black nobility

English

Etymology

Calque of Italian nobiltà nera

Noun

black nobility

1. The Roman aristocratic families who sided with the papacy under Pope Pius IX after the Savoy family-led army of the Kingdom of Italy entered Rome on 20 September 1870, overthrew the Pope and the Papal States, and took over the Quirinal Palace; and any nobles subsequently ennobled by the Pope prior to the 1929 Lateran Treaty.

   Synonym: black aristocracy