Princess Virginia Maria Clara von und zu Fürstenberg (''Virginia Maria Clara Prinzessin von und zu Fürstenberg''; 5 October 1974 – 10 May 2023) was an Italian artist, poet, filmmaker, and fashion designer.
Early life and family
Princess Virginia von Fürstenberg was born in
Genoa
Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...
, Italy on 5 October 1974 to Prince Sebastian zu Fürstenberg (b. 1950) and his wife, Elisabetta Guarnati (b. 1951). She was a member of an ancient Swabian
House of Fürstenberg. Her paternal grandparents were Prince Tassilo zu Fürstenberg and
Clara Agnelli. She was a niece of actress
Princess Ira von Fürstenberg
Princess is a title used by a female member of a regnant monarch's family or by a female ruler of a principality. The male equivalent is a prince (from Latin ''princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for t ...
and fashion designer
Prince Egon von Fürstenberg, the ex-husband of
Diane von Fürstenberg
Diane von Fürstenberg (born Diane Simone Michele Halfin; 31 December 1946) is a Belgian fashion designer best known for her wrap dress. She initially rose to prominence in 1969 when she married into the German princely House of Fürstenberg ...
. Von Fürstenberg was a first cousin of
Prince Alexandre von Fürstenberg,
Tatiana von Fürstenberg
Princess Tatiana Desirée von Fürstenberg (''Tatiana Desirée Prinzessin zu Fürstenberg''; born February 16, 1971) is an American art curator, singer-songwriter, actress, philanthropist, and filmmaker.
Early life and family
Von Fürstenberg ...
,
Prince Hubertus of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, and the late
Prince Christoph of Hohenlohe-Langenburg.
Career
Von Fürstenberg was a fashion designer and creator of the fashion label ''Virginia Von Zu Furstenberg''. She made her fashion debut in March 2011 at the Teatro Filodrammatici in Milan.
In September 2011, von Fürstenberg debuted a theatrical work titled ''DISMORPHOPHOBIA'' that combined spoken word, fashion, film, movement, and dance.
She debuted her second collection at Milano Moda Donna in Milan on 23 September 2011. She also wrote poetry, and at times combined her poetry and fashion design in some of her work.
In 2012, she collaborated with Tommaso Trak to shoot a film focusing on the life of her great-grandmother,
Virginia Bourbon del Monte
'' Donna'' Virginia Bourbon del Monte dei principi di San Faustino (24 May 1899 – 30 November 1945) was the wife of Edoardo Agnelli and the mother of Gianni Agnelli.
Biography
Born in Rome, she was the daughter of Carlo Bourbon del Monte, ...
. In 2017, von Fürstenberg created an art installation dedicated to her mother titled ''There was a nice home'', which was displayed at the Grossetti Arte Gallery in Venice.
Personal life and death
Von Fürstenberg married Baron Alexandre Csillaghy de Pacsér, a
Hungarian nobleman, in 1992. Their son,
Baron Miklós Tassilo Csillaghy, is an equestrian. Their daughter, Baroness Ginevra Csillaghy, has modeled for the Virginia Von Zu Furstenberg fashion line. She and Csillaghy de Pacsér divorced in 2003. In 2002, a year before her divorce was finalized, she gave birth to a daughter, Clara Bacco Dondi dall'Orologio, from her relationship with Giovanni Bacco Dondi dall'Orologio. In 2004, she married Paco Polenghi with whom she had two children, Otto Leone Maria Polenghi and Santiago Polenghi. Virginia and Polenghi later divorced. On 28 October 2017, she married Janusz Gawronski,
Rawicz coat of arms, grandson of
Jas Gawronski and a descendant of an ancient
Polish noble family. In 2020, the couple divorced.
Von Fürstenberg went missing in October 2022 and again in February 2023, both times missing person reports were filed with Italian police.
[
She died on 10 May 2023, aged 48, after a falling from an upper-floor balcony at the Palace Hotel in ]Merano
Merano (, ; ) or Meran () is a (municipality) in South Tyrol, Northern Italy. Generally best known for its Spa town, spa resorts, it is located within a Depression (geology), basin, surrounded by mountains standing up to Height above mean sea ...
.Virginia von Fürstenberg, chi era la nipote di Gianni Agnelli morta a Merano
Accessed 20 November 2023.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Furstenberg, Virginia von
1974 births
2023 deaths
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
Austrian baronesses
Agnelli family
Italian people of German descent
Italian socialites
Italian fashion designers
Italian women fashion designers
Italian filmmakers
Italian women artists
Italian women poets
Nobility from Genoa
Italian contemporary artists
Artists from Genoa
Businesspeople from Genoa
deaths from falls