An illustrated essay in three parts by Carol Cofone (Rutgers’17)
Detail of Guercino’s Aurora. Collection of HSH Prince Nicolò and HSH Princess Rita Boncompagni Ludovisi, Rome.
Our discussion continues of the celebration of the Nozze d’Oro (Golden Wedding Anniversary) of Rodolfo Boncompagni Ludovisi (1832-1911), the eighth Prince of Piombino, and the Princess of Piombino Agnese Borghese Boncompagni Ludovisi (1836-1920).
In Part I we explored how the Boncompagni Ludovisi family was forced due to financial exigencies to rent their famed Casino Aurora (starting in 1895) to the new American Academy in Rome—and then to see the Americans leave them off the invitation list when King Vittorio Emanuel III and Queen Elena attended a landmark exhibition there on 11 January 1904.
In Part II we discussed how the Boncompagni Ludovisi managed to get back for the space of one day the use of their Casino Aurora for the Golden Wedding festivities of 31 May 1904, and why the lunch they staged attracted national press attention in Italy as “a conspicuous and brilliant party.”
In this final segment we shall see that the choice of the Casino Aurora as a venue was significant not just as a celebration of the fifty year marriage of the Prince and Princess. It was a powerful reminder of the family’s continued relevance at a time when powerful political, economic and social changes challenged it.
Plan of the Casino Aurora and its immediate area, made in connection with preparations for the 1904 Golden Wedding anniversary of Rodolfo and Agnese Boncompagni Ludovisi
Archivio Digitale Boncompagni Ludovisi 