Cash for 6.6 million, land and villas with a market value of 67 million, jewels and works of art of historical interest for 54 million. A total fortune of around 160 million, which Marella Caracciolo, wife of Gianni Agnelli, left to her three Elkann grandchildren after her death in 2019, to the dismay of her daughter Margherita. Among the paintings are said to be paintings by Giacomo Balla, Giorgio De Chirico, Francis Bacon, Claude Monet and Jean-Léon Gérome. An invaluable asset that, if confirmed, could prove Margherita right and prove whether it is true that part of her mother’s inheritance was not included in the inventory on which the agreement was based.
However, the decision of the Lazio Administrative Court (Tar) intervened, which overruled the provision by which the Ministry of Culture had enabled the publication of the catalog raisonné. The TAR’s decision would protect the privacy of the heirs, “taking into account the possible use of the data for the purpose of “packaging” a television service,” we read.
It’s easy to tell which transmission it is. In fact, the person who sparked interest in the list of works was a Report journalist who filed a request for civil access to the National Register of Works of Art. In this way it would have been possible to find out which of them are of historical and artistic interest and therefore subject to very restrictive ownership and sales rules. The ministry had sought to balance the right to information and the protection of the privacy of heirs by granting access to the documents but providing for the anonymity of the information and the redaction of personal data.
After the approval was granted by the ministry, John, Lapo and Ginevra Elkann contacted the TAR, which then accepted the applications. The judges were also of the opinion that the interim seat was not suitable for assessing the appeal and scheduled the hearing to discuss the matter on October 31st.
The affair with the paintings is just the latest in a dispute between Margherita Agnelli, her three Elkann children and the other five born of her marriage to Serge de Pahlen. A dispute that began 20 years ago, with the death of Gianni Agnelli. Mother and children fought over the inheritance. Then finally the agreement. Margherita received money, real estate, furniture, artwork and shares related to Dicembre, the family safe, which she wanted to sell. After a few years, as the value of the shares increased, Margherita initiated a series of legal proceedings to invalidate the agreement, believing that the entire procedure was flawed. The judges found she was wrong on all three levels of assessment.
The list of works could have closed another chapter, but the fight for inheritance certainly could not.