Italian Noble and Princely Families 1: June 2004 - July 2007

[Sancia]

I've got a Lorenzo Borghese, aged 50, but he's not said to be a prince (his grandfather was a prince, but it seems his father and himself have made unequal marriages). He's a cousin to Alessandra Borghese, the friend of Gloria von Thurn und Taxis.

 

[LaPlusBelle]

From Wikipedia about the Borghese family:

Borghese is the surname of a family of Italian noble and papal background, originating in Siena where they came to prominence in the 13th century holding official offices under the commune. The head of the family, Marcantonio moved to Rome in the 16th century and there, following the election (1605) of his son Camillo Borghese as Pope Paul V who was an unabashed nepotist, they rose in power and wealth.

Then again, there's only one news source commenting on the identity of Lorenzo, so I don't know.

 

[LaPlusBelle]

Okay, so I dug a little deeper and found this:

http://www.getroyaltreatment.com/about.htm

He's 33, as well. I think he kind of looks like Matt LeBlanc from Friends.

 

[Toledo]

Okay, so I dug a little deeper and found this:

http://www.getroyaltreatment.com/about.htm

He's 33, as well. I think he kind of looks like Matt LeBlanc from Friends.

What's up with the hair?
Seems to be a fan of Donald Trump's comb-over style.

 

[iloveroyals]

Does anybody know about Princess Olimpia Aldobrandini, who married Baron de Rothschild in the early seventies ? I believe they met on her debutante or coming out party given in Venice for her eighteenth birthday. Prince Rainier, Princess Grace and Princess Caroline (who at the time was only 16 or 17) attended and apparently the Grimaldis and Rothschilds became part of the same social circle for a while. So, Baron de Rothschild must have proposed soon after that Venice party. Olimpia was a very beautiful young woman, but she is rarely photographed, whereas other prominent Rothschilds are. I would appreciate seeing old or recent photos and any information. I have gone to the usual sources for info, haven't found much. Thanks !

 

[Tosca]

Olimpia Aldobrandini and husband David Rothschild in 1974/75 (farabola)


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[Tosca]

One more (farabola)

 

[Prince of Chota]

Actually, I read that, in the 18th century, the last direct medici descendant died, as she was a woman who had bore no children.

I would just like to thank you for your wonderful Princess Michael quote. She is quite a piece of work, the Baroness...

 

[Prince of Chota]

Why stop there? There must be a rightful claimant to the Moorish Sultanate/Kingdom of Granada. I think they should stake a claim too! Surely it's about time that Prince Vittorio Emanuele restated the Savoy claim to the Kingdom of Cyprus? Not forgetting Prince Carlos Hugo, who could launch a Bourbon-Parma campaign for the restoration of the Kingdom of Etruria.

For that matter, why doesn't one my cousins stake a claim to the state of Tennessee (which was the Cherokee state of Tanasi ruled by my ancestors in the eighteenth century)?

 

[Amelienz]

Does anyone have recent information and pictures of the Ruspoli family?

 

[Toledo]

Does anyone have recent information and pictures of the Ruspoli family?

Palace Ruspoli

Tao Ruspoli

Prince Dado Ruspoli

 

[Amelienz]

Many thanks Toledo

 

[Toledo]

Your welcome, Amelienz.

On the above question about the Medici family today, I found in google many persons that carry that name but it does not mean they are related to them any more than someone named Stewart could be related to the Scottish Kings. There is also something I did not know that happened in the USA when Ellis Island was the entry port from people coming from Europe that explains many of the historical last names embeded into non descendants today.

A friend of mine explained that when his family came from England they were asked what last name to use in America, the name used could be either the town they came from or anything else that they wanted to use. Because the Ellis Island personel was not fluent in so many languages, more than often they mispelled a name mispronounced by the inmigrant but that went on record as the new last name for his entire family.
If you check a google on historical last names used in the present you will find a ton of them in the USA phone books, but, again it does not mean they descend from people like the Medici.

But they are legitimate living descendants from the female lines even though history seems to follow the patriarchal lines. For example, actress Brooke Shields has more Italian royalty through her veins than Princess Michael of Kent as mentioned on this article:
Everyone has royal ancestry
[FONT=Verdana,Helvetica,Arial]By Matt Crenson, [/FONT][FONT=Verdana,Helvetica,Arial]Associated Press[/FONT]
quote from the article:
...The longer ago somebody lived, the more descendants a person is likely to have today.

 

[Candice]

Does anyone have information on Lapo Elkann? Is it true that he used to work for Henry Kissinger?

 

[leonardinha]

Yes, it is.

Here's an interesting interview about Lapo.

http://www.motortrend.com/features/consumer/112_0512_lapo_elkann_interview/office_grandfather.html

 

[Candice]

Thankx for the article! He seems like an intriguing character. There was also an article on him earlier this year in Vanity Fair ( Feb 2006) ; Does anyone happen to know where I can find that? I found this one site that does scans of atricles but unfortunately, the link seemed to be expired.

 

[magnik]

I'm looking fr informations about old family of Counts Capponi, but I can't find good link about them - history, family tree etc. Anyone know smth about them?

 

[Toledo]

I'm looking fr informations about old family of Counts Capponi, but I can't find good link about them - history, family tree etc. Anyone know smth about them?

Just Google it
Count Gino Capponi from the Catholic Encyclopedia

the spectacular Palazzo Capponi delle Rovinate

 

[magnik]

Just Google it
Count Gino Capponi from the Catholic Encyclopedia

the spectacular Palazzo Capponi delle Rovinate

Thanks Toledo

 

[iloveroyals]

Tosca, Thank you so much for the pictures of Olimpia. I just got back from vacation and just saw them today. They are beautiful ! I remember the pictures of her wedding in a small French village, it was a country style wedding, I think she was wearing a crown of flowers, it was gorgeous in its simplicity. Anyway, thanks, you made my day !

 

[kdt13]

olimpia

yes you are right, I remember it was a crown made of orange-blossems.

 

[Debbies]

Does anyone have information on Lapo Elkann? Is it true that he used to work for Henry Kissinger?

Are you sure that Lapo Elkann belongs to a noble / royal family?

 

[Sancia]

Are you sure that Lapo Elkann belongs to a noble / royal family?

By his grand-mother and his great-grand-mother, he's a descendant of princely families.

 

[Debbies]

Thank you for your reply, Danielane. And this princely descendance would be from the mother's or father's side? What princely families are you referring to exactly?
As far as I know, Lapo is currently a member of the Elkann and Agnelli family, none of which is princely neither aristochratic, although their members achieved many accomplishments and are very popular. Some members of those families actually married some aristochrats in the past, but no title has been passed on to the Elkann and Agnelli families via this way, as far as I know. I am very interested in this new angle of which I am unaware.

 

[Mathilde1286]

The Bachelor Rome-Prince Lorenzo Borghese

...interesting...

The Bachelor Rome
WILL A REAL PRINCE FIND HIS PRINCESS ON A NEW SEASON OF ABC'S THE BACHELOR?

Prince Lorenzo Borghese Will Try to Find His Own Grace Kelly When He Romances 25 Beautiful American Women in the Enchanting City of Rome, On The Bachelor: Rome, Premiering This Fall on ABC

Prince Lorenzo Borghese, a handsome 34-year-old cosmetics entrepreneur, has been selected to star in the ninth edition of The Bachelor, when ABC's popular romance reality series returns to the network this fall. Once more the series will be set outside the United States in one of the most glamorous, romantic capitals of the world - Rome!.........more on http://abc.go.com/primetime/schedule/2006-07/bachelor.html

 

[Lady Jennifer]

Oddly enough I just saw the promos for this new edition while watching ABC. It looks slightly interesting & I might check it out...not sure though

 

[Mathilde1286]

LOL. I just saw it too...then I posted...

 

[CasiraghiTrio]

John Elkan, Lavinia Borromeo and Lapo Elkan take part to a ceremony marking the second anniversary of the death Fiat chairman Gianni Agnelli, in central Turin
John Elkan (R), his wife Lavinia Borromeo and his brother Lapo Elkan (L) take part to a ceremony marking the second anniversary of the death of their uncle, Fiat chairman Gianni Agnelli, in central Turin January 24, 2005. Fiat will not exercise an option to sell its car unit to General Motors for at least another nine days, to give the groups more time to settle a spat over its validity, the Italian company said Monday (corbis)

Hey, Tosca, thanks for the pic and news. I just want to point for anyone who might not know it or be confused, the uncle referenced here was actually Umberto, not Gianni. Gianni was not their uncle.

 

[CasiraghiTrio]

Are you sure that Lapo Elkann belongs to a noble / royal family?

Info. about the Elkann/Agnelli ancestry is here:
http://worldroots.com/brigitte/royal/royal17c.htm

 

[Tosca]

Hey, Tosca, thanks for the pic and news. I just want to point for anyone who might not know it or be confused, the uncle referenced here was actually Umberto, not Gianni. Gianni was not their uncle.

Late Senator Gianni Agnelli was Umberto's eldest brother ( if I''m not mistaken there were 5 or 6 of them), so Gianni, who was also the President of Italy's biggest car industry, was John Philipp Elkann's grandfather. John is the son of Margherita, Gianni's daughter, and of French writer Alain Elkann.
Margherita and Alain have two other children: Lapo and Ginevra.
After divorcing Alain, Margherita married a Russian aristocrat, whom she has another five children with.