A court in Rome was due to decide on June 6 whether a confidante of the late Italian film star Gina Lollobrigida had tried to auction around 350 of her possessions, including paintings, sculptures and jewelry against her will. The case, which has now been postponed until December 15 due to a lawyers’ strike, is part of an ongoing legal dispute between rival heirs to the actress’ estate, which a recent investigation has found has decreased by approximately 9 million euros.
Lollobrigida, who died in January at the age of 95, achieved international fame in films such as Bread, love and dreams (1953) and Trapeze (1956). She became one of Europe’s first sex symbols and later in life ran unsuccessfully for the European Parliament. She was also a renowned art lover who studied sculpture in Florence, showing her works in solo exhibitions. She received the French Legion of Honor for artistic merit and was photographed alongside Giorgio de Chirico and Salvador Dalí.
The actress’ large art collection included everything from Baroque paintings to busts of Buddhist deities. Many of his possessions, which are cataloged in an inventory that was compiled during a recent audit of his estate and shared with The arts journal— were listed at Rome’s Colasanti auction house in May 2020 with an estimated value of €300,000. These are paintings attributed to Abraham Brueghel (value €10,000), a Flemish painter active in Italy (€3,000) and an artist from the Neapolitan school (€8,000).
Last minute respite
Milko Skofic Jr, Lollobrigida’s son, found out about the impending auction via the Colasanti website days before the auction started and alerted Italian police, who then blocked the auction, the lawyer said. by Lollobrigida, Alessandro Gentiloni Silveri.
A single piece, a work of the French School entitled Venere and Love, had been sold before the auction stalled, says Gentiloni Silveri. It was sold to a French antique dealer for €14,000.
Andrea Piazzolla, a 35-year-old former employee and assistant to Lollobrigida, to whom she bequeathed 50% of her estate, is accused of trying to sell the actress’ property against her will.
Talk with The arts journalPiazzolla’s lawyer, Filippo Morlacchini, claims the actress initially sought permission from her legal guardian to auction the works, but later denied knowledge of the auction when questioned by the public prosecutor of Rome.
Morlacchini argued that Lollobrigida changed her story because she did not want to reveal to the prosecutor that she intended to auction the works. “She didn’t want to leave anything to her son, that’s the truth,” he adds.
Works from the stalled auction, including around 70 sculptures by Lollobrigida herself, are now held by the auction house, with other works stored at Lollobrigida’s former residences in Rome and Pietrasanta, says Roberto Buldrini, an art expert who helped enhance the estate of Lollobrigida. in the recent survey. He added that all works are stored in “good conditions”.
In a separate case scheduled for June 7 and postponed until September 18 because of the strike, a court in Rome will decide whether Piazzolla manipulated Lollobrigida into leaving half of his estate to him. Vittorio Occorsio, the notary who conducted the recent investigation, valued the actress’ remaining estate at around €500,000 including debts, showing that around €9 million in cash, including the money from the sale of some of its properties, have disappeared. The court’s decision could lead to the reassignment of all of the actress’ assets to Milko Skofic Jr.
The June 6 hearing, which relates specifically to the blocked auction, risked being postponed due to a strike by criminal lawyers, explains Gentiloni Silveri. Regarding the ultimate fate of the works of art, the lawyer states: “They will be returned to the heirs, whoever they are.”
