The Holy Roman Emperor, Sigismund of Luxemburg and Bohemia, elevated Amadeus VIII from count to Duke of Savoy in 1416, a status consolidated over the next hundred years, culminating in the decision to move the ducal capital from alpine Chambéry to Turin. Of Roman origin with a low-grade veneer of medieval buildings, in 1563 Turin was chosen by Duke Emmanuel Philibert to be the new center of the dynasty’s growing importance in European affairs. This reflected what the Kings of France called its position at ‘The Gateway to Italy’. Over time the medieval cathedral complex became a bold renaissance expression of the city’s new spirit, while an elegant ducal court soon blossomed nearby, marrying renaissance forms to ever increasing French influence, absorbed via a series of royal marriages. At the turn of the 17th into the 18th centuries, the dynasty produced a military genius, Prince Eugène of Savoy, who served three Habsburg emperors becoming their most successful general. Victorious against the Turks and triumphant in the Wars of the Spanish Succession, his standing and achievements aided the dynasty’s elevation from dukes to kings in 1720. Throughout this period, the creative force of architects such as Guarino Guarini and Filippo Juvarra transformed the city and garlanded it with elegant villas and hunting lodges of restrained opulence.