1 00:00:00,680 --> 00:00:05,040 Speaker 1: Welcome to Noble Blood, a production of iHeartRadio and Grimm 2 00:00:05,080 --> 00:00:16,919 Speaker 1: and Mild from Aaron Manky listener discretion advised. Quote in 3 00:00:16,960 --> 00:00:20,920 Speaker 1: the entryway, the princess, a seventy two year old Texan 4 00:00:21,079 --> 00:00:25,639 Speaker 1: with blonde hair, unwrinkled, porcelain skin and pearls dripping onto 5 00:00:25,640 --> 00:00:30,840 Speaker 1: her black overcoat, noted that the crimson cloth baldachin hanging 6 00:00:30,920 --> 00:00:34,800 Speaker 1: over pictures of her late husband was found only in 7 00:00:34,920 --> 00:00:40,600 Speaker 1: homes that descended from popes end quote. This is one 8 00:00:40,600 --> 00:00:44,680 Speaker 1: of the first sentences of a twenty twenty two New 9 00:00:44,760 --> 00:00:50,720 Speaker 1: York Times article written by reporter Jason Horowitz. The subject 10 00:00:51,400 --> 00:00:59,000 Speaker 1: Frinshipseriti Buon Campagne Ludovisi, widowed wife of Italian Prince Nicolo 11 00:00:59,240 --> 00:01:04,399 Speaker 1: von Companie Davisi. She was formerly known as Rita Genrette 12 00:01:04,880 --> 00:01:12,240 Speaker 1: and Rita Carpenter before that. Americans marrying into European aristocracy, 13 00:01:12,440 --> 00:01:17,319 Speaker 1: even royalty, is of course statistically rare, but not without 14 00:01:17,400 --> 00:01:22,000 Speaker 1: plenty of examples long before Megan Markele. Grace Kelly will 15 00:01:22,040 --> 00:01:24,880 Speaker 1: pop into mind for some, and of course, there was 16 00:01:24,959 --> 00:01:29,480 Speaker 1: the cultural wave of the American dollar princesses during the 17 00:01:29,520 --> 00:01:35,200 Speaker 1: Gilded Age, the women whose marriages supplied struggling European houses 18 00:01:35,720 --> 00:01:40,040 Speaker 1: with cash and new money, American families with fancy titles 19 00:01:40,080 --> 00:01:45,880 Speaker 1: in return. Rita's story, however, is a little different than 20 00:01:45,920 --> 00:01:49,960 Speaker 1: the one you might be imagining. Chances are you don't 21 00:01:50,080 --> 00:01:57,080 Speaker 1: know many ranchers daughters turned political researchers turned congressional wives, 22 00:01:57,480 --> 00:02:02,680 Speaker 1: turned playboy models turned authors, actors turned real estate agents 23 00:02:03,080 --> 00:02:08,920 Speaker 1: turned princesses. Still, despite a life with that many twists, 24 00:02:09,639 --> 00:02:15,320 Speaker 1: Rita claimed she had never seen anything like the inheritance 25 00:02:15,400 --> 00:02:19,280 Speaker 1: battle that followed the death of her husband, which she 26 00:02:19,400 --> 00:02:23,600 Speaker 1: was embroiled in for years, a battle that only ended 27 00:02:24,080 --> 00:02:29,440 Speaker 1: this April. It's a scale of an inheritance battle that 28 00:02:29,480 --> 00:02:34,840 Speaker 1: would make succession fans drool. But instead of Roman roy 29 00:02:35,360 --> 00:02:40,040 Speaker 1: we have Roman princes, along with the Italian government and 30 00:02:40,680 --> 00:02:45,960 Speaker 1: the ghosts of Caravaggio. Rita married her prince, but it 31 00:02:46,040 --> 00:02:50,119 Speaker 1: turns out happily ever after. In the real world can 32 00:02:50,280 --> 00:02:54,920 Speaker 1: involve a lot more bureaucracy than fairy tales might have 33 00:02:55,040 --> 00:03:10,040 Speaker 1: prepared us for. I'm Danish Schwartz and this is noble blood. 34 00:03:10,320 --> 00:03:14,400 Speaker 1: Born in nineteen forty nine in San Antonio and raised 35 00:03:14,440 --> 00:03:18,400 Speaker 1: in Austin, Rita may not have been born a princess, 36 00:03:18,840 --> 00:03:22,200 Speaker 1: but she was the closest thing America has to royalty. 37 00:03:22,800 --> 00:03:26,519 Speaker 1: She was the daughter of a millionaire. Her father was c. 38 00:03:26,840 --> 00:03:31,320 Speaker 1: Hunt Carpenter, the founder of the Shamrock Insurance Company in 39 00:03:31,440 --> 00:03:36,400 Speaker 1: San Antonio, who came into major wealth after discovering natural 40 00:03:36,480 --> 00:03:41,920 Speaker 1: gas on one of his ranches. Rita's mother, Riva Garlington, 41 00:03:42,560 --> 00:03:46,600 Speaker 1: was described by Rita as a quote blue blood who 42 00:03:46,680 --> 00:03:50,720 Speaker 1: was pleased with the eventual match between her daughter and 43 00:03:50,880 --> 00:03:55,560 Speaker 1: a prince, as she felt that Rita had quote finally 44 00:03:55,720 --> 00:04:00,600 Speaker 1: married someone like her. By this, Riba meant that her 45 00:04:00,680 --> 00:04:05,560 Speaker 1: ancestors had settled in Virginia in the early sixteen hundreds, 46 00:04:05,920 --> 00:04:10,880 Speaker 1: where they owned tobacco plantations. The aggressive gone with the 47 00:04:10,880 --> 00:04:15,240 Speaker 1: Windian style of the names Sea Hunt Carpenter and Reba 48 00:04:15,320 --> 00:04:18,840 Speaker 1: Garlington might have been a clue that this story would 49 00:04:18,920 --> 00:04:25,600 Speaker 1: eventually have a plantation. Money cameo. In the early eighteen hundreds, 50 00:04:25,680 --> 00:04:31,680 Speaker 1: the Garlington family relocated to Texas and established Garlington Ranch 51 00:04:31,800 --> 00:04:37,120 Speaker 1: in Jasper. A nineteen fifty five Times Magazine National Affairs 52 00:04:37,160 --> 00:04:42,640 Speaker 1: blurb about Texas under the Delightfully Southern Gothic headline The 53 00:04:42,720 --> 00:04:49,000 Speaker 1: Deer Slayers describes the Garlingtons as quote a tough aloof 54 00:04:49,120 --> 00:04:53,680 Speaker 1: plan of ranchers who have prospered as breeders of Brahmin 55 00:04:53,920 --> 00:04:59,599 Speaker 1: cattle end quote. Growing up, Rito was a self described 56 00:04:59,720 --> 00:05:03,560 Speaker 1: tom boy who spent her days climbing trees and reading. 57 00:05:04,160 --> 00:05:08,400 Speaker 1: Her carefree nature shifted when she skipped two grades and 58 00:05:08,600 --> 00:05:12,360 Speaker 1: was suddenly an eleven year old with thirteen year old peers. 59 00:05:12,839 --> 00:05:17,040 Speaker 1: I felt like an alien being, she reflected, remembering her 60 00:05:17,080 --> 00:05:21,719 Speaker 1: attempts at wearing makeup as she realized everyone around her 61 00:05:22,160 --> 00:05:26,880 Speaker 1: had grown up. She describes every day from seventh to 62 00:05:27,080 --> 00:05:32,520 Speaker 1: ninth grade as hell, absolute hell, often eating lunch alone 63 00:05:32,760 --> 00:05:36,800 Speaker 1: in the bathroom or sitting on her glasses so she 64 00:05:36,839 --> 00:05:41,279 Speaker 1: could get sent home early. This summer before tenth grade 65 00:05:41,520 --> 00:05:46,080 Speaker 1: was Rita's the summer I turned pretty puberty, turning her 66 00:05:46,440 --> 00:05:51,280 Speaker 1: unrecognizable to her peers. She remembers one boy came up 67 00:05:51,279 --> 00:05:53,719 Speaker 1: to me and said, Hi, do you want to go out? 68 00:05:54,160 --> 00:05:57,400 Speaker 1: I'll never forget it. I said, no, I don't want 69 00:05:57,400 --> 00:05:59,320 Speaker 1: to go out with you. You were so cruel to 70 00:05:59,360 --> 00:06:02,279 Speaker 1: me when I was in the seventh, eighth, and ninth grade. 71 00:06:02,320 --> 00:06:06,600 Speaker 1: I cried every single night. Things would only get better 72 00:06:06,760 --> 00:06:11,240 Speaker 1: for Rita Following those school years. In nineteen seventy one, 73 00:06:11,520 --> 00:06:15,560 Speaker 1: Rita graduated cume loud from the University of Texas with 74 00:06:15,680 --> 00:06:19,120 Speaker 1: honors and with a degree in history and a minor 75 00:06:19,160 --> 00:06:22,440 Speaker 1: in political science. Do you think she listens to the show? 76 00:06:23,520 --> 00:06:27,839 Speaker 1: In nineteen seventy three, Rita married a US Army pilot 77 00:06:28,200 --> 00:06:31,719 Speaker 1: named Edward Coleman, but the couple would split only a 78 00:06:31,720 --> 00:06:35,440 Speaker 1: little over a year later. The same year she was married, 79 00:06:35,600 --> 00:06:39,560 Speaker 1: she secured her first position out of school as director 80 00:06:39,640 --> 00:06:44,960 Speaker 1: of research for the Texas Republican Party, and in nineteen 81 00:06:45,040 --> 00:06:49,359 Speaker 1: seventy five she was appointed opposition research director of the 82 00:06:49,400 --> 00:06:55,640 Speaker 1: Republican National Party. Life in d C, however, ended up 83 00:06:55,680 --> 00:06:59,840 Speaker 1: taking a different path than Rita could have imagined. This 84 00:07:00,080 --> 00:07:04,720 Speaker 1: same day Rita interviewed for the job, she met John Jenrette, 85 00:07:05,200 --> 00:07:10,240 Speaker 1: a first term Democratic congressman from South Carolina who was 86 00:07:10,280 --> 00:07:14,000 Speaker 1: making a name for himself not for his politics, but 87 00:07:14,040 --> 00:07:17,960 Speaker 1: for a very messy divorce in which his wife named 88 00:07:18,080 --> 00:07:24,000 Speaker 1: twenty three quote correspondents, and he was reportedly surprised that 89 00:07:24,040 --> 00:07:29,200 Speaker 1: she could name only twenty three. John asked Rita out 90 00:07:29,240 --> 00:07:32,760 Speaker 1: that day, proposing he'd fly her to the Virgin Islands, 91 00:07:32,800 --> 00:07:37,720 Speaker 1: where they'd sunbathe naked together. She turned him down smooth. 92 00:07:37,800 --> 00:07:41,240 Speaker 1: He was not, she wrote years later, but she did 93 00:07:41,360 --> 00:07:44,920 Speaker 1: accept to date. The next time they met, he showed 94 00:07:44,960 --> 00:07:49,000 Speaker 1: her the glamorous side of DC, and though Rita had 95 00:07:49,040 --> 00:07:53,320 Speaker 1: come from wealth, she considered the environment like nothing she 96 00:07:53,400 --> 00:07:58,080 Speaker 1: had seen in Texas, and she was decidedly wooed. The 97 00:07:58,120 --> 00:08:01,520 Speaker 1: two fell in love, moved in together, and when her 98 00:08:01,560 --> 00:08:04,880 Speaker 1: boss at the RNC told her she either had to 99 00:08:05,000 --> 00:08:09,200 Speaker 1: dump her Democratic boyfriend or quit her job, she quit. 100 00:08:10,040 --> 00:08:13,920 Speaker 1: A year later, in nineteen seventy six, the couple were married. 101 00:08:14,440 --> 00:08:19,400 Speaker 1: He was forty and she was twenty six. Things were 102 00:08:19,440 --> 00:08:23,640 Speaker 1: okay at first, but a year in Rita realized she 103 00:08:23,720 --> 00:08:28,760 Speaker 1: was in another unhappy marriage. John continued to build his 104 00:08:29,040 --> 00:08:36,560 Speaker 1: repertoire of correspondents, apparently near constantly flirting or going much 105 00:08:36,600 --> 00:08:40,960 Speaker 1: further with other women, and all of that was exacerbated 106 00:08:41,080 --> 00:08:45,800 Speaker 1: by his serious drinking problem. However, Rita didn't love the 107 00:08:45,880 --> 00:08:50,680 Speaker 1: idea of being twice divorced by twenty seven, and John 108 00:08:50,800 --> 00:08:54,080 Speaker 1: and his team didn't love the optics of being a 109 00:08:54,320 --> 00:08:59,560 Speaker 1: twice divorced congressman, so they tried to stay together. Rita 110 00:08:59,640 --> 00:09:03,400 Speaker 1: was all so grappling with the career change from congressional 111 00:09:03,440 --> 00:09:09,200 Speaker 1: researcher to congressional wife. Quite bluntly, I hated my life 112 00:09:09,280 --> 00:09:12,960 Speaker 1: as congressional wife, she wrote in The Washington Post in 113 00:09:13,080 --> 00:09:17,280 Speaker 1: nineteen eighty I have played that game long enough. I'm 114 00:09:17,320 --> 00:09:19,720 Speaker 1: fed up with people trying to paint me as a 115 00:09:19,800 --> 00:09:23,199 Speaker 1: dumb blonde and a gold digger because I'm an attractive 116 00:09:23,240 --> 00:09:27,240 Speaker 1: woman who happened to marry a congressman. I'm tired of 117 00:09:27,280 --> 00:09:32,080 Speaker 1: having to smile and be polite while constituents and lobbyists 118 00:09:32,200 --> 00:09:34,640 Speaker 1: elbow me out of the way so they can rub 119 00:09:34,640 --> 00:09:38,120 Speaker 1: shoulders with my husband. I've had it with small town 120 00:09:38,200 --> 00:09:41,439 Speaker 1: reporters who never bother to check the facts and then 121 00:09:41,480 --> 00:09:45,080 Speaker 1: accuse me of being publicity hungry when I try to 122 00:09:45,200 --> 00:09:50,960 Speaker 1: set the record straight, well, said Rita. At the time 123 00:09:51,080 --> 00:09:55,520 Speaker 1: of writing that piece, Rita was no longer a congressional wife, 124 00:09:55,960 --> 00:09:59,640 Speaker 1: not because the couple was divorced, but because John was 125 00:09:59,679 --> 00:10:03,760 Speaker 1: no longer a congressman. He had been implicated in the 126 00:10:03,880 --> 00:10:09,160 Speaker 1: FBI staying operation known as Abscam, where seven members of 127 00:10:09,240 --> 00:10:13,800 Speaker 1: Congress were caught on tape accepting bribes from a fake 128 00:10:14,400 --> 00:10:21,000 Speaker 1: Arabian company. Abscam aka arab Scam. I've got larceny in 129 00:10:21,080 --> 00:10:24,480 Speaker 1: my blood, John was recorded saying I'd take it in 130 00:10:24,559 --> 00:10:28,200 Speaker 1: a goddamn minute. You can say a lot about Rita 131 00:10:28,280 --> 00:10:31,440 Speaker 1: and John, but they did not mince words when it 132 00:10:31,480 --> 00:10:36,520 Speaker 1: came to public statements. They finally separated the following year, 133 00:10:36,920 --> 00:10:40,400 Speaker 1: and Rita's next move would both put her on a 134 00:10:40,520 --> 00:10:45,120 Speaker 1: national stage and define much of her public life to 135 00:10:45,280 --> 00:10:49,480 Speaker 1: this day. In nineteen eighty one, she appeared in a 136 00:10:49,640 --> 00:10:54,600 Speaker 1: Playboy spread, photographed with a feather boa a brandy snipper 137 00:10:54,720 --> 00:10:59,880 Speaker 1: and that's about it. Why did she choose to do it? John, 138 00:11:00,240 --> 00:11:04,200 Speaker 1: known serial cheater, had apparently told her no one wanted 139 00:11:04,240 --> 00:11:07,160 Speaker 1: to see a thirty one year old woman with her 140 00:11:07,200 --> 00:11:11,440 Speaker 1: clothes off. I just thought I'll show you, she reflected 141 00:11:11,600 --> 00:11:15,640 Speaker 1: years later, also once admitting that the money was needed, 142 00:11:16,160 --> 00:11:19,640 Speaker 1: with John about to be convicted, she was the sole 143 00:11:19,800 --> 00:11:24,080 Speaker 1: breadwinner in the family. The photos were accompanied by an 144 00:11:24,200 --> 00:11:28,640 Speaker 1: article she wrote entitled The Liberation of a Congressional Wife, 145 00:11:29,200 --> 00:11:32,400 Speaker 1: in which she expressed many of these same feelings of 146 00:11:32,440 --> 00:11:37,000 Speaker 1: isolation and diminishment that she would recount in the post piece, 147 00:11:37,520 --> 00:11:42,920 Speaker 1: but with an additional Playboy twist. The article's bombshell came 148 00:11:43,000 --> 00:11:46,680 Speaker 1: in the form of Rita writing that one night she 149 00:11:46,880 --> 00:11:50,320 Speaker 1: and her husband made love on the marble steps that 150 00:11:50,480 --> 00:11:55,480 Speaker 1: overlooked the monuments. She published a Tell All My Capital 151 00:11:55,559 --> 00:12:00,960 Speaker 1: Secrets that same year, promising details of quote the Endless Parties, 152 00:12:01,120 --> 00:12:05,960 Speaker 1: drop your clothes at the Door, Orgies, alcoholic bashes, the cocaine, 153 00:12:06,000 --> 00:12:10,360 Speaker 1: the call girls and call boys from quote The Lady 154 00:12:10,360 --> 00:12:15,040 Speaker 1: Who Blew the Lid off Washington. It was a best seller. 155 00:12:16,320 --> 00:12:20,079 Speaker 1: Listeners of the podcast You're Wrong About will be familiar 156 00:12:20,160 --> 00:12:23,679 Speaker 1: with the knowledge that the media in the eighties loved 157 00:12:23,800 --> 00:12:30,120 Speaker 1: a few things. Women behaving quote badly, political scandals, and 158 00:12:30,640 --> 00:12:34,800 Speaker 1: sex scandals, and Rita served up all three on a 159 00:12:34,840 --> 00:12:40,199 Speaker 1: silver platter. A nineteen eighty six article referred to her 160 00:12:40,240 --> 00:12:45,280 Speaker 1: public image as a racy curiosity, a one woman freak show. 161 00:12:45,960 --> 00:12:48,959 Speaker 1: She did the talk show circuits and the big interviews, 162 00:12:49,360 --> 00:12:54,000 Speaker 1: and defended her book's legitimacy. When a man like Daniel 163 00:12:54,080 --> 00:12:58,280 Speaker 1: Ellsberg writes an expose, he's applauded. When a woman does it, 164 00:12:58,360 --> 00:13:01,320 Speaker 1: suddenly it's a kiss and tell, she told The Washington 165 00:13:01,400 --> 00:13:05,320 Speaker 1: Post in eighty one. When the interviewer countered with the 166 00:13:05,360 --> 00:13:09,720 Speaker 1: reminder that Daniel Ellsberg did not pose for Playboy, nor 167 00:13:09,800 --> 00:13:12,480 Speaker 1: did he reveal that he made love with his partner 168 00:13:12,520 --> 00:13:16,800 Speaker 1: on the Capital Steps, she responded, quote, I don't see 169 00:13:16,800 --> 00:13:19,040 Speaker 1: what taking off my clothes has to do with what 170 00:13:19,120 --> 00:13:23,200 Speaker 1: I wrote. She openly declared herself a feminist in the 171 00:13:23,240 --> 00:13:27,840 Speaker 1: same interview. The thing is, however, that Rita now claims 172 00:13:27,880 --> 00:13:31,319 Speaker 1: that the story about the Capital Steps was never true. 173 00:13:31,880 --> 00:13:34,200 Speaker 1: I think part of me said, Okay, this is the 174 00:13:34,240 --> 00:13:37,160 Speaker 1: image you think of me now. I'm this sexy playboy 175 00:13:37,200 --> 00:13:40,360 Speaker 1: fem fetale, and I'm here to take over and marry 176 00:13:40,440 --> 00:13:42,920 Speaker 1: rich and famous men. That's what you think of me, 177 00:13:43,120 --> 00:13:46,720 Speaker 1: so that I'll give you somehow, she said. She further 178 00:13:46,840 --> 00:13:51,480 Speaker 1: clarified that what actually happened was a quote romantic moment, 179 00:13:51,640 --> 00:13:55,960 Speaker 1: but not a salacious one, just some good, clean, above 180 00:13:55,960 --> 00:14:01,079 Speaker 1: the waist kissing between two married people. Rita has never 181 00:14:01,120 --> 00:14:06,040 Speaker 1: said she regrets Playboy, but in twenty eleven, she reflected 182 00:14:06,160 --> 00:14:09,200 Speaker 1: on that time of her life, saying, quote, I'm a 183 00:14:09,280 --> 00:14:12,160 Speaker 1: serious person and I read a lot. I have a 184 00:14:12,280 --> 00:14:15,959 Speaker 1: one thirty nine IQ. So to have this other image, 185 00:14:16,280 --> 00:14:20,480 Speaker 1: which was just like another person, was so traumatic for me. 186 00:14:20,920 --> 00:14:24,480 Speaker 1: I was lost. She would post for Playboy one more 187 00:14:24,520 --> 00:14:27,440 Speaker 1: time in nineteen eighty four, this time on the cover, 188 00:14:28,000 --> 00:14:33,240 Speaker 1: but she also pivoted toward different career pursuits, first acting, 189 00:14:33,760 --> 00:14:37,840 Speaker 1: appearing on Fantasy Island in nineteen eighty two and in 190 00:14:37,880 --> 00:14:43,120 Speaker 1: a nineteen eighty four film called Zombie Island Massacre. Lots 191 00:14:43,160 --> 00:14:47,440 Speaker 1: of island related projects on her resume. She then worked 192 00:14:47,480 --> 00:14:51,520 Speaker 1: for some time as an on air journalist for Fox's 193 00:14:51,840 --> 00:14:56,320 Speaker 1: Current Affair, described by the Times as quote the salacious 194 00:14:56,360 --> 00:15:00,520 Speaker 1: television news weekly. Rita then pivoted in a a different 195 00:15:00,600 --> 00:15:05,600 Speaker 1: direction real estate. Her biggest deal the sale of the 196 00:15:05,800 --> 00:15:10,640 Speaker 1: General Motors building to none other than Donald Trump in 197 00:15:10,760 --> 00:15:14,400 Speaker 1: nineteen ninety eight. He will be the first of two 198 00:15:15,280 --> 00:15:21,000 Speaker 1: huh inducing cameos in this story. Rita's real estate era 199 00:15:21,240 --> 00:15:25,320 Speaker 1: also finally brings us to her meeting with one Prince 200 00:15:25,680 --> 00:15:30,720 Speaker 1: Nicolo bon Campaigne Ludovisi. Rita and the Prince had mutual 201 00:15:30,800 --> 00:15:34,320 Speaker 1: friends who connected them for work. In two thousand and three. 202 00:15:35,000 --> 00:15:37,920 Speaker 1: They called me and said, we have this prince who 203 00:15:37,920 --> 00:15:41,680 Speaker 1: would like to develop a hotel on his property. She recalled. 204 00:15:42,040 --> 00:15:45,120 Speaker 1: I said, oh, for heaven's sake, everyone in New York 205 00:15:45,240 --> 00:15:50,200 Speaker 1: calls themselves count or prince or whatever they're not. Despite 206 00:15:50,320 --> 00:15:53,960 Speaker 1: the prince already being married to his second wife, he 207 00:15:54,040 --> 00:15:58,040 Speaker 1: claimed their meeting was quote probably written in the stars. 208 00:15:58,720 --> 00:16:01,960 Speaker 1: He described their first encounter to the New Yorker in 209 00:16:02,040 --> 00:16:06,600 Speaker 1: the couple's joint twenty eleven profile. I said, in the 210 00:16:06,640 --> 00:16:10,480 Speaker 1: clumsiest way one can even imagine, Well, you are not ugly. 211 00:16:11,000 --> 00:16:15,160 Speaker 1: She's beautiful, of course, but she's as beautiful inside. She's 212 00:16:15,240 --> 00:16:19,000 Speaker 1: candid like a child, but trud like a fox. The 213 00:16:19,000 --> 00:16:22,480 Speaker 1: Prince invited Rita to his property in Rome, which she 214 00:16:22,560 --> 00:16:25,800 Speaker 1: agreed to, likely in part because of her degree, which 215 00:16:25,880 --> 00:16:30,240 Speaker 1: was studying Italian history. There they fell in love and 216 00:16:30,480 --> 00:16:35,760 Speaker 1: married in two thousand and nine. This is probably a 217 00:16:35,800 --> 00:16:39,280 Speaker 1: good time to figure out exactly who the bon Campanie 218 00:16:39,360 --> 00:16:43,920 Speaker 1: Ludoviss are, so let's run through a few names and dates. 219 00:16:44,320 --> 00:16:48,080 Speaker 1: They were, of course, not always the bon Campania Ludiviss, 220 00:16:48,440 --> 00:16:53,359 Speaker 1: but once the bon Campanies and the Ludoviss, two powerful 221 00:16:53,520 --> 00:16:58,360 Speaker 1: noble families with papal titles. The Ludovss are known as 222 00:16:58,440 --> 00:17:03,320 Speaker 1: an ancient noble family originating from Bologna, while the bon 223 00:17:03,360 --> 00:17:08,320 Speaker 1: Campanies settled there in the fourteen hundreds, likely coming from Umbria. 224 00:17:08,960 --> 00:17:12,720 Speaker 1: A bon Campani was Pope Gregory the thirteenth, while a 225 00:17:12,800 --> 00:17:17,640 Speaker 1: Ludovisi was Pope Gregory the fifteenth. In sixteen thirty four, 226 00:17:17,760 --> 00:17:22,960 Speaker 1: the Ludovisis acquired the principality of Piombino in Tuscany, and 227 00:17:23,119 --> 00:17:27,760 Speaker 1: after the sixteen eighty one marriage between Gregorio il bon 228 00:17:27,840 --> 00:17:33,160 Speaker 1: Campagni and Ipolita Ludovisi, the families merged in seventeen oh eight, 229 00:17:33,640 --> 00:17:37,359 Speaker 1: ruling together as the bon Campania Ludovisis, which was a 230 00:17:37,400 --> 00:17:42,200 Speaker 1: strategic move to keep the Ludovisi name in power after 231 00:17:42,280 --> 00:17:46,880 Speaker 1: the princess had no sons. No one has actually ruled 232 00:17:47,000 --> 00:17:50,880 Speaker 1: Piombino since eighteen oh one, but the title of prince 233 00:17:51,400 --> 00:17:55,240 Speaker 1: is still held by sons of the family. The Ludovisi 234 00:17:55,280 --> 00:17:58,960 Speaker 1: family had acquired the property that would be called the 235 00:17:59,040 --> 00:18:03,440 Speaker 1: Casino de ville on Compi Ludovisi in sixteen twenty one, 236 00:18:03,800 --> 00:18:07,040 Speaker 1: which is the villa that will focus on today. The 237 00:18:07,119 --> 00:18:12,200 Speaker 1: property was originally established by Cardinal Francesco Maria del Monte, who, 238 00:18:12,240 --> 00:18:17,720 Speaker 1: beyond his religious duties, was in intellectual and a connoisseur 239 00:18:17,840 --> 00:18:20,919 Speaker 1: of the arts. He's best known today for his early 240 00:18:21,040 --> 00:18:26,439 Speaker 1: patronage of Caravaggio as well as Galileo. The Cardinal's support 241 00:18:26,560 --> 00:18:30,360 Speaker 1: resulted in the villa becoming home to the only painting 242 00:18:30,480 --> 00:18:36,560 Speaker 1: Caravaggio did on a ceiling fifteen ninety sevens Jupiter, Neptune 243 00:18:36,600 --> 00:18:42,080 Speaker 1: and Pluto, its symbolism reflecting the cardinal's interest in alchemy. 244 00:18:43,320 --> 00:18:46,960 Speaker 1: The writer Henry James once stayed at the villa, writing 245 00:18:47,040 --> 00:18:50,840 Speaker 1: in eighteen eighty three, certainly there is nothing better in Rome, 246 00:18:50,880 --> 00:18:56,200 Speaker 1: and perhaps nothing so beautiful inside. There is everything dark, 247 00:18:56,320 --> 00:19:03,040 Speaker 1: avenues shaped for centuries with scissors, valleys, clearings, groves. The 248 00:19:03,119 --> 00:19:07,040 Speaker 1: same year that James visited the Bon Campagne, lu Navisi 249 00:19:07,119 --> 00:19:12,000 Speaker 1: princes sold and divided much of the property they kept 250 00:19:12,119 --> 00:19:15,760 Speaker 1: in the family, the former hunting lodge known today as 251 00:19:15,920 --> 00:19:19,639 Speaker 1: Villa Aurora, where one can find the Caravaggio, along with 252 00:19:19,760 --> 00:19:26,080 Speaker 1: works from Gercino, Pameranchino, and Michelangelo, among others. Quote from 253 00:19:26,119 --> 00:19:29,840 Speaker 1: my perspective, the whole history of the West is in 254 00:19:29,880 --> 00:19:34,560 Speaker 1: that building. T. Cory Brennan, professor at the American Academy 255 00:19:34,560 --> 00:19:38,160 Speaker 1: in Rome, told the New Yorker this is the home 256 00:19:38,320 --> 00:19:40,959 Speaker 1: Rita would come to live in with her husband, and 257 00:19:41,040 --> 00:19:44,840 Speaker 1: the home she would dedicate herself to restoring and archiving. 258 00:19:45,720 --> 00:19:48,600 Speaker 1: In that same article, Rita gave a tour to the 259 00:19:48,640 --> 00:19:52,439 Speaker 1: writer and guests. This is my husband's coat of arms, 260 00:19:52,760 --> 00:19:56,160 Speaker 1: our coat of arms now, she explained. She showed them 261 00:19:56,160 --> 00:20:00,560 Speaker 1: the statue of pan by Michelangelo in the garden trough 262 00:20:00,680 --> 00:20:03,760 Speaker 1: near the front gate that dated back to Hadrian, the 263 00:20:03,840 --> 00:20:07,600 Speaker 1: Roman Emperor's time. She pointed out the tunnel in the 264 00:20:07,680 --> 00:20:11,080 Speaker 1: kitchen that she believed used to connect the villa to 265 00:20:11,160 --> 00:20:14,600 Speaker 1: the medi Chi palace. She put on a pair of 266 00:20:14,640 --> 00:20:18,680 Speaker 1: white gloves and read to the guests the letters from 267 00:20:18,880 --> 00:20:23,280 Speaker 1: Marie Antoinette and King Louis the fifteenth she and her 268 00:20:23,359 --> 00:20:27,640 Speaker 1: husband found in a storage room. She never said, let 269 00:20:27,680 --> 00:20:30,600 Speaker 1: them eat cake, Rida told the guests as she showed 270 00:20:30,640 --> 00:20:35,240 Speaker 1: off the queen's signature. She got a bad rep again. Princess, 271 00:20:35,320 --> 00:20:39,080 Speaker 1: I feel like she would enjoy this show. Arriving at 272 00:20:39,080 --> 00:20:43,160 Speaker 1: the Caravaggio, a guest remarked that it was quite obscene 273 00:20:43,400 --> 00:20:47,560 Speaker 1: in your faced sexuality, Rita replied something she had been 274 00:20:47,600 --> 00:20:51,800 Speaker 1: familiar with his penis and everything else. He was courageous. 275 00:20:52,160 --> 00:20:55,359 Speaker 1: You were talking about post Reformation when they were still 276 00:20:55,400 --> 00:21:00,400 Speaker 1: burning people at the stake end quote. Years after this art, 277 00:21:00,520 --> 00:21:03,919 Speaker 1: she would claim she spotted the ghost of Caravaggio quote 278 00:21:04,200 --> 00:21:08,480 Speaker 1: in a loincloth like Tarzan, hunting the grounds and if 279 00:21:08,480 --> 00:21:12,160 Speaker 1: you're thinking, Dana, tell me more. I am so sorry 280 00:21:12,240 --> 00:21:15,080 Speaker 1: to report that that is the extent of the story 281 00:21:15,160 --> 00:21:20,200 Speaker 1: that we get. Rita and Niccolo's renovation project was both 282 00:21:20,320 --> 00:21:25,400 Speaker 1: costly and slow, partly thanks to the villa's designation as 283 00:21:25,480 --> 00:21:29,359 Speaker 1: a national monument, meaning the government had to be consulted 284 00:21:29,440 --> 00:21:34,199 Speaker 1: on many tasks. Water damage, disease, trees, the kind of 285 00:21:34,240 --> 00:21:37,520 Speaker 1: things that have been known to bankrupt noble families in 286 00:21:37,640 --> 00:21:42,200 Speaker 1: charge of massive estates. The family had apparently neglected the 287 00:21:42,320 --> 00:21:46,359 Speaker 1: villa for many years, and when Niccolo inherited it after 288 00:21:46,400 --> 00:21:51,160 Speaker 1: his father's death, it was abandoned, with birds flying through it. 289 00:21:51,800 --> 00:21:55,160 Speaker 1: We gave up everything, Rita said. I didn't go out 290 00:21:55,160 --> 00:21:57,560 Speaker 1: shopping and buy burke and bags and shoes in the 291 00:21:57,680 --> 00:22:01,720 Speaker 1: latest fashion or anything else at all. And Rita began 292 00:22:01,760 --> 00:22:06,440 Speaker 1: to give tours to support the renovation costs. The princess 293 00:22:06,560 --> 00:22:10,320 Speaker 1: wanted the villa to once again become a haven for 294 00:22:10,560 --> 00:22:14,240 Speaker 1: artists and intellectuals, as it had been in the days 295 00:22:14,240 --> 00:22:18,680 Speaker 1: of Carnal del Monte. She hosted a dinner for and 296 00:22:18,800 --> 00:22:23,440 Speaker 1: here is your second huh, Cameo Woody Allen, of all 297 00:22:23,480 --> 00:22:27,960 Speaker 1: people who she once auditioned for, and Annie Leibovitz attended 298 00:22:28,040 --> 00:22:32,520 Speaker 1: one of her tours. Rita also found a team of scholars, 299 00:22:32,640 --> 00:22:35,840 Speaker 1: with whom she worked on archiving the one hundred and 300 00:22:36,040 --> 00:22:41,320 Speaker 1: fifty thousand pages of historical documents found in home storage, 301 00:22:41,359 --> 00:22:45,679 Speaker 1: including the letters from Marie Antoinette. Rita and the Prince 302 00:22:45,880 --> 00:22:50,160 Speaker 1: did not have children together, but Niccolo had three sons 303 00:22:50,200 --> 00:22:53,880 Speaker 1: from his previous marriages. When they were small, you would 304 00:22:53,880 --> 00:22:56,119 Speaker 1: have eaten them up, he said in The New Yorker. 305 00:22:56,560 --> 00:22:59,080 Speaker 1: When they grow up a sort of regret that you didn't. 306 00:23:00,000 --> 00:23:04,640 Speaker 1: Perhaps Caravaggio should have chosen for his painting the myth 307 00:23:04,760 --> 00:23:11,479 Speaker 1: of Saturn devouring his son. Niccolo's children were not eaten, 308 00:23:11,720 --> 00:23:15,640 Speaker 1: and so the sons would become important players in our story. 309 00:23:16,400 --> 00:23:21,560 Speaker 1: In twenty eighteen, Prince Niccolo died at seventy seven years old, 310 00:23:22,040 --> 00:23:26,480 Speaker 1: setting off an inheritance battle between Rita and the Prince's 311 00:23:26,560 --> 00:23:30,720 Speaker 1: children from his earlier marriage over the state of the villa. 312 00:23:31,280 --> 00:23:35,080 Speaker 1: In the legal nitty gritty, Niccolo's will gave his wife 313 00:23:35,200 --> 00:23:37,760 Speaker 1: the right to stay in the property for the rest 314 00:23:37,800 --> 00:23:41,240 Speaker 1: of her life, and if sold, the proceeds were to 315 00:23:41,280 --> 00:23:46,159 Speaker 1: be split between Rita and his sons. The dispute was 316 00:23:46,320 --> 00:23:50,760 Speaker 1: best summed up in an article from Tadler explaining quote, 317 00:23:51,080 --> 00:23:54,280 Speaker 1: Rita claimed that Prince Niccolo's will gives her the right 318 00:23:54,440 --> 00:23:57,720 Speaker 1: to stay in the mansion for the rest of her life. However, 319 00:23:57,800 --> 00:24:03,360 Speaker 1: his three sons dispute this, arguing that their grandfather, print Gregorio, 320 00:24:03,800 --> 00:24:06,879 Speaker 1: had intended for them to one day inherit the historic 321 00:24:06,960 --> 00:24:12,879 Speaker 1: building and that their father had mismanaged his fortune end quote. 322 00:24:13,040 --> 00:24:16,800 Speaker 1: On a personal level, the brothers argued that Rita was 323 00:24:16,840 --> 00:24:20,040 Speaker 1: a gold digger who did not have their father's longevity 324 00:24:20,119 --> 00:24:24,840 Speaker 1: at heart. Rita, in turn, pointed to the brother's respective 325 00:24:25,000 --> 00:24:29,359 Speaker 1: legal troubles. Rita and the family weren't able to reach 326 00:24:29,520 --> 00:24:33,359 Speaker 1: any form of agreement, so a judge ordered in twenty 327 00:24:33,440 --> 00:24:36,679 Speaker 1: twenty two that the villa was simply to be sold 328 00:24:37,280 --> 00:24:41,480 Speaker 1: the asking price upon auction four hundred and seventy one 329 00:24:41,720 --> 00:24:46,360 Speaker 1: million euros or five hundred and thirty three million dollars, 330 00:24:47,080 --> 00:24:52,000 Speaker 1: the number of bidders zero. The professor at the University 331 00:24:52,080 --> 00:24:56,000 Speaker 1: of Rome, who was tasked with establishing the monetary value 332 00:24:56,000 --> 00:24:59,639 Speaker 1: of the villa, regarded that it was priceless from a 333 00:24:59,680 --> 00:25:05,200 Speaker 1: cul ural standpoint, but imagined an estimated ten million euros 334 00:25:05,440 --> 00:25:10,600 Speaker 1: would be required for necessary restoration work, not many people 335 00:25:10,880 --> 00:25:15,240 Speaker 1: would be up to that task. For the duration of 336 00:25:15,280 --> 00:25:18,000 Speaker 1: the legal battle, Rita was allowed to live in the 337 00:25:18,119 --> 00:25:22,840 Speaker 1: villa's third floor apartment, which her stepson, Prince Bonte referred 338 00:25:22,880 --> 00:25:27,520 Speaker 1: to disparagingly as the peasant quarters. Rita lived with her 339 00:25:27,560 --> 00:25:34,160 Speaker 1: four Bishon Frize dogs, George Washington, Joya Millard, and Henry James. 340 00:25:34,320 --> 00:25:38,359 Speaker 1: After the once visitor. Rita also lived with her Ukrainian 341 00:25:38,440 --> 00:25:41,880 Speaker 1: maid and her maid's daughter and grandchildren, who fled Key 342 00:25:41,920 --> 00:25:46,760 Speaker 1: of last year after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. However, 343 00:25:46,840 --> 00:25:51,080 Speaker 1: all of that ended this January, when a judge ruled 344 00:25:51,160 --> 00:25:54,080 Speaker 1: that Rita was to be evicted on the ground that 345 00:25:54,160 --> 00:25:57,639 Speaker 1: she had not been properly maintaining the building after the 346 00:25:57,680 --> 00:26:00,719 Speaker 1: collapse of a wall led to the posure of an 347 00:26:00,720 --> 00:26:06,840 Speaker 1: adjacent street. She was additionally accused of organizing unauthorized tours. 348 00:26:07,760 --> 00:26:12,199 Speaker 1: In April, Rita and her Bechanfrezes were escorted out of 349 00:26:12,240 --> 00:26:16,240 Speaker 1: the villa as the eviction was finalized and a locksmith 350 00:26:16,560 --> 00:26:20,520 Speaker 1: changed the locks on the front door. Prince Bonte waited 351 00:26:20,520 --> 00:26:25,760 Speaker 1: outside to want quote being liberated from that woman. Princess 352 00:26:25,880 --> 00:26:28,879 Speaker 1: is not her title, he shouted, because she is American. 353 00:26:29,000 --> 00:26:32,000 Speaker 1: She cannot do whatever she wants, he told reporters who 354 00:26:32,080 --> 00:26:35,439 Speaker 1: had gathered. He later told The New York Post, this 355 00:26:35,600 --> 00:26:38,640 Speaker 1: is our country. We have our police, we have our judges, 356 00:26:38,680 --> 00:26:41,800 Speaker 1: and you need to respect our countries. Otherwise you can 357 00:26:41,840 --> 00:26:44,920 Speaker 1: go back to where the hell Texas or the place 358 00:26:45,000 --> 00:26:49,160 Speaker 1: she's from. The Post takes this time to note that 359 00:26:49,600 --> 00:26:53,400 Speaker 1: Prince Bonte is wanted in the US for his conviction 360 00:26:53,680 --> 00:26:58,840 Speaker 1: in a domestic assault case against his American wife in Newport, 361 00:26:58,920 --> 00:27:03,359 Speaker 1: Rhode Island. His brother Francesco was jailed in the early 362 00:27:03,520 --> 00:27:07,439 Speaker 1: nineties for a scheme to counterfeit two hundred and fifty 363 00:27:07,680 --> 00:27:12,239 Speaker 1: thousand credit cards, and in twenty seventeen he served an 364 00:27:12,280 --> 00:27:17,560 Speaker 1: additional jail term in Austria for tax evasion. But what 365 00:27:17,680 --> 00:27:20,680 Speaker 1: did Rita have to say? As another era in her 366 00:27:21,119 --> 00:27:24,960 Speaker 1: very full life of twists and turns came to a 367 00:27:25,040 --> 00:27:28,760 Speaker 1: close quote. I feel like I'm in a surreal movie 368 00:27:29,160 --> 00:27:32,200 Speaker 1: like Sarcha's No Exit, She told reporters on the street. 369 00:27:32,640 --> 00:27:35,120 Speaker 1: I see no logic in this. I was a good 370 00:27:35,119 --> 00:27:38,440 Speaker 1: custodian for the villa. I love Italy and I'm so 371 00:27:38,480 --> 00:27:41,120 Speaker 1: sorry to have such a brutal ending to what has 372 00:27:41,160 --> 00:27:45,000 Speaker 1: been a labor of love for twenty years. That labor 373 00:27:45,040 --> 00:27:49,280 Speaker 1: of love is apparently culminating in a book about the villa, 374 00:27:49,680 --> 00:27:53,440 Speaker 1: which she told those reporters she would release later this year. 375 00:27:54,080 --> 00:27:57,960 Speaker 1: It's dedicated to my husband, Niccolo, she said, before getting 376 00:27:58,040 --> 00:28:01,119 Speaker 1: in a taxi with her dogs, waving out the window 377 00:28:01,200 --> 00:28:15,239 Speaker 1: to reporters and speeding away. That's the story of the 378 00:28:15,359 --> 00:28:20,560 Speaker 1: stranded Princess Rita bon companie Ludovisi. But keep listening after 379 00:28:20,640 --> 00:28:23,560 Speaker 1: a brief sponsor break to hear a little bit more 380 00:28:23,560 --> 00:28:27,080 Speaker 1: about Rita's work and how you can find it for yourself. 381 00:28:36,840 --> 00:28:40,760 Speaker 1: Rita's work in the villa not only included archiving the 382 00:28:40,800 --> 00:28:44,600 Speaker 1: documents that she and her husband found, but digitizing them 383 00:28:44,640 --> 00:28:50,080 Speaker 1: as well. The extensive collection, the Archivo Digital Buoncampi Ludovisi 384 00:28:50,600 --> 00:28:55,000 Speaker 1: is classified as a collaboration between T. Corey Brennan, the 385 00:28:55,080 --> 00:29:00,280 Speaker 1: professor mentioned earlier, The Prince and the Princehipessa. It's full 386 00:29:00,360 --> 00:29:05,360 Speaker 1: of posts documenting the family history from the tenth century 387 00:29:05,520 --> 00:29:08,760 Speaker 1: to the present. And if you're a history nerd, which 388 00:29:08,800 --> 00:29:12,320 Speaker 1: I imagine if you're here you might be, it's something 389 00:29:12,360 --> 00:29:25,760 Speaker 1: you might want to check out for free online. Noble 390 00:29:25,800 --> 00:29:30,240 Speaker 1: Blood is a production of iHeartRadio and Grimm and Mild 391 00:29:30,320 --> 00:29:34,440 Speaker 1: from Aaron Manke. Noble Blood is created and hosted by 392 00:29:34,600 --> 00:29:39,880 Speaker 1: me Dana Shchwort, with additional writing and researching by Hannah Johnston, 393 00:29:40,240 --> 00:29:45,080 Speaker 1: Hannah Zwick, Mira Hayward, Courtney Sender, and Lori Goodman. The 394 00:29:45,160 --> 00:29:49,360 Speaker 1: show is edited and produced by Noemi Griffin and rima 395 00:29:49,520 --> 00:29:55,360 Speaker 1: Il Kahali, with supervising producer Josh Thain and executive producers 396 00:29:55,440 --> 00:30:00,280 Speaker 1: Aaron Manke, Alex Williams, and Matt Frederick. For more podcasts 397 00:30:00,000 --> 00:30:05,880 Speaker 1: from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever 398 00:30:05,960 --> 00:30:07,720 Speaker 1: you listen to your favorite shows.