Evening star., 1923-12-20
BY THE MARaUIsE DE FONTENOY.

BY THE MARQUIsE DE FONTENOi.
Princess Maria Chigi, who was
killed the other day through her au
tomobile skidding and tumbling over
an embankment. thirty feet high
about twenty miles out of Rome, was
a Torlonia by birth and married to
Prince Francis Chigi. only brother of
Don Ludovico, eighth Prince of Chigi,
and hereditary marshal of the Holy
Roman empire and the guardian of
the conclave by which cardinals are
elevated through election. to the
chair of St. Peter. The guardian of
the conclave now makes his home in
the Via Lungara, at Rome. having
sold the stately palace of his family
to the Italian government. which
uses it as the headquarters of the
department of foreign affairs and as
the official residence of Premier Mus
solini The sale to the government
included the well nigh priceless Ii
brary formed by the Chigi Pope Alex
ander VII, and which. housed on the
top floor of the palace for over two
and a half centuries. was presented
by the government to the Vatican IL
brary. This was the first gift by the
since the papacy was deprived of its
temporal power in 1870. and among
its treasures is d letter from the Eng
lish King Henry VIII to the Prince
Palatine of the Rhine. urging him to
show no mercy whatsoever to Martin
Luther. and also a number of orig
inal sonnets of Tasso.
!; X X
The so-called Farnezina Palace has
likewise passed out of the possession
of the Chigi family. 1t stands on the
right bank of the Tiber the grounds
overlooking the river, and the palace
contains the Rafael "Galatea" and
other world famed frescoes. 1t was
built by Don Agostino Chigi, who was
celebrated as a banker and as a finan-
cier, and who had charge of the
monetary affairs of Leo y, designated
the Magnificent, a scion of the house
of Medfcf. 1t is related of Don
Agostino that. on rone memorable oc-
casion. when the pontiff had honored
him with his presence at a banquet
given on the shady terraces of the
gardens of this exquisite riverside
palace, he flung, at the close of the
repast, the whole of the superb gold
service which figured on the table
into the Tiber. declaring that plate
thus sanctiffed by the use of his
holiness should never be employed
again or be exposed to desecration
by serving people of less exalted
by this compliment and remained
until his death shortly afterward. in
happy ignorance of the fact that Don
Agostino had the .precaution to place
a net carefully concealed from view,
beneath the surface of the water so
that. after the departure Of the holy
father, he experienced no difficulty
whatsoever in recovering possession
of the gold plate, which still figures
among the herlooms of his descend
ant. the present head Of the house
The house of Chigi has furnished
large number of prelates to the
sacred college and one pontiff to the
holy seat, namely, Alexander VII. The
present head of the family comprises
among his many dignities a num-
Der of dukedoms. among the most
important of which is the dukedom
of Aracci, and also princedom of
the Holy Roman empire by virtue Of
a patent granted by the Emperor Of
titles him to the prefix of serene
highness."
With regard to the Torlonias, to
whom the ill-fated Princess Maria
niece Of that Don Marino Torlonia.
who married the daughter of Charles
A. Moore of New York, and a daugh-
ter of the late Don Leopold Torlonia,
Duke of Poll and of Guadagnolo. and
of his wife, who was a member Of the
historic Roman house of Colonna.
While the Torlontas cannot boast of
ancient lineage. yet they have proved
themselves to be such useful citizens
of Italy that they are well entitled
to their places In the Golden book"
of the italian nobility. The late Duke
Leopold, a very public spirited man,
was removed from the office of mayor
of Rome by Crispi when premier for
having conveyed, without the permis-
sion of the government, the con-
gratulations and good wishes Of the
Eternal city to Pope Leo XIII on the
occasion Of his jubilee. But 1t is
doubtful whether Crispi would have
had recourse to any such harsh meas
ure had not the mayors first wife.
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