PIO DI SAVOIA, an ancient noble Italian family, first mentioned by good authorities in the 14th century. From the house of Este (q.v.) they received the lordship of Carpi, and later they acquired the fiefs of Meldola, Sassuolo, &c. Many members of the family were distinguished as condottieri, diplomats and ecclesiastics. Alberto Pio obtained from the house of Savoy in 1450 the privilege of adding “di Savoia” to his name as a reward for his military services. Another Alberto Pio (1475–1551), who was French ambassador in Rome, won fame as a man of learning, and Cardinal Rodolfo Pio (1516–1564) was a trusted adviser to Pius III. and helped to establish the Inquisition at Milan Ascanio Pio (d. 1649) was a dramatic poet of some merit. Spain conferred the title of prince on the family, and one branch of it is to this day established in Spain.
See P. Litta, Le Famiglie celebri italiane (Milan); G. Campori Memorie storiche di Marco Pio di Savoia (Modena, 1876), A. Ceriani and G. Porro, “Il Rotolo epistografo dei principi Pio di Savoia,” in the Archivio storico lombardo, ser II. an. XI. fasc. 1, ser. III. an. VIII 96, and ser. III. an. XIX. 453.