The 36-year-old grandson of Italy's last king, Umberto II, will run for the centrist Union of Christian Democrats (UDC) party.
"I have been in exile for 31 years and I know Europe well. I speak five languages," he reportedly said during the press conference. "I know half of the current heads of state personally, and the other half I'm related to," he added, stressing that he would be faithful to the Italian Republic and its constitution.
The UDC, a small Christian democratic party, announced yesterday that the prince would stand in north-west Italy, the origin of Italy's royal Savoy family.
"Emanuele Filiberto will be a big surprise to Italian and European politics," said UDC leader Lorenzo Cesa. "He is an extraordinary person and very capable. We are convinced that he will go to Brussels to defend values close to our hearts: the Christian identity and family," he continued.
Michele Vietti, the UDC's vice-president in the Italian Chamber of Deputies, said the prince's candidacy represented a milestone in Italian history.
The prince, who is married to French actress Clotilde Courau, contested last year's Italian parliamentary elections as head of the 'Values and Future' movement. But he won just 0.4 percent of the vote.
Born in exile in Geneva, the prince first entered Italy in 2003 following the lifting of an entry ban on male members of the Savoy family, imposed following a 1946 referendum in which Italians opted for a republican constitution.
The Savoy family's reputation was blemished by Italy's World War II-era monarch Victor Emmanuel III, who collaborated with fascist dictator Benito Mussolini and co-signed racial laws promulgated by the fascist regime in 1938.
While not formally giving up their claim to the throne, both Emmanuel Filiberto and his father Prince Victor Emmanuel insist that they respect Italy's republican constitution.
Recently, Emmanuel Filiberto has drawn criticism from some intransigent monarchists for starring in commercials and television shows, including a dance competition, which he won.
