Umberto III, Count of Savoy

Who was Umberto III, Count of Savoy?

Umberto III, surnamed the Blessed, was Count of Savoy from 1148 to 1189. His parents were Amadeus III of Savoy and Mahaut of Albon, the sister of Guy IV of Dauphinois. His memorial day is March 4.

According to Cope

Umberto III, who reigned from 1149 to 1189...was a man of irresolute spirit who was disconsolate at being born a prince and preferred the seclusion of a monastery. He only renounced his chosen state of celibacy so as to give his land an heir.

His first wife died young; his second marriage ended in divorce. Umberto gave up and became a Carthusian monk. However, the nobles and common people of Savoy begged him to marry yet again, which he reluctantly did. This third wife gave him two more daughters, and Umberto attempted to return to the monastic life yet again. Finally he was prevailed upon to marry for a fourth time, and this wife, Beatrice, produced the son who would ultimately succeed him.

In 1188 he founded the Monastery of Sant'Antonio di Ranverso.