Juliette Benzoni

Love and castles

ELISEE PALACE. Madness in all genres

Paris... We will open a string of French castles with a story about the difficult fate of the famous Elysee Palace. After all, he was a palace before turning into a barn! Let's hope for a better share for this beautiful building in the center of Paris.

So the story...

It is useless to add that the General did not like Elise. He found this house frivolous and ill-suited to the demands of power. It is said that he would have preferred Vincennes a hundred times over, not comfortable and harsh, but noble. However, he managed to settle down here too, without dreaming of a time that would bring to the abode of bizarre things that greatness that he lacked and which can hardly be borrowed anywhere. Now let's delve into history. The construction of the Elysee Palace - the current Parisian residence of the President of the Republic, had two root causes, completely different and at the same time interconnected: marriage, in fact, an unequal marriage, and the order of the Regent. One preceded the other.

In the first years of the 18th century, the kind Louis-Henry de Latour d "Auvergne, Count d" Evreux, Colonel General of the cavalry suddenly discovered that his service was penniless and, moreover, very burdensome. A major shortage of money led to the fact that his parents, the Duke de Bouillon and Maria Anna Mancini, who was the last niece of Cardinal Mazarin, instantly exhausted all the considerable fortune that they got from their dear uncle through various follies.

Of course, the duchess, charming, but quarrelsome and depraved, never knew how to save money. To make matters worse, she allowed herself to be compromised along with her sister Olympia, Comtesse de Soissons, in a dangerous case of poisoning and was forced into hiding. So her husband could not boast of a happy and cloudless life, besides, fate provided him with a brother, a minister of the Church, but the position of chief priest of France did not drown out in him a certain taste for children from the choir.

Thanks to this competition of unpleasant circumstances, the heir to one of the best names in France, at the age of thirty, was forced to resort to the help of intrigues.

To settle all these matters, the comte de Toulouse, the legitimized son of Louis XIV and Madame de Montespan, once offered our hero a rich marriage, a fantastic marriage, on the condition that he finds enough common sense in himself to intermarry with his father-in-law of low birth. What kind of test? Rich Crozet, who had a younger brother, Poor Crozet, who, by the way, also already had a decent capital.

With all evidence, this name should have caused a grimace of the young Count d "Evreux, who probably did not read Saint-Simon: “Crozat was born in Languedoc, where he settled in Pennotier, almost a lackey. Being an inconspicuous employee, Crozat rose to the rank of cashier. Having put money in a shipbuilding bank, this man became the first rich man in Paris. The king himself wished to make him the manager of the Duke of Vendôme. Fame followed wealth."

In fact, Crozat, being a clever financier and taking advantage of a fortunate opportunity, obtained privileges in the trade with Louisiana. Here he turned into a philanthropist and filled the newly built mansion on Place Louis the Great (now Place Vendôme) with collections that included things by Titian, Tintoretto, Van Dyck and other important gentlemen - everything that was later bought by Catherine II.

The Marquis de Chastel made him royal secretary, so that Crozat could argue with the shadow of the luxurious superintendent Fouquet. Unfortunately, he was not so refined and was an inadmissible snob. Moreover, he madly wanted to find his place in the world, although the latter did not show much zeal to accept it.

The idea of ​​​​marrying a daughter to one of the de Latour d "Auvergne, a royal cousin, turned Crozat's head and caused a scene worthy of Molière on his wife's part. For true to the example of the smart Madame Jourdain, Madame Crozat, who belonged to a good bourgeois family, did not support any noble claims husband, nor the expenses that he unquestioningly went to "appease" people who only wanted to use his money.

Positively, Madame Crozat did not want to become the mother-in-law of Count d "Evreux. But although at that time they were already slandering about the successes of feminists, the law was completely on the side of the father of the family, and in the spring of 1706, twelve-year-old Anna-Maria Crozat became the wife of Louis-Heinrich, who was a little over twenty.

This marriage, marked by a luxurious wedding in his father's mansion, in fact turned out to be fictitious: in exchange for the royal dowry he received, Count d "Evreux honored his spouse with only the dubious joy of being called a countess. He reasoned that she had nothing to do in this money story. In the evening, the young husband gave the one whom he called to himself "my little gold bar" with a social greeting and went to spend the night with his former mistress.

It can be objected that the young wife was still too small, but still age is not so important here. Besides, Anna Maria wasn't ugly at all. She was a beautiful brunette with gorgeous black eyes, who should have become even prettier with age. She had a knack for educating her mind and her manners in the hope that the husband she secretly adored would someday take notice of her. And so, by the age of twenty, Anna-Maria became not just a beautiful woman, but also a secular lady.

Contrary to the custom of such spouses, Count d "Evreux, being a windy and bad husband, was not wasteful. On the contrary. Assessing his luck, he began to increase her gifts, and, in order to avoid spending, settled in his father-in-law's mansion so as not to pay for the maintenance of his own house. In addition, he sought royal service in the hope of replenishing his purse, for which he bothered the Regent with requests to enroll him in the hunting royal district of Monceau.

For his part, Philippe d'Orleans, being a subtle psychologist, once confessed the young Countess d'Evreux and, to his great surprise, discovered that her husband had never fulfilled his marital duty. The magnanimous Anna-Maria attributed such neglect to the fact that they continued to live in the house financier father, which constantly pointed to her plebeian origin.

Encouraged by such Frankness, the Regent, calling on the stubborn husband, turned to him with the following words: “You will receive the position you are seeking, moreover, I myself will hand you a paper confirming this after you settle in your own mansion.”

It sounded like an order. Evreux immediately went to the suburbs and bought from the financier Low for 77,090 livres one thousand two hundred tuases of land on the site of the former "Gourdes swamp". Today, these marshes are a beautiful platform located between the Great Courtyard - the future Champs Elysees - and the village of Rul.

Through the efforts of the architect Mollet, by the end of 1718, the Evre mansion arose on this site. A celebration was arranged in the halls of the lower floor. It never occurred to anyone to climb higher, and no one discovered that the owner, true to his stinginess, did not find it necessary to finish the second floor. The desired paper was in his hands, and he did not knock on the door of his wife.

But on that memorable day, she was able to realize how wrong she had once been: she finally saw her husband's mistress, the Duchess Ledigier; and yet, she did not think to hide. Now she not only found out that she could never become the wife of her lawful husband, but also realized that she no longer dreamed about it.

A few months later, after demanding the division of property, Anna-Maria returned to her father's house, where she died at the age of thirty-five, in 1729. Her husband, exhausted by depravity, was finished off by an apoplexy, but, having fallen into childhood, he managed to stretch out for a very long time in the same mansion, still indulging in his stinginess. Death came for him in 1753. A few months later, the d'Evreux mansion came into the possession of the Marquise Pompadour.

By that time, the Marquise was the favorite already only in words. Health cooled her temperament and removed her from the royal embrace, but she remained the companion and indispensable friend of Louis XV. This will continue for more than ten years, but the Marquise has always understood how fragile platonic love is. Without a doubt, the king is attached to her heart, but who can guarantee that one day his heart and feelings will not be captured by one of the dexterous young ladies, like herself in her youth?

The marquise knew perfectly well that in the golden interiors of Versailles many eyes were watching her with contempt and envy. So she found a pretty house in Paris, which she had bought with her own money and furnished according to the Marquise's personal tastes. This house was the Evreux mansion, which even now, however, keeps her name.

She immediately began to decorate the mansion, attracting the best artists of the time to this work, as usual. Then, finally, the second floor was also decorated, which was badly neglected by the first owner - the marquise sought to make it worthy of royal visits. But she did not live long in this beautiful Parisian house of hers, since Louis XV did not remove her from him.

Her brother, the Marquis of Marigny, the chief manager of the royal buildings, settled in the mansion. Paris owes the appearance of the boulevard to the Marquis, which now bears his name. He also came up with the final form of the future Champs Elysees, after the idea of ​​​​Madame Pompadour to arrange vegetable gardens there failed. According to the calculations of the Marquise, this idea could surpass the royal Versailles in scope, but from the very beginning it caused a storm of indignation among the Parisians: the Great Court could suffer here. As a result, the already shaky popularity of the favorite suffered a lot.

After the death of the marquise, the king inherited the building, but he got only the walls: the rest dissipated in the smoke of auctions. (They would be the envy of any modern collector!)

Louis XV decided to provide a mansion for foreign embassies, and it became the home of extraordinary ambassadors. At the same time, the king decided to fill it with royal furniture, since a special building for this had not yet been built. Not a single ambassador could find a single moment of rest among this rubbish - there was no more convenience there than in a junk shop.

When the architect Gabriel built the two colonnaded palaces that now adorn the Place de la Concorde, the Hotel Extraordinary Ambassadors lost both its name and its function as a repository of royal furniture. He was conscientiously cleared of everything. Louis XV, no longer knowing what to do with this building, sold it to the Abbé Terre, the chief responsible for the royal finances, a good tax collector, and therefore extremely unpopular. (It is his name that is associated with the case when one night a playful Parisian discovered a sign "Rue Without Money".)

However, the beautiful palace, surrounded by trees, seemed too noticeable to him, and Terre hastily sold the house, before he even had time to settle in it. The abbot gave it to the richest financier, Nicolas Beaujon, who paid a million livres for it and settled there as soon as possible.

If the Count d "Evreux was only interested in the lower floor, then Beaujon took up his living quarters. In his time, the palace acquired a gloss that could not be dreamed of even in the era of Madame Pompadour. This is the subject of the next passage of Mary Bromberger's book, talking about the Elysee Palace in the era of the financier : "His bed resembled a flower bed embroidered with roses; the play of mirror reflections, reflecting the luxurious draperies of the room and the flowers of the parterre under the windows, woke him up in the morning. In the evening, he fell into a dream, surrounded by an extravaganza of illuminated trees and statues of the park, iridescent with golden lights. Covered with muslin with roses, the bathroom was so good that the artist Vigée-Lebrun, who came to paint a portrait of the owner, wished to bathe there without fail.”

Let us add that one of the halls on the first floor bore the indicative name of the Salon of Money! I would like to imagine the owner of all these miracles was once a beautiful young man, narcissus ... Nothing of the kind. By a tragic mistake of nature, a fifty-seven-year-old disabled person lived there - that's how much he hit in the year he bought the mansion in 1775. Beaujon was fat, afflicted with rheumatism, and always fit in a small armchair. He could not see or hear well, and his upset stomach did not allow him to touch the dishes with which, with royal generosity, he treated his countless friends. As for women, he adored them, but he no longer touched them, but tried to surround himself with them like flowers.

So, leaving the feasting guests in the evening, he retired to his room with a whole bunch of beautiful women who sat around his bed to chat, laugh, and sometimes even sing. He called them his nannies and always invited the same ones, among whom Madame Falbert was the favorite; on her hands, he died on December 20, 1786, marking the beginning of a tradition, the unwitting victim of which later turned out to be one of the presidents of the Third Republic.

A generous philanthropist accepted at court, Beaujon was also a generous person. Two years before his death, he built a huge shelter for the poor in the suburb of Ruhl, which later turned into a Beaujon hospital.

The next mistress of his palace, before History settled there, was a woman with the scandalous name of a citizen of Pravda.

Buying a mansion after the disappearance of the financier's treasures at auctions, Louise-Batilde d'Orleans, married the Duchess of Bourbon, did not suspect that she would have to bear such a strange name. She met the 37th spring and already knew that neither a name nor money brings happiness.

Even though she used to think otherwise. Then, at twenty years of age, she married for love the eldest son of the Prince of Condé, the young Duke of Bourbon, and spent several happy months in the Bourbon Palace, whose vaguely repulsive atmosphere seems more suitable for the excitement of the current deputies than for the tender word "happiness".

But after the birth of a son, who was destined to become a young and unfortunate Duke of Anghien and be shot near Vincennes, her husband lost all interest in her, which he did not fail to report right there, bypassing any delicacy. One day, while preparing to leave for Chantilly, the family estate of the Dukes of Condé, a young woman received a note that literally said the following: “Madame, you should not take the trouble to come here, because you are disgusting both to my father and to me, and to everything society." It is hardly possible to express it more rudely.

Deprived of her son, whom she had never seen, expelled from home, Louise-Bathilde looked for a way to console herself by taking lovers: the Chevalier de Coigny, the Comte d'Artois, who treated her in an indecent way, and several others, less well-known. This continued until after discovering true love in Alexandre de Roquefey, a young naval officer, by whom she gave birth to a daughter, Adelaide Victoria, whom she raised as her goddaughter.

The Duchess was very pleased with the purchase of the Beaujon Hotel and hastened to christen it in Eliza - Bourbon. There she began to lead an adventurous life as a society woman. The death of the young de Roquefey, who drowned in 1785 on a roadstead in Dunkirk, left a deep mark on her soul and turned her away from love adventures forever.

Having no more lovers, she turned to Platonic hobbies and turned to the occult sciences. Magnetism, in the name of which Father Mesme gathered all Paris around his famous cauldron, found an admirer in the person of the Duchess of Bourbon. Then she was fond of the writings of the Unknown Philosopher, Louis-Claude de Saint-Martin, to whom the descendants attributed the formula for a beautiful future: Liberty, Equality, Fraternity. Famous philosophers, and with them the half-witted clairvoyant, who called herself the Mother of God, filled the Elysee Palace and put things in order there. This continued until the Revolution.

Louise Bathilde accepted this Revolution, especially since her brother, Duke Philippe of Orleans, was among its leaders. And when he put on the nickname "Citizen Equality", the sister hurried to turn into "Citizen Pravda."

Nevertheless, she had to flee to the castle of Petit-Bourg. There she was arrested and sent to De la Force prison. Only the fall of Robespierre saved her from the death sentence, but only in 1797, she was able to return to her Parisian palace. And how did she find it?

Skinned and devastated by the invasions of the people, the Elysee Palace of the Bourbons needed huge money for restoration, which the hostess no longer had. She rented the ground floor to a couple of businessmen Orvin, who undertook to use it in their own way. Former almost a royal palace, the Champs Elysees became a place for public balls (we will clarify that during the Revolution he sheltered a printing house and a sales hall). And what were those public balls! Ragged grisettes and soldiers danced, drank and made love there, and if not for the constant drafts, the palace could now be called a "closed house".

The heavy hand of Napoleon I and his taste for order were needed to restore the former look and dignity to the old Evreux mansion. On August 6, 1805, Joachim Murat, marshal of France and son-in-law of the emperor (husband of his sister Caroline), takes possession of ... the Elysee Palace of Napoleons. Percier and Fontaine, the famous interior decorators of the Empire, set to work within these walls. The palace has regained its former glory. Lush plumes and sparkling boots of Murat and the emperor have now settled in it. Carolina, on the other hand (it must be admitted without undue modesty), took advantage of her husband's frequent absences to receive her lovers here.

Having become the beloved of Junot, the governor of Paris, one day, after returning from the theater in his company, she left the governor's carriage all night under her windows. At the same time, no one was mistaken about where Junot was and what he was doing. One evening, Junot's wife Laura was forgotten in the carriage. For which she found a way to take revenge in the company of the Austrian Ambassador Metternich, who, by the way, had previously been Carolina's lover.

The restless Murat became the king of Naples, and the palace passed to Napoleon. The latter gave it to Josephine at the time of the quarrel, but the outcast almost did not live there and kept him for no more than two years.

In 1815, Tsar Alexander I lived in the Elysee Palace after Waterloo, while his soldiers were stationed around the palace.

Inspired by happiness and youth, the young spouses the Duke of Beria and Maria Carolina of Naples, the Duchess of Vif-Arzhan settle in the Elysee Palace. The Duchess organized her little court there, cheerful as herself. But happiness soon gave way to inconsolable grief, after the blow of Louvel's dagger made the duchess too young a widow. She did not stay long in the palace.

Another fleeting owner of the palace: Prince Louis Napoleon. He was then the first President of the Second Republic. After becoming emperor, he immediately left Eliza, moving to the Tuileries.

The Republic, having come into its own after Napoleon III, did not concede them again. The presidents settled in dusty, boarded-up interiors. Some met their death there: Sadi Carnot, who died at the hands of Caseiro, the stern and incorruptible Paul Dumet, who was killed by Gorgulov. Among them is the famous sun-president Felix Faure, who died in the arms of his beloved, the beautiful Madame Staney.

Others have brought their kindness, their intelligence, their statesmanship...or their insignificance to these walls. President Pompidou, with admirable courage, spent the long days of his martyrdom there.

Now, thanks to Madame Vincennes Auriol, the palace, having got rid of the ugly stained-glass window, has found all its former grace of the 18th century. He changed his color and appearance depending on the owners. Let us wish that its color does not change the tricolor, to which Emperor Napoleon I was once so disposed and which is now loved by all the French without exception.

AVOG. Julie de Lespinas

I was about to see

You again, but you need to die.

What a cruel fate!

Marquis de Mora

On November 9, 1732, in the house of Monsieur Basilac, the surgeon of the Marshall, in Place Duan in Lyon, an unknown lady secretly gives birth to a little girl. The next day, the child is brought to the church of Saint-Paul: “On November 10, 1732, Julie-Jeanne was baptized - Eleanor de Lespinas, born yesterday, the legitimate daughter of Claude Lespinas, a tradesman of Lyon, and Madame Julie Navard, his wife. The godfather is Louis Bazillac, sworn surgeon of Lyon, the godmother - Mrs. Julie Lechot is represented by the wife of the above-mentioned Mr. Bazillac, Ms. Madeleine Ganivet. The father did not leave his painting, as he was absent at the time of baptism. Two more witnesses are also added to the godfathers ... "

Except for the names of the godfather and godmother, everything else in this document is fictitious. The Lyon tradesman and his wife never existed, and the mother of the child was actually Julie-Claude, Countess d "Albion, who usually lived in the ancient castle of Avozh, on the road between Lyon and Tarare. As for the father, there was no one other than Count Gaspard de Vichy, who was connected with the pretty Madame d "Albion by a very tender romance ...

The aforementioned lady inherited from her mother the charming name of Princess d "Yvto, reminiscent, rather, of an operetta. However, she came from a very famous family. The d" Albion family regularly supplied governors in Dauphine from the 12th century, among whom the most famous was Marshal de Saint-Andre , one of the heroes of the religious wars.

At the age of sixteen, Julie-Claude Hilaire d "Albion marries her cousin, Claude d" Albion, thus connecting two family branches: the Comtes de Saint-Marcel and the Marquises de Saint-Forge, which provides them with a very large fortune.

The first years of their marriage can be called happy, because they were spared from any kind of family drama. They have four children, of which only two will reach adulthood: their daughter Camille-Diana and son Camille-Alex, who will continue the family. But, a strange thing: it is with the birth of this boy that misfortunes fall on the Avozh castle.

No one knows exactly what happened, because the family covered the whole story with a secret. The only thing that came out was that all the worst came from the husband, who made a number of unforgivable mistakes, very serious mistakes, since the upbringing of the children was entrusted to the mother. The count had no right to express the slightest protest. He left Avozh and settled in Rouen, where he remained "in the shade and solitude, in ignorance, silently and, it seemed, taking no part in the life of his family."

On the contrary, Julie-Claude continued to live in Avozh. At thirty, she was still young, beautiful, rich and free. Gaspard de Vichy was not slow to fill the loneliness of the poor heart, which was so eager to love. And little Julie becomes the fruit of this love. It should be noted that the name Lespinas, given to her at birth, was the name of one of the family lands.

Julie-Claude does not abandon her child; unlike many women who did just that with their children, she takes her baby to Avozh, where the girl will be brought up under her supervision.

It is necessary to say a few words about the castle itself. With its towers, ramparts and ditches, Avozh was a medieval fortress that would be “refurbished” in the 19th century. The charming castle of Louis XV, located nearby, will not be built until a few years after the arrival of little Julie. The child will love this simple house, the severity of which is softened by its magnificent location in the magical valley de la Turdine. To the horizon stretches there a delightful panorama of the Foresian mountains.

In this estate, Julie spent the beautiful days of her childhood. The companion of her games was the young Camille d "Albion, for whom she always had a feeling of tender friendship. Julie's eldest daughter, Claude, Diana, was much older. She was already an adult girl, and it was necessary to take care of the arrangement of her personal life. 1739 was a turning point for Julie and her mother. First it was Camille's departure to the army, which was the duty of a person of his rank. Then Diana's wedding. And whom does Diana marry on November 18, 1739 under the vaults of the Avozh castle? .. For Gaspard de Vichy, lover her mother and father Julie de Lespinas! Vichy managed to fall in love with young Diana, and the wedding took place despite the tears of Madame d "Albion, who was now forced to remain alone in a huge castle with baby Julie.

The lonely woman was very concerned about her health, which by that time left much to be desired. What will happen to Julie if death comes to her? She could not even bequeath to Julie everything she wanted, because of the noise that Gaspard de Vichy made, concerned about the fate of part of his wife's inheritance. And then what? Monastery? But Julie, although she was still very young, finds the courage to refuse this fate. There is too much life, love and freedom in her to agree to be imprisoned in a monastery. All that her mother, who at this time was especially tender with her daughter, could give her was to give her a modest annuity. On the other hand, she handed her the key to the safe in which she kept the money intended for her own needs. But the proud and delicate Julie gave this key to her brother Camille when the hour of her mother's death struck.

This tragic event happened on April 6, 1748. Julie was almost 16 years old. The grief was enormous. The death of her mother could not but touch her half-brother and sister. Touch so much that Diana invited her to move in with her, in Champron Castle, on the border of Macon and Lion. They say that the sister's proposal was gladly accepted by a young girl. But could she really feel joy at the hour when she left forever the dear home of her childhood?

However, Julie will not find happiness in Champron. Vichy's spouses will immediately notice her culture, education and extraordinary charm, which should have attracted so many hearts. But in all this, the Vichy could see only an opportunity for its exploitation. They come up with the "magnificent" idea of ​​making Julie a teacher for their children, without paying her a salary. Life here becomes so unbearable for her that Julie has no choice but to accept her mother's advice: go to a monastery. She had already written a letter to her brother asking him to make a religious contribution for her, when suddenly everything changed. Simply from the fact that a carriage covered with dust once drove into the park of Champron Castle ... The Marquise du Defan, the younger sister of Gaspard de Vichy, rode in this carriage.

It is well known that among the bright minds of the 18th century there is hardly a more famous name than that of Madame du Défant, friend of Valpole and Choiseul, a woman whose clever words became a byword, and whose writings were in great demand, the one who best knew how to gather around his chair all enlightened Paris. And it was at her place that Voltaire met Madame Chatelet. As for lovers, she had plenty of them: from the Regent to President Henault, with whom they represented something like an old, free couple, connected only by a feeling of deep tenderness and a play of the mind.

Julie immediately liked the marchioness and interested her. As her eyesight was failing, she needed someone to read to her. Thus, she talks with the girl for a long time and, having left Champron, she repeatedly writes to her, since Julie for a long time could not decide to move to Paris, because she was afraid to be in the wrong place there. But the life she led with Vichy was so unpleasant that she finally decided to leave for Lyon, where she was going to spend some time in a monastery.

Madame du Defan comes there to reason with her and convince her to move to live with her, despite the strong resistance of the Vichy, who began to fear the appearance of another heir.

And in the second half of April 1754, a Lyon stagecoach delivers a twenty-two-year-old girl to Paris “a little provincially dressed, a little excited and frightened ...” And here is Julie in the house of Madame du Defan, who is actually her own aunt, because she is her father's sister.

Julie is amazingly transformed. From the first time they lived together, the marquise found it very pleasant to make a real Parisian out of a reading girl and develop her artistic and literary abilities. The color of the intelligentsia often visits her: Diderot, d "Alembert, who at first sight will forever be fascinated by the charm of Julie, President Hainaut, Marshal de Luxembourg and many others. Everyone is interested in Julie, appreciate the conversation with her ... and they get into the habit of seeing her secretly because Madame du Défand's blindness sometimes makes it difficult to communicate with her.For a while, everyone gathers in Julie's room before entering the salon.

All this continues until, one fine day in April 1764, Madame du Defand, visiting her niece, finds herself at one of these secret gatherings. Filled with anger, she kicks Julie out, not wanting to listen to the slightest explanation. And here is a young woman on the street.

True, not for long. She managed to acquire so many friends that many are ready to actively engage in her fate. Marshal de Luxembourg furnishes for her an apartment, which she finds in the Rue Saint-Dominique, a stone's throw from Madame du Défant's house. Madame Geo - franc assigns her a pension, and d "Alamber becomes her mentor. It was he who took care of her and nursed her when she fell ill with smallpox, a disease that, unfortunately, left its marks. In turn, Julie becomes a nurse when misfortune befalls her friend. And even more: she transports him to her place, in two small rooms on the top floor, which she owns, so that he can feel the warmth of the hearth. But, despite the fact that all Paris considered them lovers, in reality they are they were not, for the heart of Madame de Lespinas ached for a completely different person.

Part 1.

Magnificent antique jewels... beautiful women... ancient mysteries... There is no shortage of this in the life of Prince Aldo Morosini. However, the passion for adventure pushes him to a new adventure. He is looking for four gems stolen from the temple. The search for the famous Blue Star sapphire strangely connects his fate with the fate of a young girl, so mysterious and so beautiful that she is destined to become his secret torment for many years. The prince saves her from mortal danger, but the beauty is forced to become the wife of another. But their story is far from over...

Part 3

Aldo Morosini, a Venetian prince and connoisseur of antiquities, is passionate about the search for four priceless stones of a sacred relic. The story of the third of them, a beautiful opal, turns out to be connected with the most romantic woman of the Austrian dynasty - Elisabeth, the wife of Emperor Franz Joseph. The search for the stone leads the prince to a mysterious masked woman. Thanks to the help of the one whom the prince loved more than life, he finds disgrace, loses his beloved, but not love! Their story is not over yet...

Part 4

The last missing stone of the ancient relic, which Prince Aldo Morosini is trying to find, is found in the treasury of the Spanish branch of the Habsburgs.

Being exposed to mortal danger more than once, the fearless Venetian prince completes his responsible mission and finds long-awaited happiness with his beloved.

Part 6

The Venetian antiquary prince Aldo Morosini, a connoisseur of jewelry and beautiful women, is again in the midst of tragic events, this time connected with Napoleon's precious pearl. Put up for auction, it becomes the cause of more than one tragedy. The life and happiness of the prince himself are at stake. The strangest personalities are involved in this mysterious story: a criminal who considers himself Napoleon VI, Maria Rasputina, a gypsy Masha and even a fabulously rich Maharaja, behind whose attractive appearance a real sadist is hiding.

Part 7

The Venetian prince and world-famous antiquary Aldo Morosini could not imagine what abyss his search for antique earrings and a ruby ​​cross would plunge him into - jewels that he saw in a portrait by a famous artist.

Step by step, restoring the history of these works of art, the prince himself becomes a participant in the bloody events...

Part 8

In the magnificent Petit Trianon Palace in Versailles, a unique exhibition opens, among the exhibits of which are things that belonged to Marie Antoinette, as well as her jewelry provided by private collectors. The grandiose success of the event is overshadowed by a series of mysterious murders, the kidnapping of innocent people, theft and substitution of the famous jewelry - the queen's diamond "tear".

Ghost-fighting, séances, blackmail - all this will be tested by the famous jewelry expert Prince Morosini and his faithful friend Vidal-Pelicorn in order to discover the organizer of numerous crimes hiding under the guise of "Queen's Avenger".

The Venetian antiquary prince Aldo Morosini, a connoisseur of jewelry and beautiful women, is again in the midst of tragic events, this time connected with Napoleon's precious pearl. Put up for auction, it becomes the cause of more than one tragedy. The life and happiness of the prince himself are at stake. The strangest personalities are involved in this mysterious story: a criminal who considers himself Napoleon VI, Maria Rasputina, a gypsy Masha and even a fabulously rich Maharaja, behind whose attractive appearance a real sadist is hiding.

The Venetian prince and the world-famous antiquary Aldo Morosini could not imagine what abyss his search for antique earrings and a ruby ​​cross would plunge him into - the jewels that he saw in the portrait of the famous artist. Step by step, restoring the history of these works of art, the prince himself becomes a participant in the bloody events

Magnificent antique jewels beautiful women ancient secrets There is no shortage of this in the life of Prince Aldo Morosini. However, the passion for adventure pushes him to a new adventure. He is looking for four gems stolen from the temple. The search for the famous Blue Star sapphire strangely connects his fate with the fate of a young girl, so mysterious and so beautiful that she is destined to become his secret torment for many years. The prince saves her from mortal danger, but the beauty is forced to become the wife of another. But their story is far from over.

The Venetian prince Aldo Morosini believed that the adventures in his life were over. He found four stones from the sacred pectoral, and most importantly, he found love. And at the very beginning of the honeymoon trip, his young wife is kidnapped. To save her, the prince must find two more sacred stones - emeralds, behind which a long bloody trail stretches. In his search, he often finds himself on the verge of death: in a Turkish prison, in the castle of Dracula But, deftly eluding dangers, Morosini boldly goes from one amazing discovery to another

Aldo Morosini, a Venetian prince and connoisseur of antiquities, is passionate about the search for four priceless stones of a sacred relic. The story of the third of them, a beautiful opal, turns out to be connected with the most romantic woman of the Austrian dynasty - Elisabeth, the wife of Emperor Franz Joseph. The search for the stone leads the prince to a mysterious masked woman. Thanks to the help of the one whom the prince loved more than life, he finds disgrace, loses his beloved, but not love! Their story is not over yet...

A love of adventure and mystery pushes the young Venetian prince Aldo Morosini in search of four precious stones from a sacred relic. Having found the first of them, the Blue Star sapphire, the prince goes to London, where the mysterious trail of the Rose of York diamond leads him. finished, the prince has to find two more priceless stones. New adventures and the love of a beautiful woman await him.

The search for the sacred ruby ​​lost from the temple leads the Venetian prince Aldo Morosini to the court of the Spanish king. The beautiful Liza, who is in love with him, helps him find this stone, mysteriously turning from a modest secretary into a charming secular beauty. Coming out with honor from the last battle with a secret enemy, the prince fulfills his mission and finds happiness with a woman whom he has long and selflessly loved.

The Venetian antiquary prince Aldo Morosini made a costly search for the jewels that sank twenty years ago on the Titanic. The prince is seriously injured, his manager is kidnapped, and his wife Lisa is about to file for divorce. Aldo, as always, comes to the aid of his faithful friend Adalber. Together they have to go through many trials: to find the stolen family jewels, to expose dangerous swindlers... and to return the love of the beautiful Liza to the prince.

The Tomb of the Unknown Queen in Egypt has haunted archaeologists for many years. It was possible to penetrate it only with the help of the Ankh cross of life and the Ring, which belonged to the ancient Atlanteans. Historical jewelry expert Aldo Morosini, accidentally becoming the owner of the legendary Ring, goes on business to the country of the pyramids, where he meets his friend, archaeologist Adalber Vidal-Pelicorn. They have to go through many tragic trials before they can see for themselves that the Unknown Queen is not a mummy at all...

In the magnificent Petit Trianon Palace in Versailles, a unique exhibition opens, among the exhibits of which are things that belonged to Marie Antoinette, as well as her jewelry provided by private collectors. The grandiose success of the event is overshadowed by a series of mysterious murders, the kidnapping of innocent people, theft and substitution of the famous jewelry - the queen's diamond "tear". Ghost-fighting, séances, blackmail - all this will be tested by the famous jewelry expert Prince Morosini and his faithful friend Vidal-Pelicorn in order to discover the organizer of numerous crimes hiding under the guise of "Queen's Avenger".