Marella Agnelli

Marella Agnelli

Marella Agnelli in the 1950s
Born Princess Marella Caracciolo di Castagneto
(1927-05-04) 4 May 1927
Florence, Kingdom of Italy
Spouse Gianni Agnelli
(1953-2003, his death)
Issue Edoardo Agnelli
Countess Margherita Agnelli de Pahlen
House House of Caracciolo
Religion Roman Catholic
Occupation Art collector, socialite, style icon, writer, landscape designer, garden designer and photographer

Marella Agnelli, born Donna Marella Caracciolo di Castagneto (born 4 May 1927)[1] is an Italian noblewoman, art collector, socialite, style icon and widow of former Fiat chairman Gianni Agnelli. She has often appeared in the fashion magazine Vogue. She was named to the International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame in 1963.[2][3]

Background

Donna Marella Caracciolo di Castagneto was born in Florence, as member of the House of Caracciolo, of the high Italian nobility. Her father was Don Filippo Caracciolo, 8th Prince di Castagneto, 3rd Duke di Melito, and hereditary Patrician of Naples (1903–1965), from an old Neapolitan noble family. Her mother was the former Margaret Clarke (1898–1955) of Peoria, Illinois. She had two brothers, Don Carlo Caracciolo (1925–2008), who inherited their father's titles in 1965 and founded the newspaper La Repubblica, being known as the "editor prince", referring to his aristocratic birth and elegant manner;[4] and Don Nicola Caracciolo (born 1931), the holder – since 2008 – of the titles, as 10th Prince di Castagneto, 5th Duke di Melito, and hereditary Patrician of Naples.[1]

Family

Marella and Gianni Agnelli

She was married in the Church of Osthoffen to Fiat tycoon Gianni Agnelli on 19 November 1953; they would remain married until his death on 24 January 2003. They had two children:

Career

Agnelli, who was educated in Paris, was an assistant to Erwin Blumenfeld in New York City early in her varied career, as well as an occasional editor and photographic contributor to Vogue. In 1973, she created a textile line for Abraham-Zumsteg, for which she was awarded the Resources Council's Roscoe (the design trade's equivalent of the Oscar) in 1977.

An avid gardener, Agnelli has authored a number of books on the subject, also providing many of the photographs. Two of her books are about the Garden of Ninfa (1999) and The Agnelli Gardens at Villar Perosa (1998).

More recently, she oversaw the opening of the Renzo Piano-designed art gallery Pinacoteca Giovanni and Marella Agnelli (it:Pinacoteca Giovanni e Marella Agnelli), built on the roof of the former Lingotto Fiat factory in Turin, Italy. The Agnelli collection includes Picasso, Renoir, Canaletto, Matisse and Canova materpieces.

The Swans

The reserved, patrician tastemaker and socialite is also known for her inclusion in Truman Capote's circle of "swans" – wealthy, stylish, and well-married women friends whose company he adored because they "had created themselves, as he had done", and "had stories to tell"[5] According to Capote, Agnelli was "the European swan numero uno", the youngest in a group that included Babe Paley, Gloria Guinness, C. Z. Guest, Slim Keith, and Pamela Harriman, among others. In her autobiography, Washington Post publisher and Capote friend Katharine Graham recounts that the author once told her that if Paley and Agnelli were "both in Tiffany's window, Marella would be more expensive" (Personal History, p. 393).

She was portrayed in the American biographical film Infamous (2006) by Isabella Rossellini.

Honours

– Grand Officer Order of Merit of the Italian Republic: Awarded the third-highest civil honour in Italy, by President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi on 13 September 2000.

Ancestry

Works (partial)

This literature-related list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Notes

  1. 1 2 Almanach de Gotha. Gotha: Justus Perthes. 1942. pp. 398–399.
  2. ↑ VF Staff (1963). "World's Best Dressed Women". The International Hall of Fame: Women. Vanity Fair. Retrieved 30 May 2012.
  3. ↑ Zilkha, Bettina (2004). Ultimate Style – The Best of the Best Dressed List. New York City: Assouline Publishing. pp. 70–73; 89. ISBN 978-2843235139.
  4. ↑ Povoledo, Elisabetta (2008-12-17). "C. Caracciolo, 83, a Publisher and La Repubblica Founder, Is Dead". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2015-09-07.
  5. ↑ Clarke, Gerald (1988). Capote – A Biography. New York City: Simon & Schuster. pp. 274–75. ISBN 978-0671228118.

Further reading

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