Donna Marcella Borghese
Princess Marcella Borghese, born Marcella Fazi (1911– January 19, 2002), was a manufacturer of cosmetics.
History
Marcella Fazi was born in Umbria in 1911. In 1938 she became the second wife of the widowed nobleman Paolo Borghese, Duke of Bomarzo and Prince of Sant’ Angelo of San Paolo, and acquired the title of Princess. She gave birth to twin boys, Francesco and Livio, the same year. She also had two daughters, Rosanna and Anita Mauritzi, from a previous marriage. She had two grandchildren from her first marriage, Sylvia and Valentina. From her second marriage she had five grandchildren; Scipione, Ilaria and Lorenzo from Francesco's side and from Livio's side, Luca and Matteo.
Through her marriage to Prince Paolo Borghese, her storied ancestors include Napoleon’s sister, Paulina Bonaparte Borghese (whose famous statue by Canova is displayed in the Galleria Borghese, Pope Paul V (Camillo Borghese) and Cardinal Scipione Borghese, both of whom had an enormous influence on Italian art and beautifying Rome in the 1600s, and who helped finish St. Peter's Basilica. To honor Pope Paul V’s accomplishment, the Borghese family name (spelled in Latin, Bvrghesivs ) and coat of arms (eagle and a dragon) can be found on the façade of the famous basilica.
The Borghese family received their Papal Titles (Prince and Princess) from Pope Paul V in the early 1600’s. During that time, the Pope could raise armies and often had powers equal to a king, like a king, he had the power to bestow Royal titles, called “Papal” titles, on people. These titles were often tied to territories of land. Princess Marcella's branch of the family received five different titles, which include the Prince of San Paolo and Prince of Sant'Angelo and Duke of Bomarzo.
The Princess'ancestors were also one of the largest owners of property and art throughout Italy. While Pope Paul V was in power, he purchased entire towns and approximately 1/3 of the land south of Rome. As a family, the Borgheses became the largest landowners of the "Roman Campagna," the central region in Italy, which is an area of approximately 1,300 square miles.
The Borghese name is displayed throughout Italy, including Florence at the Palazzo Borghese, Siena, where the family began and Rome where the name is most prominent. Rome’s largest Park, Villa Borghese gardens, was owned by the family until 1902, and one of Rome’s largest museums, Galleria Borghese, holds the family’s art collection. One of Rome’s most famous streets is also named after the family, Via Borghese, and the family’s crest can be found in many piazzas throughout Italy. The family also has a private chapel in one of Rome’s most famous basilicas, Santa Maria Maggiore. Beneath this Basilica is a private crypt where many of the famous Borgheses are laid to rest, including Pope Paul V, Paulina Borghese and her husband, Camillo Borghese as well as the Princess herself and her beloved husband, Prince Paolo Borghese.[1]
The fashion-conscious princess had toiletries, including makeup, made specifically for her using the natural ingredients found around the Villa Borghese in Rome, where the family lived. She wanted to create a line of lipsticks in a wider variety of shades than what was available at the time, and once Pope Pius XII gave the cosmetics his blessing,[2] pushed forward with the idea.
Princess Marcella Borghese died in 2002 in her home in Montreux, Switzerland. She was 90 years old, and was buried in the family crypt at the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome.
Business
In 1956, Borghese met cosmetics magnate, Charles Revson, the founder of Revlon. The two struck up a lifelong friendship, as he helped her to create her cosmetics line, which Revlon then licensed under the Princess Marcella Borghese brand name.
One of Princess Marcella Borghese's first collections included brightly colored lipsticks and nail colors to match the vivid colors of her fashion designer friend, Emilio Pucci's knitwear. Her Montecatini Cosmetic line, named after her favorite spa (and an ancient town in Tuscany), used the purported healing properties of the Terme di Montecatini mud and the mineral waters. The Princess was one of the first people to create a skincare line which was based on the natural therapies of a spa.
Today, the company is known as simply Borghese and is based in New York City.
Princess Marcella Borghese remained involved in the line named after her until her death.
References
External Links
- http://www.thepeerage.com/p8753.htm
- http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DE6D6173CF93BA35751C0A9649C8B63
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