Virginia Oldoini, Countess of Castiglione, was sent to Paris in 1856 by her cousin Cavour with a clear instruction: seduce Napoleon III to win France's support for Italian unity. She succeeded. She then posed five hundred times before the lens, deciding alone her costumes, her poses and the framing of every picture. Grown old, she veiled all her mirrors and went out only at night.
The story
Virginia Oldoini was born in Florence on 22 March 1837 and married Count Verasis di Castiglione. In January 1856 her cousin Cavour sent her to Paris with a precise mission: to seduce Napoleon III and secure French support for the unification of Italy.
The mission was accomplished. She became the Emperor's mistress, and France went to war against Austria in 1859: Solferino and Magenta opened the way to the kingdom of Italy.
She is also one of the earliest photographic subjects in history. She posed more than four hundred times for the Mayer and Pierson studio, over forty years, directing the framing, the costumes and the poses herself — a work on her own image that the twentieth century rediscovered as a body of art.
Her beauty gone, she withdrew to the place Vendôme, veiled every mirror and went out only at night. She called herself a Carmelite of beauty.
She died on 28 November 1899. Her last wishes — to be buried in the dressing gown she wore for the Emperor's visits — were not respected. Her grave in Division 85, abandoned for many years, was restored with money from Turin's Grinzane Cavour prize and from the SOCREM; a plaque was unveiled on 28 November 1999, a hundred years to the day after her death.
The grave
The grave long lay abandoned — the fate of many Second Empire graves — before being restored thanks to Italian institutions: the Grinzane Cavour prize of Turin and the SOCREM. A plaque was unveiled on 28 November 1999, a hundred years to the day after her death. The inscription is purely civil: “Virginia Oldoini, Countess Verasis de Castiglione, born in Florence on 22 March 1837, died in Paris on 28 November 1899.” Her last wishes — to be buried in the dressing gown she wore during the Emperor's visits — were not followed. It is the fourth monument in this guide maintained or saved from abroad, after Comte, Andranik and Pleyel.
On site, do not miss
The plaque of 1999, placed for the centenary of her death by the institutions that saved the grave from neglect.
Visitors' questions
Where is the grave of the Countess of Castiglione?
In Division 85, Avenue Transversale No. 3, third row, in the upper part of the cemetery — the same Division as the grave of Sadegh Hedayat, part of which is taken up by the Muslim enclosure.
Sadegh HedayatWhat was her mission in Paris?
To seduce Napoleon III and win France's support for Italian unification: her cousin Cavour had sent her for that purpose in January 1856. She became the Emperor's mistress, and France went to war with Austria in 1859.
Henri CernuschiIs it true that she veiled her mirrors?
Yes, in her last years in the rue Cambon: her beauty gone, she veiled every mirror, went out only at night, and called herself a “carmélite de la beauté” — a Carmelite of beauty. She had posed five hundred times before the camera.
Cléo de MérodeWho restored her grave?
Italian institutions: the Grinzane Cavour prize of Turin and SOCREM. The grave had long lain abandoned; a plaque was unveiled on 28 November 1999, a hundred years to the day after her death.
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