A US-born princess who lives in a Roman villa featuring the world’s only known mural by Italian baroque artist Caravaggio said on Friday she faced eviction from the unique property at the centre of a raging inheritance battle.
A court in Rome served an eviction notice to Princess Rita Jenrette Boncompagni Ludovisi after part of an outside wall of the residence, known as Casino dell’Aurora, collapsed, forcing the closure of a nearby street.
Boncompagni Ludovisi said she had been given 60 days to vacate the property, saying was “stunned” by the decision and would definitely appeal.
She adding that she believed the court’s decision had been influenced by the fact she had offered unauthorised paying tours of the mansion, which is under court oversight as part of a judicial process to sell it at auction.
She said the tours were organised to raise money for maintenance.
The Casino dell’Aurora was put under the hammer in January 2022, with a minimum bidding price of around 350 million euros ($380 million), making it potentially one of the most expensive homes in the world.
That auction attracted no bids, and the four that followed also failed, despite a progressively lower asking price. A fifth auction closed on Thursday with a minimum bidding price of 108.5 million euros.
Princess Boncompagni Ludovisi, a former actress, Playboy model, ex-wife of a US congressman and New York real estate broker, married the late Prince Nicolo Boncompagni Ludovisi, scion of one of Europe’s most aristocratic families, in 2009.
— Reuters
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
