CHARLES EMMANUEL I, Duke of Savoy. - Son of Emmanuel Philibert, the restorer of the Savoyard state, and of Margaret of Valois, he was born at Rivoli on 12 January 1562 and came to power on the death of his father, on 30 August 1580. His reign thus began while France was afflicted by the struggles between Catholics and Huguenots, of which Spain sought to take advantage in order to assert its continental hegemony. From the European situation the young duke sought to profit in order to resolve the great problems that Emmanuel Philibert had left outstanding: those of the marquisates of Saluzzo and of Montferrat. To this end he married Catherine, daughter of Philip II of Spain, hoping thereby to obtain Spanish aid against France for the annexation of the marquisate of Saluzzo, proclaimed in 1587. Charles Emmanuel therefore entered upon a bitter war with the King of France, Henry IV; in 1590 he attempted the occupation of Provence, but, with Spanish support failing him, he had, in order to keep Saluzzo, to resign himself to the Treaty of Lyon (1601), concluded through the mediation of Pope Clement VIII, ceding to France the far richer provinces of Bresse, Gex and Valromey. In this way he succeeded in closing to France the gates of the peninsula. Tireless, in 1602 the duke attempted to occupy Geneva, but failed. He turned then to organizing a league of Italian princes under his hegemony: to this end he gave two daughters in marriage to the dukes of Mantua and of Modena. For the time being it had no outcome, nor did he succeed in bringing to completion the project of conquering Albania and Macedonia (1608-10).
Meanwhile he was reconciled with the King of France, Henry IV, and with him concluded the alliance of Brozolo (April 1610) in order to fight Spain and liberate Lombardy. With the French king assassinated, Charles Emmanuel remained alone in the face of Spanish hostility. Nevertheless he persisted and from 1614 to 1618 fought against Spain in order to assert his rights over the marquisate of Montferrat. This war drew upon the Duke of Savoy the attention of all Europe: it may indeed be considered as the starting point of the new history of Italy, understood as a struggle for independence against foreign hegemony. With the extinction in 1628 of the Gonzaga dynasty, he again took up his projects regarding Montferrat, but this time he encountered the resistance of France, desirous of establishing at Mantua and in Montferrat the Gonzaga-Nevers, partisans of French influence. Charles Emmanuel fought bitterly against the invading French armies from 1629 to 1630 and died on 26 July 1630 at Savigliano, leaving the State at the mercy of the enemy. His program of expansion and independence was to be taken up again by his successors. Charles Emmanuel was very jealous of his sovereignty in his relations with the Holy See, claiming the right of appointment for episcopal sees.