Cristiana Brandolini d’Adda, Contessa di Valmareno ( Agnelli; born 16 February 1927) is an Italian socialite 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 ...

Early life and family

Cristiana Agnelli was born on 16 February 1927 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 ...

. Her father was

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 ...

, an industrialist, and her mother was ''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 ...

, founded

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 del Monte, Prince di San Faustino. She was the fifth of seven children. Her sisters were Princess Clara von Fürstenberg, Countess Susanna Rattazzi, and Countess Maria Sole. Her brothers were

Gianni Agnelli Giovanni "Gianni" Agnelli (; 12 March 192124 January 2003), nicknamed ("The Lawyer"), was an Italian industrialist and principal shareholder of Fiat. As the head of Fiat, he controlled 4.4% of Italy's GDP, 3.1% of its industrial workforce a ...

Giorgio Agnelli Giorgio Agnelli (12 May 1929, in Turin – 11 May 1965, in Rolle) was a member of the Agnelli family. He was the second son of Virginia Agnelli (born Donna Virginia Bourbon del Monte) and of the industrialist Edoardo Agnelli. His brother, Gianni A ...

, 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 Agnelli. ...

. Agnelli's father died in a plane crash when she was eight years old and her mother died in a car accident when she was eighteen years old.

Adult life

At the age of nineteen, Agnelli moved to Rome with her sister Susanna to study art. She met Brandolino "Brando" Brandolini d'Adda, Conte di Valmareno at a party in

Cortina Cortina may refer to: Things * Cortina (tango), a short piece of music played during a tango dance event * Ford Cortina, a medium-sized family car built by Ford of Britain from 1962 to 1982 **Lotus Cortina, a 1963–1968 performance variant on the ...

, where she was visiting her sister Clara. In 1947 they were married in a Catholic ceremony at the Basilica di San Bartolomeo all'Isola on

Tiber Island The Tiber Island ( it, Isola Tiberina, Latin: ''Insula Tiberina'') is the only river island in the part of the Tiber which runs through Rome. Tiber Island is located in the southern bend of the Tiber. The island is boat-shaped, approximately ...

in Rome. Upon marriage, Agnelli became Countess Brandolini d'Adda of Valmareno. They had four sons named Tiberto (nicknamed Ruy), Leonello, Nuno, and Brandino. Tiberto would go on to marry

Princess Georgina de Faucigny-Lucinge et Coligny Princess Georgina Brandolini d'Adda, Contessa di Valmareno (born Princess Georgina Maria Natividad de Faucigny-Lucinge et Coligny; 23 December 1949) is a French-Brazilian fashion executive and designer. Early and personal life Princess Georgi ...

, Nuno married Muriel Phan van Thiet, and Brandino married

Marie Angliviel de la Beaumelle Marie Brandolini d'Adda di Valmareno (née Angliviel de la Beaumelle; 7 April 1963 – 30 May 2013) was a French-Italian glass maker. Early life and family Marie Angliviel de la Beaumelle was born on April 7, 1963, in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Haut ...

. The couple owned homes in Venice, Paris, and Geneva but mainly spent time at their country estate Vistorta. Countess Brandolini d'Adda was photographed by

Cecil Beaton Sir Cecil Walter Hardy Beaton, (14 January 1904 – 18 January 1980) was a British fashion, portrait and war photographer, diarist, painter, and interior designer, as well as an Oscar–winning stage and costume designer for films and the theat ...

in 1951. In 1973, she was added to the

International Best Dressed List The International Best-Dressed Hall of Fame List was founded by fashionista Eleanor Lambert in 1940 as an attempt to boost the reputation of American fashion at the time. The American magazine '' Vanity Fair'' is currently in charge of the List af ...

for "outstanding example of elegance without ostentation", and was elevated to the Best-Dressed Hall of Fame in 1975. She has been noted for her style and taste in both fashion and decorating. Countess Brandolini d'Adda's husband died at the age of 85 in 2005.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brandolini d'Adda, Cristiana Living people 1927 births Agnelli family

Cristiana Cristiana is an Italian and Portuguese given name, from Cristiano. It is also a feminine given name in Romania, being the feminine form of Cristian. * Cristiana Capotondi * Cristiana Cucchi * Cristiana Peres * Cristiana Oliveira See also * Cris ...

Bourbon del Monte family Italian countesses Italian socialites People from Turin