<P> In 1946, the Kingdom of Italy was replaced by a republic . Under the Italian Constitution adopted in 1948, titles of nobility are not legally recognised . Certain predicati (territorial designations) recognised before 1922 may continue to be attached to surnames and used in legal documents . Often these were historic feudal territories of noble families . A high court ruling in 1967 definitively established that the heraldic - nobiliary legislation of the Kingdom of Italy (1861--1946) is not current law . </P> <P> The southern kingdoms of Naples, Sicily and Sardinia, as well as the Papal states, granted the titles typical of monarchies such as Spain, France or England: Prince, Duke, Marquis, Count, Baron . The title of Viscount was not as frequent in Italy as elsewhere . </P> <P> In Northern Italy and Tuscany the situation was more complex, because there were many kinds of authorities granting titles . </P> <P> Typically, Italian comunes (also in the Kingdom of Naples) and Republics granted or recognised the title of Patrician, which was only regarded as a rank of nobility in Italy . The patriciate was an urban aristocracy, as opposed to a feudal one . </P>

Who was the king of italy during the renaissance