| Princess Marella Agnelli Caracciolo di Castagneto |
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|---|---|
| Born | May 4, 1927 Florence, Italy |
| Occupation | Socialite, style icon, writer, landscape designer, garden designer and photographer |
| Spouse | Gianni Agnelli |
| Children | Edoardo Agnelli and Countess Margherita Agnelli von der Pahlen |
| Parents | Prince Filippo Caracciolo di Castagneto and Princess Margaret Clarke - Caracciolo di Castagneto |
Marella Agnelli, born Princess Marella Caracciolo di Castagneto (born May 4, 1927) is an Italian socialite, style icon and wife of Fiat chairman Gianni Agnelli. Agnelli has often appeared in Vogue. She was named to the International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame in 1963.[1]
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Donna Marella Caracciolo di Castagneto was born in Florence to an old noble Neapolitan family. Her father was Filippo Caracciolo, 8th Principe di Castagneto, 3rd duca di Melito, and a hereditary Patrician of Naples (1903-1965). Her mother was the former Margaret Clarke (1898-1955) of Peoria, Illinois. She had two brothers, Carlo Caracciolo (1925-2008), who inherited their father's titles in 1965 and founded the newspaper La Repubblica and Nicola Caracciolo born 1931, 10th Principe di Castagneto, 5rd duca di Melito.[2]
She was married in the Church of Osthoffen to FIAT magnate Gianni Agnelli on 19 November 1953 until his death. They had two children:
The accomplished Agnelli, who was educated in Paris, was an assistant to Erwin Blumenfeld in New York early in her varied career, as well as an occasional editor and photographic contributor to Vogue. In 1973, she created a textile line for Abraham-Zumsteg, for which she was awarded the Resources Council's prestigious 'Roscoe' (the design trade's equivalent of the Oscar) in 1977. An avid gardener, Agnelli has authored a number of books on the subject, also providing many of the photographs. Two of her books are about the Garden of Ninfa (1999) and The Agnelli Gardens at Villar Perosa (1998).
More recently, she oversaw the opening of the Renzo Piano-designed art gallery, Pinacoteca Giovanni and Marella Agnelli, built on the roof of the famous former Lingotto Fiat factory in Turin, Italy.
The reserved, patrician tastemaker and socialite is also known for her inclusion in Truman Capote's famous circle of 'swans'— wealthy, stylish, and well-married women friends whose company he adored because they 'had created themselves, as he had done,' and 'had stories to tell' (Gerald Clarke, Capote, pp. 274-75). According to Capote, Agnelli was 'the European swan numero uno,' the youngest in a group that included Babe Paley, Gloria Guinness, C. Z. Guest, Slim Keith, and Pamela Harriman, among others. In her autobiography, Washington Post publisher and Capote friend Katharine Graham recounts that the author once told her that if Paley and Agnelli were 'both in Tiffany's window, Marella would be more expensive' (Personal History, p. 393).
She was portrayed in the 2006 film Infamous by Isabella Rossellini.