An Italian princess has been evicted from her royal $533 million villa in Rome, which includes a ceiling painting by Caravaggio, during an intense five-year inheritance battle with her stepchildren.
Texas-born Italian Princess Rita Jenrette Boncompagni Ludovisi, formerly known as American actress Rita Carpenter, was reportedly at the Casino dell’Aurora villa on Thursday morning when the Carabinieri police arrived to seize her property and evict her, according to a report by la Repubblica.
“Luckily they managed to get in,” Ludovisi’s stepson said of the Carabinieri force that opened the door of the villa and evicted the 73-year-old Italian princess.
Rome Judge Miriam Iappelli ordered that she vacate the residence by Thursday as part of a ruling stating that she failed to maintain the historic property, which has been in the Ludovisi family since the early 1600s.
If Ludovisi refused to vacate the villa by 9:00 a.m. Italian time on Thursday, the carabinieri would arrive to force her eviction — which they did.
“The carabinieri arrived together with the locksmiths to open the door of the Casino dell’Aurora and evict Princess Rita Jenrette Boncompagni Ludovisi,” la Repubblica reported.
“What a brutal ending to my beautiful life with my beloved Nicolo,” Ludovisi — the widow of late Prince Nicolò Boncompagni Ludovisi — said on Wednesday, according to multiple reports.
Since the prince’s death in 2018, Ludovisi has been in an intense estate battle with her stepsons, who claim their grandfather intended for them to inherit the $533 million villa, which features a ceiling mural painted by Caravaggio in the 16th century.
Ludovisi is calling her eviction from Casino dell’Aurora “unexpected and unjust.”
Before marrying the prince in 2009, Ludovisi was an actress starring in television shows in the 1980s and 1990s. She was also married to former Rep. John Jenrette (D-SC) — who died last month — from 1976 to 1981.
Ludovisi also appeared in two issues of Playboy magazine in the 1980s.
You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Facebook and Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.
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