"Pale people" - this is what the Italians call the famous families, and today we can still see it in the son of a duke. Luciano Visconti's 2002 autobiographical movie of the same name. What we are more curious about is what the Italian nobility has left to future generations.
"Perhaps nothing," sighed Polisena, who married the Genoese publisher Carlo Bellone, "just the qualities of politeness, non-abuse of power and taking things as they come." It's the same way she raised her four children on her knees, one of whom is studying at the Chateaubriand High School in Rome, France; one at the Berkney Business School in Milan; one in graduate school in the U.S.; and one who is doing international volunteer work. "My third daughter will be going to Africa when she finishes her studies." Polisena says haughtily and proudly.
When it comes to upbringing, the Italian aristocracy remains unrivaled. They were the only ones who greeted butchers with honorifics.
"The aristocracy had 'noble' values based on family and social solidarity. This system, which exists in secular society, still operates effectively today." So says Serge. He himself is the son of Princess Maria Pia of the Savoia dynasty in Italy, and now works in finance and philanthropy in Monte Carlo and Turin.
On the surface, the aristocrats' work is focused on the aesthetically pleasing areas of wine, art, and philanthropy, because they still live in the midst of it. "It's not a matter of being attached to it, we've become so accustomed to appreciating things that are beautiful, they're in our DNA, it's as if all beauty is already visible to us." Says wine producer and sommelier Gerasio.
The last holdout
The aristocratic social circle
The descendants of Italy's aristocracy still learn the teachings of the Church today through their own private classes, with parties and twilight dances held outside of school hours - the perfect opportunity for young aristocrats to meet new people, **** off for their 18th Bar Mitzvahs, and even eventually reach the point of talking about marriage. the point of. "In participating, they could finally indulge themselves; in correspondence, they could finally note all their aristocratic titles." An Italian capitalist commented with disbelief. Although those so-called aristocratic titles of dukes, counts, princes, princesses, etc. have no real meaning today, 60 years after the founding of the *** and the country, the Filipino maids of those aristocratic families still answer the phone with "The princess is not in the house."
Aristocratic families also have an unrivaled number of relatives, which can be counted as a network of relatives all over the world, however, the social life of the aristocrats has so far been very limited. "Do you only deal with aristocrats like you? My daughter asked me that this summer." Jewelry designer Lucia Odescalchi "Princess" said, "Maybe more or less, it is more reassuring, because we are all people who know how to behave."
Not many people know that long before the famous social networking site Facebook, the Italian aristocracy had a social networking site called "Asmallworld" dedicated to them. The most common on it are some of the most fashionable vacation, shopping, leisure places and some private parties.
"They have a quality that no one knows how to party like they do. They have the right grooming and just the right amount of presentation. They know how to amuse themselves, but they don't deliberately look superior; that elegance flows completely naturally." In the eyes of Milanese writer Carlo Mazzoni, the Italian aristocracy is just such a group. In his new book, "Disorder," the lives of the aristocrats, whose light and shadow are intertwined, are described in such a way that "many of them know how to portray themselves as popular icons, just like Charlotte Casiraghi or Bianca Brandolini Dada."
Last resort
Marriage to the aristocracy
"We are born aristocrats. Even if we are not, then we should at least know how to be a noble by learning." So said Princess Odescalchi. When the relatives of the capitalists came to her public house in the center of Rome, on the edge of the Piazza of the Holy Apostles, they had different reactions to her. "Some of them were in awe, while others chattered about their children in foreign schools, or charity, or their three meals a day, as if to brag about comparisons, but they will never be aristocrats." "The Princess" said with a hint of contempt.
Lorenzo Mencada, a shipping broker and descendant of a Catania line of nobility, was blunt: "I don't deny that the name and title have facilitated my dealings, especially with the capitalists." Florence University Professor of International Law, "Prince" Girolamo Guicciardini Strozzi, laughed and said: "The aristocracy should also change with the times, become entrepreneurs, politicians, so as to be able to carry forward the family traditions inherited from their ancestors."
The capitalists also seem to be particularly keen on this kind of union, even the "Italian Rockefeller", the former chairman of Fiat, Giovanni Agnelli, such as the Italian big capitalists will choose to marry with the aristocrats. 1953, he married the daughter of the Prince of Naples, Marella, and his granddaughter, Clara, married Tassilo von Furth. "Prince" Tahiro von Furstenberg. Interestingly, when Clara asked Giovanni Agnelli to let her new husband work for Fiat, Giovanni Agnelli couldn't help but sneer: "Isn't he a prince? How can a prince go out to work?"