Luisa Casati's father was a prosperous textile manufacturer, born in 1847 to Austrian parents from Gofis in Vorarlberg, and her mother was born in 1857 Vienna to an Italian father and Austrian mother.
15 Facts About Luisa Casati
2.
Luisa Casati's father was made a count by King Umberto I Luisa Casati's mother died when Luisa was 13, and her father died two years later, making his daughters, Luisa and her older sister, Francesca, reportedly the wealthiest women in Italy.
3.
The couple's only child, Cristina Luisa Casati Stampa di Soncino, was born the following year.
4.
Luisa Casati was known for her eccentricities that delighted European society for nearly three decades.
5.
Luisa Casati astonished society by parading with a pair of leashed cheetahs and wearing live snakes as jewellery.
6.
Luisa Casati captivated artists and literary figures such as Robert de Montesquiou, Romain de Tirtoff, Jean Cocteau, and Cecil Beaton.
7.
In 1910, Luisa Casati took up residence at the Palazzo Venier dei Leoni, on Grand Canal in Venice, owning it until circa 1924.
8.
Luisa Casati collected a menagerie of exotic animals, and patronized fashion designers such as Fortuny and Poiret.
9.
Luisa Casati fled to London, where she lived in comparative poverty in a one-room flat.
10.
Luisa Casati was rumoured to be seen rummaging in bins searching for feathers to decorate her hair.
11.
On 1 June 1957, Luisa Casati died of a stroke at her last residence, 32 Beaufort Gardens in Knightsbridge, aged 76.
12.
Luisa Casati was buried wearing her black and leopard skin finery and a pair of false eyelashes.
13.
Luisa Casati was interred with one of her beloved stuffed pekinese dogs.
14.
Characters based on Luisa Casati were played by Vivien Leigh in the play, La Contessa and by Ingrid Bergman in the movie, A Matter of Time.
15.
In May 2009, Karl Lagerfeld debuted his 2010 Cruise-wear collection on the Lido in Venice, for which Luisa Casati was a major muse.