Clara Jeanne Nuvoletti (née Agnelli), formerly Princess Clara von Fürstenberg, (7 April 1920 – 19 July 2016) was an Italian socialite and heiress.

Early life and family

Clara Jeanne Agnelli was born in

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

on 7 April 1920 to

Edoardo Agnelli Edoardo Agnelli (9 June 1954 – 15 November 2000) was the eldest child and only son of Gianni Agnelli, the industrialist patriarch of Fiat and of Marella Agnelli (born Donna Marella Caracciolo di Castagneto). He converted to Islam when he was l ...

, a businessman and member of the

Agnelli family The Agnelli family () is an Italian multi-industry business dynasty founded by Giovanni Agnelli, one of the original founders of the Fiat motor company which became Italy's largest automobile manufacturer. They are also primarily known for other ...

, and Donna

Virginia Bourbon del Monte ''Donna'' Virginia Bourbon del Monte dei principi di San Faustino (Rome, 24 May 1899 – Pisa, 30 November 1945) was the wife of Edoardo Agnelli (industrialist), Edoardo Agnelli and the mother of Gianni Agnelli. Biography She was the daughter of ...

, a noblewoman. Her paternal grandfather,

Giovanni Agnelli Giovanni Agnelli (13 August 1866 – 16 December 1945) was an Italian businessman, who founded Fiat car manufacturing in 1899. Early life The son of Edoardo Agnelli and Aniceta Frisetti, he was born in 1866 in Villar Perosa, a small town near ...

, was the founder of

Fiat Automobiles Fiat Automobiles S.p.A. (, , ; originally FIAT, it, Fabbrica Italiana Automobili di Torino, lit=Italian Automobiles Factory of Turin) is an Italian automobile manufacturer, formerly part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, and since 2021 a subsidiary ...

. Her maternal grandfather was Carlo Bourbon del Monte, Prince di San Faustino. She was the sister of Cristiana, Susanna, Maria Sole,

Gianni Gianni is an Italian name (occasionally a surname), a short form of the Italian Giovanni and a cognate of John meaning God is gracious. Gianni is the most common diminutive of Giovanni in Italian. People with this given name * Gianni Agnelli (i ...

, Giorgio, and

Umberto Agnelli Umberto Agnelli (; 1 November 1934 – 27 May 2004) was an Italian industrialist and politician. He was the third son of Virginia Agnelli (born Donna Virginia Bourbon del Monte) and of Edoardo Agnelli, and the youngest brother of Gianni Agnell ...

. In 1935, when Agnelli was fifteen years old, her father died in an airplane crash. Her mother died in a car accident in 1945. In November 1968 Agnellli went to the break-away state of

Biafra Biafra, officially the Republic of Biafra, was a partially recognised secessionist state in West Africa that declared independence from Nigeria and existed from 1967 until 1970. Its territory consisted of the predominantly Igbo-populated form ...

in Nigeria to give money to secessionist leader

C. Odumegwu Ojukwu Chukwuemeka "Emeka" Odumegwu Ojukwu (4 November 1933 – 26 November 2011) was a Nigerian military officer, statesman and politician who served as the military governor of the Eastern Region of Nigeria in 1966 and the president of the se ...

on behalf of her family.

Marriages

Agnelli married Prince Tassilo zu

Fürstenberg Fürstenberg (also Fuerstenberg and Furstenberg) may refer to: Historical states * Fürstenberg-Baar, county (1441–1559) * Fürstenberg-Blumberg, county (1559–1614) * Fürstenberg-Donaueschingen, county (1617–1698) * Fürstenberg-Fürsten ...

in 1938 when she was 18 years old. The couple had three children,

Prince Egon von Fürstenberg Egon, Prinz von Fürstenberg (Eduard Egon Peter Paul Giovanni Prinz zu Fürstenberg; 29 June 1946 – 11 June 2004) was a socialite, banker, fashion and interior designer, and a member of the former German princely family of Fürstenberg. In ...

Princess Ira von Fürstenberg Princess is a regal rank and the feminine equivalent of prince (from Latin ''princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or for the daughter of a king or prince. Princess as a subst ...

, and Prince Sebastien von Fürstenberg. During her marriage Agnelli had an affair with Italian actor Giovanni Nuvoletti, Count Nuvoletti Perdomini (whom she had met in

Sestriere Sestriere (/se'strjɛre/) ( oc, Sestrieras, pms, Ël Sestrier, french: Sestrières) is a ski resort in Piedmont, Italy, a ''comune'' (municipality) of the Metropolitan City of Turin. It is situated in Val Susa, from the French border. Its name ...

when she was twelve years old.). She ran off with Nuvoletti and the two were eventually arrested, as adultery was illegal in Italy at the time. She had to sign a legal document renouncing her relationship with Nuvoletti in return for an annuity. She continued on with the affair, which angered her brother Gianni. Once divorce was legalized in Italy, Agnelli married Nuvoletti in 1974 in a civil ceremony and moved into the Villa Papadopoli. After the death of her first husband, she and Nuvoletti had a Catholic wedding ceremony at her villa's chapel in 1989.

Later life and death

She published several cook books. Nuvoletti died in 2008. Agnelli died on 19 July 2016 at the hospital dell'Angelo di Mestre. She had a Catholic funeral at the Church of Santa Maria del Carmello in

Mestre Mestre () is a borough of the ''comune'' (municipality) of Venice, on the mainland opposite the historical island city in the region of Veneto, Italy. Administratively, Mestre forms (together with the nearby Carpenedo) the ''Municipalità di ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Agnelli, Clara 1920 births 2016 deaths

Clara Clara may refer to: Organizations * CLARA, Latin American academic computer network organization * Clara.Net, a European ISP * Consolidated Land and Rail Australia, a property development consortium People * Clara (given name), a feminine giv ...

Bourbon del Monte family

German princesses Princesses by marriage Nobility from Turin Italian socialites