No bids for $500 million Roman villa where former SC politician’s wife, now princess lives

A Roman court received no bids Thursday for Villa Aurora, a 30,000-square-foot, 500-year-old mansion where a former South Carolina politician’s wife lives.

Once known as Rita Jenrette, wife of former U.S. Rep. John Jenrette of South Carolina’s Pee Dee, now Princess Rita Boncompagni Ludovisi, said she was not anxious about the sale before and feels fine about it afterward.

She said a third — and final auction — will be held in June.

Ludovisi’s three stepsons contested their father’s will, forcing the auction.

“This is not the normal process of selling the most expensive home in the world,” Rita Ludovisi said Thursday. “A home valued at $500 million should have been handled by Sotheby’s or Christies.”

Prince Nicolò Boncompagni Ludovisi, whom Rita Jenrette married in 2009, left her a life estate in the house and decreed that if it was sold she would get half the proceeds and the sons would split the other half.

The court, while not recognizing the life estate, had previously ruled she can stay in the house without paying rent until it is sold.

A first auction with a sales price of $534 million was held in January and attracted no bidders. According to Roman law, a second auction, held Thursday, was set and the asking price was cut 20% to $427 million.

The third auction will see an asking price of $313 million.

The princess was married to Jenrette for five years while he was an up and coming congressman. He served three terms before losing after he got caught up in what was known as ABSCAM, an FBI sting operation to uncover political corruption in the government.

Thirty-one public officials were targeted for the investigation, in which FBI agents posed as representatives of a fictional Abdul Enterprises, Ltd., owned by an Arab sheik. They were offered money for votes on government contracts benefiting the sheik.

Five congressmen, including Jenrette, were convicted of bribery and corruption.

Jenrette spent 13 months in federal prison. His wife divorced him and moved to Los Angeles, where she made movies and was a reporter for “A Current Affair” television show.

She then moved to New York where she had a six- and seven-figure income as a real estate broker. One of her clients was Donald Trump.

In 2003, when she was a student in Harvard Business School, Rita Jenrette met Nicolò Boncompagni Ludovisi. She flew to Rome on the auspices of him asking for her help with a hotel deal.

“He was so charming,” she said. “It was magical.”

They moved into Villa Aurora, built in 1570 by Francesco del Nero, a member of a rich Florentine family and a treasurer of Pope Clement VII.

It sits about a half-mile from what is now Trevi Fountain on a knoll overlooking Rome. It is a treasure trove of artwork, including a statue of the Greek god Pan attributed to Michelangelo and a rare Caraviaggio mural representing most of the value of the house..

Galileo, Goethe and Tchaikovsky were visitors to the estate that once covered almost 90 acres. Corey Brennan, a classics professor at Rutgers University, met the Ludovisis in 2010. Since then he has compiled the Boncompagni Ludovisi archives, 150,000 pages of material.

“We’ve only scratched the surface,” he said.

They have found letters from Marie Antoinette in perfect condition.

In 2018, the prince died at 77.

The princess said few people in the world can afford the house, the necessary renovations and the upkeep.

This story was originally published April 8, 2022 at 6:00 AM.