Cristiana Brandolini d'Adda


Cristiana Brandolini d’Adda, Contessa di Valmareno is an Italian socialite and member of the Agnelli family.

Early life and family

Cristiana Agnelli was born on 16 February 1927 in Turin. Her father was Edoardo Agnelli, an industrialist, and her mother was Donna Virginia Bourbon del Monte, a noblewoman. Her paternal grandfather, Giovanni Agnelli, founded Fiat Automobiles. Her maternal grandfather was Carlo del Monte, Prince di San Faustino. She was the fifth of seven children. Her sisters were Princess Clara von Fürstenberg, Countess Susanna Rattazzi, and Countess Maria Sole. Her brothers were Gianni Agnelli, Giorgio Agnelli, and Umberto Agnelli. Agnelli's father died in a plane crash when she was eight years old and her mother died in a car accident when she was eighteen years old.

Adult life

At the age of nineteen, Agnelli moved to Rome with her sister Susanna to study art. She met Brandolino "Brando" Brandolini d'Adda, Conte di Valmareno at a party in Cortina, where she was visiting her sister Clara. In 1947 they were married in a Catholic ceremony at the Basilica di San Bartolomeo all'Isola on Tiber Island in Rome. Upon marriage, Agnelli became Countess Brandolini d'Adda of Valmareno. They had four sons named Tiberto, Leonello, Nuno, and Brandino. Tiberto would go on to marry Princess Georgine de Faucigny-Lucinge et Coligny, Nuno married Muriel Phan van Thiet, and Brandino married Marie Angliviel de la Beaumelle.
The couple owned homes in Venice, Paris, and Geneva but mainly spent time at their country estate Vistoria.
Countess Brandolini d'Adda was photographed by Cecil Beaton in 1951. In 1973, she was added to the International Best Dressed List for "outstanding example of elegance without ostentation", and was elevated to the Best-Dressed Hall of Fame in 1975. She has been noted for her style and taste in both fashion and decorating.
Countess Brandolini d'Adda's husband died at the age of eighty-five in 2005.