Noble families, and this applies even to those considered to be of historical significance, have undergone many NPEs (non-paternity event) throughout their history. In general, deriving information on the basis of a modern descendant of these families, often a self claiming descendant, is not conclusive evidence. Also because the living descendant may very well not be descended from the progenitor paternally.
The Geni page of Carlo Alberto di Savoia has a link to the FTDNA Italian DNA Project. I checked who was the person who presumably tested for the House of Savoy and the name listed was Verecondi Scortecci Di Castelsecco. The Verecondi Scortecci family has its roots in Tuscany, particularly in the city of Arezzo. I Googled it and ask to chatGPT but there is no evidence that this family has any link to the house of Savoy let alone descent from them. So I would reject the claim that the House of Savoy belongs to haplogroup E-V13 just based on this evidence.
Yes, the claim that the House of Savoy belongs to haplogroup E-V13 to date is baseless, you are right Maciamo. Also because it is not even clear to whom the analyses published in the FTDNA Italian DNA Project really belong. It is a very complex story.
The Verecondi Scortecci Di Castelsecco family has been living in Veneto for at least a few generations, residing in Colle Umberto in the province of Treviso. The Verecondi Scortecci family (with "Di Castelsecco" seemingly tied to a noble title linked to a territory—there is indeed an area called Castelsecco in Arezzo, an Etruscan archaeological site, though this could be coincidental) is not mentioned, even when searching for Verecondi and Scortecci separately, in the Ceramelli Papiani archive, the largest existing collection of records on Tuscan families with coats of arms, ancient origins, or historical significance. This is surprising, as the archive contains highly detailed information on families with noble status or historical importance in Tuscany. When the Habsburg-Lorraine succeeded the Medici on the throne of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, the local nobility was thoroughly reorganized—especially since the Habsburg-Lorraine had also ascended to the Austrian throne—and meticulous records were compiled.
There is a story, whose reliability is uncertain, that Carlo Alberto di Savoia, his wife Maria Teresa Habsburg-Lorraine, and their firstborn son Vittorio Emanuele II, following irredentist uprisings that had already affected Turin a few months earlier, spent the summer of 1822 in Florence at the Villa of Poggio Imperiale. Historical accounts state that on September 16, 1822, a fire broke out at the villa, where young Vittorio Emanuele II was sleeping. The fire was reportedly caused unintentionally by the combustion of the cradle’s mosquito net, sparked by nursemaid Teresa Zanotti Racca from Turin. According to one version, Vittorio Emanuele II was disfigured by the fire, while another claims he died that night. As the Savoy family could not afford to disclose such a story, the loss of the heir to the throne (at the time, Vittorio Emanuele II was Carlo Alberto’s only son) would have posed serious problems for the Savoy dynasty. This was especially critical as Carlo Alberto had to distance himself from Turin due to the impromptu Statute initiative, which was poorly received by the local nobility, and seek refuge with his father-in-law in Florence. According to the tale, that night, Vittorio Emanuele II was replaced with the son of a butcher from Florence’s Porta Romana, the son of Gaetano Tiburzi, known as “il Maciacca” a former supplier to the Savoy family. Thus emerged the popular legend that the Savoys descended from the son of a Florentine butcher (though Tiburzi is not a Florentine or Tuscan surname, but more likely originates from Upper Latium, Umbria, or the Marches).
In recent years, the story/legend has been enriched by statements over the past two decades from a certain Umberto Verecondi, an elderly Tuscan man from Arezzo (aged 70 in 2016, now in his 80s), standing 1.90 meters tall, blond with blue eyes, who strikingly resembles some of the later Savoy generations. The story has been made public by those involved, so the name can be disclosed and the photo altrady published in some magazines.
The eldest son of the Savoy family survived the fire but was severely disfigured. Entrusted to the aristocratic Florentine Serristori family under the Church’s protection, and discreetly monitored by the Royal House of Savoy, the true son of Carlo Alberto and Maria Teresa Habsburg-Lorraine was given the name Fausto Verecondi, chosen by the Bishop of Arezzo. In his early years, the child was cared for by Bishop Agostino Albergotti of Arezzo, a prelate devoted to his namesake saint, whose conversion to Catholicism was attributed to Verecondo, explaining the choice of the surname Verecondi. Settling in Arezzo, Fausto married Camilla Cerini of Siena, with whom he had five children: Antonio, Angelo, Luigi, Pietro, and Fortunata. The lineage of the eldest son, Antonio, continued through Santi, then Umberto, and then Verecondo, leading to the present-day Umberto Verecondi.
Many questions remain unanswered. Is Umberto Verecondi of Arezzo truly a descendant of the Savoy family? Is he related to the Verecondi Scortecci Di Castelsecco family? There is no evidence to confirm this. Whose Y-DNA analysis, published on FTDNA, is it? We don’t know. Thus, the claim that the Savoys belong to the E-V13 haplogroup remains unproven to date.
A photo of the Verecondi Scortecci family (shared publicly by them on social media, so posting it here should not violate any rules) shows, on the right, Alvin Verecondi Scortecci with his children, and on the left, his wife, who belongs to the Venetian nobility (Azzoni Avogadro, claiming descent from the Ottonian dynasty).
www.geni.com
