Simone Del Duca (18 July 1912 – 16 May 2004) was a French businesswoman, a member of the

Académie des Beaux-Arts An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...

, and major

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

. Married to French publishing magnate

Cino Del Duca Cino Del Duca (25 July 1899 – 24 May 1967) was an Italian-born businessman film producer and philanthropist who moved to France in 1923 where he made a fortune in the French publishing business. Biography Cino Del Duca Born in Montedinove in t ...

, on his death in 1967 she was left with a considerable fortune. Although she remained on the board of directors of her late husband's companies, Simone Del Duca devoted a great deal of her time to philanthropic causes. In 1969 she established a prestigious

literary prize A literary award or literary prize is an award presented in recognition of a particularly lauded literary piece or body of work. It is normally presented to an author. Organizations Most literary awards come with a corresponding award ceremony. Ma ...

in her husband's name. The

Prix mondial Cino Del Duca The Prix mondial Cino Del Duca (Cino Del Duca World Prize) is an international literary award. With an award amount of , it is among the richest literary prizes. Origins and operations It was established in 1969 in France by Simone Del Duca (19 ...

provides a substantial cash prize and was made open to qualified persons from anywhere in the world. Simone Del Duca's charitable activities increased to where in 1975 she created the Simone and Cino Del Duca Foundation. The Foundation's primary involvements gave support for

scientific research The scientific method is an empirical method for acquiring knowledge that has characterized the development of science since at least the 17th century (with notable practitioners in previous centuries; see the article history of scientific ...

and after being made a member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in 1994 she funded two major prizes in

visual arts The visual arts are Art#Forms, genres, media, and styles, art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics (art), ceramics, photography, video, filmmaking, design, crafts and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as ...

and music awarded through the Académie. Simone Del Duca's philanthropic work was recognized by the government of France who made her a commander of the Legion of Honor.

Thoroughbred racing

Beyond her husband's business and her charitable foundation, Simone Del Duca continued to own and operate their Haras de Quétiéville

thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are ...

horse racing stable and

stud farm A stud farm or stud in animal husbandry is an establishment for selective breeding of livestock. The word " stud" comes from the Old English ''stod'' meaning "herd of horses, place where horses are kept for breeding". Historically, documentation ...

Biéville-Quétiéville Biéville-Quétiéville () is a former commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France. On 1 January 2017, it was merged into the new commune Belle Vie en Auge.Calvados Calvados (, , ) is a brandy from Normandy in France, made from apples or pears, or from apples with pears. History In France Apple orchards and brewers are mentioned as far back as the 8th century by Charlemagne. The first known record of Nor ...

. Located in the

Basse-Normandie Lower Normandy (french: Basse-Normandie, ; nrf, Basse-Normaundie) is a former administrative region of France. On 1 January 2016, Lower and Upper Normandy merged becoming one region called Normandy. Geography The region included three departmen ...

region, an area famous for its many important horse farms, she bred horses that raced at the

Deauville Deauville () is a commune in the Calvados department, Normandy, northwestern France. Major attractions include its harbour, race course, marinas, conference centre, villas, Grand Casino, and sumptuous hotels. The first Deauville Asian Film F ...

racecourse. Her colt,

Herbager Herbager (1956 – 25 March 1976) was a French Thoroughbred racehorse and an influential sire in both France and the United States. Background Herbager was sired by Vandale, a stayer who won the 1946 Prix du Conseil Municipal and whom Herbager ...

won the 1959 French Classic, the

Prix du Jockey Club The Prix du Jockey Club, sometimes referred to as the French Derby, is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Chantilly ov ...

, and was named French Champion Three-Year-Old Colt. In 1962, her horse

Soltikoff The House of Saltykov ( rus, Салтыков, p=səltɨˈkof) is the name of an old Russian noble family which can trace their ancestry back to 1240. In March 1730 the family was awarded with the title of Count in Russia, granted to them by Empre ...

won France's most prestigious race, the

Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe The Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe is a Group races, Group 1 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp Racec ...

. Another of her horses, Marly River, won 1987 French Horse of the Year honors in

hurdling Hurdling is the act of jumping over an obstacle at a high speed or in a sprint. In the early 19th century, hurdlers ran at and jumped over each hurdle (sometimes known as 'burgles'), landing on both feet and checking their forward motion. Today, ...

. Simone Del Duca died in 2004 at the age of 91 and was interred with her husband in

Père Lachaise Cemetery Père Lachaise Cemetery (french: Cimetière du Père-Lachaise ; formerly , "East Cemetery") is the largest cemetery in Paris, France (). With more than 3.5 million visitors annually, it is the most visited necropolis in the world. Notable figures ...

in Paris.

References

External links

Fondation Simone et Cino Del Duca
(French language)

(French language)

(French language-fee) {{DEFAULTSORT:Del Duca, Simone French philanthropists French racehorse owners and breeders 1912 births 2004 deaths Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery Commandeurs of the Légion d'honneur Del Duca family Owners of Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winners 20th-century philanthropists