Lady Virginia Courtauld (Known name of Virginia Peirano; formerly Spinola Peirano) was a Romanian-born

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

and member of the

Courtauld Family The Courtauld Family is an English business family of Huguenot origin, active during the 17th–20th century. Members * Augustin Courtauld (1655–1706), cooper, vintner and goldsmith. Arrived in London sometime between 1686–168 ...

Early life

Virginia Peirano was born on 7 January 1885 in

Brăila Brăila (, also , ) is a city in Muntenia, eastern Romania, a port on the Danube and the capital of Brăila County. The Sud-Est (development region), ''Sud-Est'' Regional Development Agency is located in Brăila. According to the 2021 Romanian ...

, to a Hungarian mother, Rosa Balint Peirano (c.1860–c.1862–1940), and an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

father, Riccardo Peirano (1854–1930). Peirano's father was a shipping merchant, whose family left Genoa in the late nineteenth century and established a grain-exporting business in the Romanian

port city A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manche ...

of Brăila. Peirano had two older brothers, Riccardo Jr. "Richard" Peirano (1880–c.1918–c.1923) and Enrico "Henry" Peirano (1881–). Peirano's childhood was spent in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, where she was educated at

convent school Catholic schools are parochial pre-primary, primary and secondary educational institutions administered in association with the Catholic Church. , the Catholic Church operates the world's largest religious, non-governmental school system. In 201 ...

Italy

In December 1908, Riccardo Peirano dissolved his partnership in the

family business A family business is a commercial organization in which decision-making is influenced by multiple generations of a family, related by Consanguinity , blood, marriage or adoption, who has both the ability to influence the vision of the business a ...

"Peirano & Co.," leaving control of the company to his eldest son Richard Peirano and to George Nicholas Gologan of the Romanian Consulate. In either late 1909 or early 1910, Peirano relocated with her parents to Santa Margherita,

Liguria Liguria (; ; , ) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is roughly coextensive with ...

. In May 1910, the Peirano family rented a villa within the private park of the then Villa Spinola, owned by the

Marquis A marquess (; ) is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German-language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman with the rank of a marquess or the wife (or wido ...

Ugo Spinola (1853–1925) and Solferina Serra Spinola (1859–1944). In 1910, Peirano met the Marchese Paolo Spinola (1880–1969), the Spinola's third and youngest son and a member of the Luccoli branch of the

House of Spinola The House of Spinola, or Spinola family, is a Genoese noble family which played a leading role in the Republic of Genoa. Their influence was at its greatest extent in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. Notable members Guido Spinola was ...

. Within months of knowing each other, Peirano and Spinola broke with social convention and traveled together to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

and London. On the 24 November 1910, Peirano and Spinola were married at the Cathedral of Saint Lawrence in Genoa. Honeymooning in the

Khedivate of Egypt The Khedivate of Egypt ( or , ; ') was an autonomous tributary state of the Ottoman Empire, established and ruled by the Muhammad Ali Dynasty following the defeat and expulsion of Napoleon Bonaparte's forces which brought an end to the short- ...

, the couple continued to travel extensively throughout their marriage. Rapallo-villa del Trattato

Peirano and Spinola lived between

and the "villino Pagana n.8" on the Villa Spinola estate. In 1913, Ugo and Solferina Spinola commissioned the "neova villa" (Later known as the ) to be built for the couple on the Villa Spinola Estate. Styled after the Villa Serra di Comago, the Villa del Trattato was completed in 1915 however, Peirano and Spinola never lived in the property. Initially passionate, Peirano's and Spinola's marriage was strained by class and cultural differences which saw Peirano struggle to fit in with the conservative Spinola family. In 1919, Peirano met

Stephen Courtauld Sir Stephen Lewis Courtauld (27 February 1883 – 9 October 1967) was an English philanthropist associated with geographical exploration, the restoration of Eltham Palace in south-east London, and cultural and education causes, both in the UK ...

Courmayeur Courmayeur (; ; Valdôtain: ) is a town and ''comune'' in northern Italy, in the autonomous region of Aosta Valley. History The toponym ''Courmayeur'' has been mentioned as ''Curia majori'' (1233–1381), ''Corte Maggiore'' (1620), ''Cormoyeu'' (1 ...

whilst on a skiing holiday with Spinola, and formed a romantic relationship. Peirano and Luccoli separated in either the spring or summer of 1920, and finalised their divorce in

Fiume Rijeka (; Fiume ( �fjuːme in Italian and in Fiuman Venetian) is the principal seaport and the third-largest city in Croatia. It is located in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County on Kvarner Bay, an inlet of the Adriatic Sea and in 2021 had a po ...

(present-day

Rijeka Rijeka (; Fiume ( �fjuːme in Italian and in Fiuman dialect, Fiuman Venetian) is the principal seaport and the List of cities and towns in Croatia, third-largest city in Croatia. It is located in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County on Kvarner Ba ...

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

) in 1923. Peirano married Stephen Courtauld in Fiume soon after, whilst Spinola formed a long term relationship with the actress Hydée Urbani.

Eltham Palace

As a wedding present, Stephen Courtauld gifted Peirano a pet

ring-tailed lemur The ring-tailed lemur (''Lemur catta'') is a medium- to larger-sized strepsirrhine (wet-nosed) primate and the most internationally recognized lemur species, owing to its long, black-and-white, ringed tail. It belongs to Lemuridae, one of fiv ...

named

Mah-Jongg Mahjong (English pronunciation: ; also transliterated as mah jongg, mah-jongg, and mahjongg) is a tile-based game that was developed in the 19th century in China and has spread throughout the world since the early 20th century. It is played ...

, who lived and traveled with the couple for the next 15 years. In 1933, the couple acquired a 99-year-lease on

Eltham Palace Eltham Palace is a large house at Eltham ( ) in southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The house consists of the medieval great hall of a former royal residence, to which an Art Deco extension was added in the 193 ...

, and completed an

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...

renovation. Following a bombing on Eltham Palace in 1944, the Courtauld's gave up their lease and moved to

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

Rhodesia

In 1951, the Courtauld's moved to

Southern Rhodesia Southern Rhodesia was a self-governing British Crown colony in Southern Africa, established in 1923 and consisting of British South Africa Company (BSAC) territories lying south of the Zambezi River. The region was informally known as South ...

(present-day

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

). The Courtaulds supported

non-racialism Non-racialism, aracialism or antiracialism is a South African ideology rejecting racism and "racialism" while affirming liberal democratic ideals. History Non-racialism became the official state policy of South Africa after April 1994, and it is ...

and advocated for Rhodesian black rule. Following Stephen Courtauld death in 1967, Peirano reportedly began financially supporting members of the

Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army (ZANLA) was the military wing of the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU), a militant African nationalist organisation that participated in the Rhodesian Bush War against white minority rule of Rhod ...

crossing the Mozambique–Zimbabwe border.

Jersey

Peirano left Zimbabwe in 1970, and lived with family in

St Lawrence Saint Lawrence or Laurence (; 31 December 225 – 10 August 258) was one of the seven deacons of the city of Rome under Pope Sixtus II who were martyred in the persecution of the Christians that the Roman emperor Valerian ordered in 258. ...

In popular culture

The 2017 book ''Virginia, un mondo perduto. Scene da un matrimonio Belle Epoque di casa Spinola'' () was edited by . In 2018, Peirano was honoured at the Festa delle Rose di Busalla. The 2019 historical fiction book ''The Dragon Lady'' is based on Peirano's life. The

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

orchid Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Orchids are cosmopolitan plants that are found in almost every habitat on Eart ...

''Vanda lombokensis'' 'Virginia Courtauld' is named after Peirano.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Courtauld, Virginia 1885 births 1972 deaths People from Brăila Italian people of Hungarian descent Hungarian people of Italian descent British people of Italian descent British people of Hungarian descent 20th-century British philanthropists Courtauld family White Rhodesian people British emigrants to Southern Rhodesia