3 at Romes Quirinale Palace, the home of Italys ruling family.
And indeed, when the Germans inspected safe number three, they found it empty.
There, a niche had been dug in the wall and the treasure was safely hidden.
Photo: Getty Images
He gave it to his wife Maria Jose, the last queen of Italy.
She wore it on her wedding day and would later bequeath it to her daughter-in-law, Marina Doria.
These are jewels that have been worn by the queens and princesses of the house of Savoy…. No one knows exactly what was in it.
Athens, Greece, 1962, Mary Beatrix and Victor Emmanuel of Savoy in the hotel lobby waiting for the wedding celebration party between Don Juan Carlos of Bourbon and Sophia of Greece.
Many pieces were made by the jeweler Musy, including diadems, earrings, and bracelets.
According to several reports, 6,732 diamonds and gems and 2,000 pearls were deposited with the Bank of Italy.
Some estimates place the value of the items at 300 million today.
This marvelous tiara was made by the jeweler Musy Padre e Figli in gold, diamonds, and pearls and was inherited on Margherita’s death by her grandson Umberto II. He gave it to his wife Maria José, the last queen of Italy. She wore it on her wedding day and would later bequeath it to her daughter-in-law, Marina Doria.
But others disagree, offering far lower assessments.
Vespasiani, then president of the Association of Roman Goldsmiths, said they were worth a few hundred million.
Queen Margherita wearing her famous pearls.
Copenhagen, 2004. Marina Doria wears the Musy tiara at the wedding of Prince Frederik (now Frederik X) of Denmark to Mary Donaldson.
Not all of the Savoy jewels are kept in the Bank of Italy, however.
(The name of the buyer has never been revealed.)
(Princess Maria Gabriella wore the same parure with sapphires.)
Queen Maria José of Italy with her children: Princess Maria Beatrice, Princess Gabriella, and Prince Victor Emmanuel at the Hotel Grande Bretagne in Athens in 1962. They are about to depart for a ball at the Royal Palace, part of the wedding celebrations of Juan Carlos, then Prince of Asturias, to Princess Sophia of Greece.
Clotilde Courau and Emanuele Filiberto on their wedding day in Rome in 2003
Queen Maria José.
Queen Margherita wearing her famous pearls.
Clotilde Courau and Emanuele Filiberto on their wedding day in Rome in 2003
