Virginia Oldoini — Countess, mistress of the Emperor and the first model of the XIX century

Virginia Elisabeta Luisa Carlotta Antonietta Teresa Maria Oldoini was born into an aristocratic family in 1837 in Florence. Later she became known in Parisian society as the Countess Di Castiglione or just La Castiglione, the favorite of the last monarch of France, Napoleon III, the first beauty and favorite model of the court photographer Pierre-Louis Pierson.

At the age of 17 , the girl was married to the Italian Count Francesco di Castiglione, 12 years her senior, and in 1855 she gave birth to his son. During the Countess's journey through Paris, her cousin, the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Sardinia, gave her the task of persuading Napoleon III not to hinder the unification of Italy. As a result, Virginia became the emperor's mistress, which her husband was not at all happy about and filed for divorce. The connection with the ruler of France opened the doors for the beauty to the society of members of the royal family.

With age, the countess withdrew from society and became an eccentric recluse, not wanting to see herself and show others what time had done to her. She lived in a mansion with curtained mirrors and black-covered walls, went outside only at night.

The Countess died in 1899 at the age of 62 from apoplexy, leaving behind a collection of photographs, several novels dedicated to her and one biography.

Keywords: XIX century | Paris | Portrait | Favorite | Photographer | Fashion model | France

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