Anna Bulgari Calissoni, heiress to the Italian jewellery dynasty Bvlgari, has passed away at the age of 93.
The heiress died on Friday, however a spokesman of the family announced her death on Sunday.
She was the only descendant of Sotiris Vulgaris, the founder of the Bvlgari dynasty, and could speak Greek.
According to the local newspaper of Paramythia, she would visit the village every year, and in 2019 she had met with a delegation for the municipality to discuss a plan for the renovation of the old primary school which Sotiris Vulgaris had offered to the town. She had shown great interest in the refurbishment of the building into a centre for art and culture.
Anna had made world headlines in 1983 when she and her then 16-year-old son Giorgio were kidnapped by three armed men who broke into their house on 19 November in Rome. They were held in a tent, blindfolded and sometimes chained. When the family refused to pay the 3-billion-lira ransom, they cut off Giorgio’s ear and increased the ransom to 4 billion lira (worth 2 million euros) and sent photos of him and his mother with chains around their necks and blood streaming down his neck as a result of the cut.
READ MORE: Bvlgari returns to its Greek roots
The family paid the money, fearing that both would be killed, and Anna and her son were finally set free on 24 December after 36 days in captivity.
“They cut the ear of my son so they could get the ransom,” Ms Bulgari had said. “The kidnappers were from Sardinia. Murderers. They held us on the floor and cold in a mountain for 35 days. My family payed them four million lira, that is, 2 million euros. My child was strong. He said nothing. They cut off his ear with a knife. I lost 10 years of my life. It was horrific.”
The late heiress has a mother of three.
READ MORE: Greek heritage brand Bvlgari brings Italian glamour to the NGV
