AMERICAN DELEGATION OF SAVOY ORDERS

June 23, 2015 Dear consoeurs, confreres and devotees of merit, Attached are the invitation and reservation forms for the Savoy Orders September 25 - 28, 2015 events in Geneva, St. Maurice d’Agaune and Savoy. Please take a moment to open the attachment and let us know if you will attend this unique series of events. Those who attended the last Convocation in Geneva remember what a truly memorable time we had. We look forward to hearing from you and hope that as many as possible will join us so that the American Delegation will once again be well represented at these beautiful events in Switzerland and France. With best wishes and warm personal regards, I remain Sincerely,

Carl J. Morelli Delegate P.S. Please note the Chancellery 's requirement that knights and dames of the Savoy Orders who are not current in payment of their annual quota are not invited to attend these events.

Capitolo Generale (Chapter General)

Dynastic Orders of the Royal House of Savoy

Geneva, September 25- 28, 2015

His Royal Highness Victor Emmanuel Duke of Savoy, Prince of Naples,

Head of the Royal House of Savoy, Grand Master of the Dynastic Orders,

is pleased to invite you

Saturday, September 26 2015 to a Gala Evening Benefiting the Charitable Works of the Dynastic Orders of the Royal House of Savoy

in Hotel President Wilson, Geneva, Switzerland

Sunday, September 27, 2015 to a Solemn Mass

in the Abbey of Saint Maurice d’Agaune, Valais, Switzerland

AMERICAN DELEGATION OF SAVOY ORDERS

CHAPTER GENERAL, INSTALLATION, CHARITY BENEFITS IN SWITZERLAND

AND GUIDED TOUR OF HISTORIC SAVOY SITES IN SAVOY, FRANCE

Part 1: September 25 – 27, 2015 Geneva - Saint Maurice d’Agaune, Switzerland

Part II: September 25 and 28, 2015

Welcome Dinner in Geneva and Tour of Historic Savoy Sites in Savoy, France

Exclusively for the Dames, Knights and Devotees of Merit

of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus and of the Order of Merit of Savoy and their Guests

PART I – SWITZERLAND

Geneva, Switzerland

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Hotel President Wilson Members of the American Delegation at the Royal Abbey of Saint Maurice d’Agaune, Valais, Switzerland

American Delegation Members at the 2011 Capitolo in Geneva

1. To Reserve for the Weekend Events: Complete the Participation Form on page 4 and send it to the Savoy office by email or fax for the following events: Chapter General and Charity Benefit in Geneva, Switzerland and St. Maurice d’Agaune and for the one-day tour of Savoy historic sites in Savoy, France.

2. To make your own Geneva hotel and air travel reservations: Use the following Hotel President Wilson link if you wish to stay at the headquarters hotel to take advantage of special rates. www.starwoodmeeting.com/Book/AICODS. Air travel arrangements and hotel reservations should be made now.

3. If you do not intend to stay at the Hotel President Wilson: Please advise us of the name of your hotel, its address and telephone number.

4. For anyone needing the assistance of a travel agent: You can call Mr. Steve Wagner, Pro Travel International, at 212-702-2615.

La Perle du Lac Restaurant on the shore of Lake Geneva

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CHAPTER GENERAL OF THE ORDER OF SAINTS MAURICE AND LAZARUS CONVOCATION OF THE MEMBERS OF THE ORDER OF MERIT OF SAVOY

& TOUR OF HISTORIC SAVOY SITES IN SAVOY, FRANCE

September 25 – 28, 2015

PROGRAM

Friday, September 25

8:00 PM Dutch Treat Welcome Dinner for Delegation Members and their Guests La Perle du Lac Restaurant, Geneva (Tie and Jacket) Bring local (Swiss) currency.

Saturday, September 26

Hotel President Wilson - Geneva

2:30 PM Installation Ceremony* and Presentation of Diplomas and Blessing of the Church Mantles for the Order of Merit of Savoy and Order of the Saints Maurice and Lazarus (Dark Suits). New members bring their church robes.

Followed by AICODS General Assembly (Dark Suits) 8:30 PM Welcome Cocktail Reception (White or Black Tie with Orders and Decorations) 9:00 PM Gala Charity Benefit (White or Black Tie with Orders and Decorations)

Sunday, September 27

Hotel President Wilson, Geneva - Abbey of Saint Maurice, Valais – Hotel President Wilson

10:00 AM Chancellery buses leave for Saint Maurice from the Hotel (Dark Suits) 11:30 PM Assembly of members of the Orders with Church Robes in the Sacristy 12:00 PM Solemn Mass (Church Robes) in the presence of the Grand Master His Royal

Highness, Duke of Savoy, Prince of Naples 1:45 PM Charity Buffet Luncheon (Dark Suits) Followed by Departure of Chancellery buses to Geneva and Geneva airport

Monday, September 28

American Delegation Tour of Savoy Historic Sites in Savoy, France** 9:00 AM Departure from Hotel President Wilson (Tie and Jacket) (Bring your passports for Swiss/French border crossings)

10:30 AM Royal Abbey of Hautecombe

1:00 PM Lunch at Michelin Guide rated L’Auberge du Père Bise

2:30 PM Chateau d’Annecy

6:00 PM Return to Hotel President Wilson

*Please note the following protocol: If you are receiving a decoration at an installation ceremony, please do not wear the insignia or rosette of that Order and grade until after the Diploma conferring your honor has been officially presented to you. **Note: This tour and final tour price depend upon the number of persons participating.

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CHAPTER GENERAL OF THE ORDER OF SAINTS MAURICE AND LAZARUS CONVOCATION OF THE ORDER OF MERIT OF SAVOY

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND

Saturday September 26 through Monday, September 28, 2015

PARTICIPATION FORM

Name____________________________________________________________________________________

Order and Grade___________________________________________________________________________

Address________________________________City________________State______Zip Code_____________

Email________________________________________________Phone_______________________________

PART I – CHANCELLERY EVENTS

□ I will attend the Saturday, September 26 installation ceremony for the Order of Merit of Savoy (OMS) with ____ guests

for the Order of Sts. Maurice & Lazarus (OSSML) with ____ guests

□ I will participate in the Saturday, September 26 Benefit Dinner @ $475 per person. Total: $ _____________

My guests for the Benefit Dinner* are ____________________________________________________

□ I will attend the Sunday, September 27 Solemn Mass wearing my Church robe of OSSML ____ OMS ____

□ I will make use of the Chancellery bus between Hotel President Wilson, Geneva and Saint Maurice with ____ guests.

□ I will attend the Sunday, September 27 Buffet Luncheon at St. Maurice @ $75 per person. Total: $______

□alone □ with ___ guests

My guests for the Buffet Luncheon are _____________________________________________

PART II – AMERICAN DELEGATION EVENTS

□ I will participate in the Friday, September 25, Dutch treat American Delegation Welcome Dinner

My guests for the Delegation Dinner will be: ______________________________________________

□ I will participate in the Monday, September 28, 2015 all-day Tour “Historic Savoy Sites in Savoy, France” @ $ 450 per person. (Note: Passports are required for border crossings)

(Please note: Tour and pricing may depend upon the number of participants)

□alone □with ___ guests Total Tour Cost: $______________________

My guests for the tour are______________________________________________________________

□ Total Amount of Check Enclosed $_________________________________________________________

Please make your check payable to “The American Delegation of Savoy Orders.”

Please note: You may reserve immediately, but this form with your payment must be received no later than August 25, 2015

*The Chancellery can consider requests for group seating for tables of 10 persons at the Gala on Saturday. The Chancellery has customarily seated the American Delegation members and guests together

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AMERICAN DELEGATION OF SAVOY ORDERS

PARTII 

ITINERARY– Historic Savoy Sites Tour in Savoy, France  

September 28, 2015  

 Exclusively for American Delegation Members and their Guests  

The castles and abbeys around Lake Geneva (Lac Léman) in Switzerland and France reflect the long history of the Savoy Dynasty. This family had a dominant influence in the past on the Swiss, Savoie and Haute-Savoie regions, which together were termed “Duché de Savoie.” This full day tour includes private transportation, tour guide, gourmet lunch, admission fees, taxes and gratuities. Itinerary times are approximate. (Note: All tour arrivals and departures will be from the Hotel President Wilson in Geneva.) (Note: Tour itinerary subject to change for logistical considerations. Tour and prices may depend upon number of participants)         (Note: Passports required as we will be crossing the border to France)  

 

 9:00 am: Departure from Geneva to the Royal Abbey of Hautecombe in Savoy  

 

Monday morning departure of the American Delegation tour  from  the Hotel President Wilson, en  route  to  the ancient  town  of  Annecy  and  the  Royal  Abbey  of Hautecombe  in  the  Savoie  region  in  France.  Passing bucolic villages and alpine passes and accompanied once again  by  English  speaking  tour  guide, Mme.  Chantal George,  the  tour  group  will  cross  the  border  from Switzerland  into  Savoy,  France.  (Passports  required) Under the sovereignty of the Savoy Dynasty from about 1,000 to 1860, this greatly coveted frontier region was for centuries  a  nation  in  its  own  right,  powerful  and independent, with its own rich history and traditions.               Charming ancient streets of Annecy

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 Visit to the Royal Abbey of Hautecombe:       

            

     

Royal Abbey of Hautecombe Located on  the west bank of Le Bourget Lake, overlooking  the  expansive  lake,  the  Royal Abbey of Hautecombe  is  renowned  for being the  necropolis  of  the  House  of  Savoy  and several of the Savoy kings and queens. It is the most widely visited monument in Savoy. It is a former  Cistercian  monastery,  later a  Benedictine  monastery,  in  Saint‐Pierre‐de‐Curtille  near  Aix‐les‐Bains,  in  Savoy,  France. Hautecombe was for centuries the burial‐place of  the  Counts  of  Savoy.  Count  Humbert  III (1135‐1189),  known  as  "Blessed",  and  his  wife Anne were  interred  there  in  the  latter  part  of the  12th  century;  and  about  a  century  later 

Boniface  of  Savoy,  Archbishop  of Canterbury  (1245–1270),  son  of  Count Thomas  I  of  Savoy,  was  buried  in  the sanctuary  of  the  abbey  church. He  had  come from England with King Edward I to accompany him on a crusade, but died at  the castle of St. Helena in Savoy. The abbot Anthony of Savoy, a son of Charles Emmanuel I, was also buried there  in  1673  as was  the  Savoy King  Charles Felix of Sardinia‐Piedmont after his death in 1831. The  last Savoy king of  Italy, Umberto II, was entombed in a separate chapel  in 1983 and was  joined  with  his  wife  Queen  Marie‐José following her death in 2001. 

       

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1:00 pm Lunch:  L’Auberge du Père Bise, Annecy, Haute Savoie, France.

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After working up an appetite touring all morning, the group will be treated to lunch honoring local culinary traditions in a charming, picturesque, regional and historic restaurant, L’Auberge du Père Bise. Located on the banks of Lake Annecy in the village of Talloires, 30 miles south of Geneva, the Auberge du Père Bise is a splendid place, at once elegant, charming and sophisticated. Michelin rated, it is one of only 19 top establishments in France. Surrounded by protective mountains - the water of Lake Annecy is reputed to be one of the purest in the world - inspiring Paul Cezanne’s splendid painting of the same name. The Père Bise, a hundred-year-old inn, is beautifully situated between lake and mountains. The restaurant has a breathtaking view from its terrace on the lake. The chef Sophie Bise is famous for her creative dishes which are also sculpted to look as lovely as they taste. Sophie Bise only works with regional and local fresh products and is particularly known for her refined gourmet preparations using fish from Annecy Lake with a perfect combination of the most savory ingredients.

2:30 pm:  Departure for Château d’Annecy                  

               

           

 

6:00 pm:  Approximate time of arrival in Geneva  

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Annecy  is  located  between Geneva  and  the old  Savoy  capital  of  Chambéry.  Thus  its history was strongly  influenced by these two towns between the 10th and the 19th century. Starting as the capital of the county of Geneva after  the demise of  the  last of  the Counts of Geneva, it became integrated into the House of  Savoy’s  possessions  in  1401.  In  1444,  the town was designated by the Princes of Savoy as  the  capital  of  a  region  covering  the possessions  of  the  Genevois,  Faucigny  and Beaufortain.   With  the advance of Calvinism in  1535,  it became  a  center  for  the Counter‐Reformation and  the bishop’s  see of Geneva was  transferred  here.  Saint  Francis  of  Sales who was bishop of Annecy, was born at  the nearby castle of Sales in 1567. 

In 1416, Amadeus VIII, the count of Savoy became the  family’s  first Duke of Savoy, a title which was  to  legitimize  at European level  the  geostrategic  role  of  Savoy  and which was to earn its rulers the appellation of  "Gatekeepers  of  the  Alps,"  since  they controlled  key  western  crossings  from Northern Europe into the Italian peninsula.  With the gradual unification of the Italian regions by  the House of Savoy,  the Savoy region  was  ceded  to  France  on  June  14, 1860,  the  last province  to become part of the French nation. 

Panoramic Vista of Annecy

Picturesque Annecy Canal

The Château d'Annecy  is  a  restored  castle which dominates  the  old  French  town  of Annecy.  It was bought by the town, restored and transformed into a museum,  le musée‐château d'Annecy. The castle  is listed as a historic monument by the French Ministry of Culture.  The castle was built between the 12th and 16th  centuries.  It  served  as  the  residence  of  the Counts  of  Geneva  and  the  Dukes  of  Genevois‐Nemours. Several times the victim of fires, the castle was abandoned in the 17th century and later repaired to serve as a barracks until 1947. The town of Annecy acquired the castle in 1953, restored it with the help of Monument historiques and installed a museum.

Château d'Annecy