification of the entire Italian peninsula as a single nation, the Kingdom of Italy , with Victor Emmanuel II as king.  Members of the Savoy family served as the kings of Italy from 1861 until 1946 and, during that time,  knighthood in the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus was considered the second-highest award conferred by the Kingdom of Italy .  It continues to be given by the royal family today, with the pope’s continued blessing, to people around the world who have distinguished themselves in public service, humanitarian endeavors, and charitable works.  Prior American recipients of the award have included New York City Mayor Rudy Guiliani.

The investiture occurred Sept. 12 to Sept 15., during four days of events – known as the Capitolo Generale – which the order held in Rome.  

The events began with a dinner Friday evening at the Reale Circolo Canottieri Tevere Remo (Royal Sports Club) held on the banks of the Tiber River in Rome.  The Club, which dates from 1872, was founded in conjunction with the royal family to promote rowing on the Tiber River. 

Saturday morning the investiture ceremony took place at the university, with Prince Victor Emmanuel, assisted by his son Prince Emmanuele Philiberto, investing or promoting approximately 50 men and women, in addition to Farrell, from all parts of the world in the Order.  Among those being invested was Gianni Letta, who is said to be “the glue holding Italy together” during the present political crisis in that country.  Letta plays a crucial, behind-the-scenes, role in the coalition government in the Italian parliament.  Uniquely, Letta is the “right hand man” of former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, as well as the uncle of Enrico Letta, head of the center left political party in Italy and the present Prime Minister.  He has helped been able to help bring “the left” and “the right” together in a coalition government.

Saturday evening brought a gala ball at the Palazzo Colonna in Rome, hosted by the two princes.

Sunday morning brought the princes and the members of the Order back to the Pontifical University for Holy Mass celebrated by Cardinal Renato Martino.

On Monday, members of the Order toured a number of private palaces in Rome, some not normally open to the public, and were personally guided through the palaces by members of the Roman nobility who live and own them.  The palaces included the Palazzo Doria Pamphili, Palazzo Colonna, Palazzo Patrizi and Palazzo Rondinini.  Monday’s tour included lunch at the Circolo degli Scacchi, a private club for prominent members of the old Roman nobility and aristocracy, founded in 1872, where the Duca Badoglio and Count Alfonzo Marini Dettina were the luncheon hosts.  The day ended with a tour of the Pantheon in Rome, a second century Roman building, where members of the Italian royal family are entombed.  Greeting members of the Order at the Pantheon were members of the Royal Guardia d’Onore (Guard of Honor) who daily stand vigil at the royal tombs in the Pantheon.

With the conclusion of the events of the Capitolo Generale, Farrell traveled to northern Italy for business meetings with some of the clients of his legal practice, which specializes in navigating state liquor laws, including the importation of Italian wines and liquors into the United States.