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The Ermine Murder
The high society scandal that shocked (and entertained) post-war Italy
September 15, 1948.
The Grand Hotel Villa D’Este, a fabulously luxurious hotel overlooking Lake Como, is hosting a gala event, and the cream of Italian society is attending; baron Rothschild — one of the richest men in Europe — is there, and King Farouk of Egypt’s uncle is a special guest.
They’re all here because Milanese fashion designer Elvira Leonardi Bouyeure (famous for being composer Giacomo Puccini’s grand-daughter and Maria Callas’ personal dressmaker), is presenting her latest collection.
Two dozen waiters in white gloves run around the 18th-century dining room, quietly pouring wine in people’s glasses, but Countess Pia Bellentani, the 32-year-old woman in a white-and-gold silk dress sitting at one of the tables, is not drinking that night. The fashion show doesn’t seem to interest her at all: she stares at the models without really seeing them.
Outwardly, Pia is calm and composed, albeit a bit quiet; inside, she’s a seething mass of jealousy, hate, and self-loathing.
Pia Bellentani (née Caroselli) is not born into this world of diamond jewels and great titles: she’s the youngest of six children (three of whom died in infancy), and her father is a former blacksmith turned businessman.
