Marella Agnelli: The Last Swan. #hotbook

A writer at The New York times celebrates her aunt and co-writes a divine coffee table book about Marella Agnelli ; the famous Italian socialite of great privilege, exquisite taste ( who had surprising good sense too).

‘In the 60 years since her marriage to Gianni Agnelli, scion and chairman of the Fiat empire, my aunt Marella has created 15 homes located at varying altitudes on both sides of the Atlantic and north and south of the Mediterranean. She has planted four gardens so large and articulate they are best described as parks, and designed her own line of fabrics. She has worked with some of the great architects, decorators and landscape designers of her time. And yet, when she first moved into the grand Agnelli house in Villar Perosa in the mountains southwest of Turin, the 26-year-old beauty felt at a loss. She had recently returned from New York, where she had worked as an assistant to the photographer Erwin Blumenfeld. “I spent the first months of my marriage on the sofa reading French novels and wondering what I could possibly do with all that time on my hands,” she told me in May.
Nicknamed “The Swan” by Richard Avedon when he photographed her iconic portrait in 1953, Marella Agnelli is not only one of the great beauties of the last century, but also the most elegant and cultured of that exclusive club.
Born the Neapolitan princess Marella Caracciolo di Castagneto, she became Marella Agnelli with her marriage to Gianni Agnelli, the Fiat industrialist. However, her innate style dates back to her New York internship with photographer Erwin Blumenfeld, and she was a Vogue contributor in the 1950s and ’60s as well as appearing in its pages. One of the most photographed women of the jet-set society, she was captured by Avedon as well as Irving Penn, Henry Clarke, Horst, and Robert Doisneau, among others.
With ten residences spread throughout Turin, Rome, Milan, New York, St. Moritz, and Marrakech, ranging from regally classic villas to ultramodern apartments, her impeccable taste shines through in these gorgeous interiors and gardens. One of the famous modern fairy tales of love, glamour, and heartbreak, Marella Agnelli has become an icon of our times. ‘
Can’t wait to read it ! Meanwhile read the fascinating excerpt here at Vanity Fair

Marella Agnelli: The Last Swan $41 Publisher: Rizzoli (October 14, 2014) amazon.com