The order took its name from the ancient Iron Crown of Lombardy, a medieval jewel with what was thought to be an iron ring, later shown to be of silver, forged from what was supposed to be a nail from the True Cross as a band on the inside. This crown also gave its name to the Order of the Crown of Italy, which was established in 1868.
Regardless of origin, the crown is crafted of six hinged plates of gold, set with precious gems, and held together with a circlet structure of white metal underneath. It was most probably a votive crown and the white metal band within has proven to be crafted of silver rather than iron. From the 14th c. onwards, the crown was seen as the most prominent insignia of the Italian kingship. It was therefore used during the coronation of later Holy Roman Emperors as kings of Italy.
During his continued expansion of power, Napoleon Bonaparte conquered Italy in much the same manner as Charlemagne. As a symbolic gesture, he had himself crowned as King of Italy using the Iron Crown of Lombardy for the coronation, which occurred on 26 May 1805.
Soon after, Napoleon founded the Order of the Iron Crown on 5 June 1805. The order was divided into three classes, with an allowance of up to 20 grand cross knights, 100 commander knights, and 500 ordinary knights.
The ribbon colors of the order were gold and green, with the badge of the order being an imperial eagle set upon a representation of the Iron Crown of Lombardy.
Knights wore a traditional military-style medal on the left chest.
Commanders wore a traditional military-style medal on the left chest, with the addition of a rosette in the center of the ribbon to distinguish them from ordinary knights.
Holders of the Grand Cross wore a sash over the right shoulder and a neck badge, along with a six-pointed breast star (that featured the Iron Crown at its center) on the left breast.
Ribbon bar
Knight
Commander
Grand Cross
Master of the order
1805–1814: Napoleon I, Emperor of the French and King of Italy
Sources
Blom, Philipp. To Have and to Hold: An Intimate History of Collectors and Collecting. Overlook, 2003. pp.146–147.
Gottschalck, Friedrich. Almanach der Ritter-Orden. Leipzig, Kingdom of Saxony: Georg Joachim Goeschen, 1819.