Prince del Drago

Giovanni Battista dei Principi del Drago, Marchese di Riofreddo (12 August 1860–3 May 1956), known in the United States as the Prince del Drago and Prince Don Giovanni del Drago, was a member of the princely Del Drago family of Rome, though not a prince in his own right. He was the fourth son of Prince Filippo Massimiliano of Mazzano and Antuni and thus the second cousin of Cardinal Giovanni Battista Casali del Drago. On his mother's side, he was a grandson of Queen Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies and her second husband, Agustín Fernando Muñoz.[1]

For the Prince Del Drago of Corsica (a monkey), see Marion Graves Anthon Fish § Drago.
Caricature of Prince del Drago by Carlo de Fornaro, c1900

Del Drago held Swiss citizenship. He married Emma dei Conti Lucich on 12 October 1887 in Rome. [2] Their son, Marcello Gentili del Drago, became Italy's Ambassador to Japan. That marriage was not recognized by the Catholic Church and ended in divorce. He moved to New York in around 1904, and married Mrs. Josephine Schmid née Kleiner, the wealthy widow of August Schmid, the owner of Lion Brewery and much New York City real estate, on 22 May 1909.[3][1] Josephine died in Sanremo, Italy, on October 8, 1936.[4]

Giovanni lived on 114 East Fifty-second Street in New York. He died on May 3, 1956, in Rome.[5]

Notes
  1. "Brewer's Widow not a Princess", New York Times, May 25, 1909, p. 9
  2. The Peerage https://www.thepeerage.com/p9401.htm#i94006
  3. "Mrs. Schmid Weds Prince del Drago", New York Times, May 23, 1909, p. 1
  4. "Mrs. Coudert Fights Grandmother's Will", New York Times, November 23, 1937, p. 48
  5. "Prince G. del Drago (obituary)", New York Times, May 4, 1956, p. 25
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.