established that the heraldic-nobiliary legislation of the Kingdom of Italy (1861–1946) is not current law, the title of the head of the noble family is still accorded to all descendants as courtesy titles. Titles of nobility The southern kingdoms of Naples, Sicily, and Sardinia, as well as the Papal states, granted titles as in monarchies such as Spain, France, or England: duke, marquis, count, baron. The title of viscount was not, however, as frequent in Italy as elsewhere. Joseph Bonaparte conferred the title "prince" to be hereditary on his children and grandchildren. In Northern Italy and Tuscany the situation was complicated by the many kinds of authorities granting titles. Often, 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. The Republic of Venice also granted feudal titles. In the Middle Ages: During the Renaissance, noble families conquered most of the Italian city-states except the republics of Venice, Genoa, Lucca, San Marino and Ragusa. Until 1806, parts of the present-day Italy, formed the Kingdom of Italy, belonging to the Holy Roman Empire. The emperor retained for himself the right of creating dukes and princes. The Northern Italian monarchs had received from the emperor the right of granting the lesser feudal titles (from marquess downwards), since these monarchs often were princes and dukes themselves. When in 1861 the king of Sardinia annexed the other Italian states, the Consulta Araldica (the Italian college of arms) integrated these different and varied systems into the hierarchy described below. In practice, this took decades. Ranks The official ranks under the Kingdom of Italy (1861–1946) were: This hierarchy resulted from the overlapping of titles granted by the pre-unification states, though these were different from each other. As a consequence, titles were not evenly distributed throughout the country and in each region some titles may have been completely absent. Post-World War II By 1946, with abolition of the monarchy, a number of titles borne by families in the pre-unification states (Two Sicilies, Papal State, etc.) still had not been matriculated by the Consulta Araldica. This explains the use of certain titles by families (and "claimants") whose position was not regularised between 1861 and 1946. Palaces and noble houses Palaces of rulers Palace of Caserta: residence of the