343 - Pauline Bonaparte Autograph Letter Signed on Her Reconciliation with Prince Camillo Borghese

Pauline Bonaparte Autograph Letter Signed on Her Reconciliation with Prince Camillo Borghese Napoleon's sister (1780-1825), who served as a model for Antonio Canova's 'Victorious Venus.' She was also Napoleon's most loyal sibling, visiting him in exile and liquidating her assets to assist him. ALS in French, signed “Pauline Borghese,” three pages on two adjoining sheets, 5 x 7.5, April 17, 1824. Addressed from Rome, a handwritten letter to lawyer Joseph Vannutelli concerning her proposed reconciliation with her estranged husband, Prince Camillo Borghese, from whom she had been separated since 1815. Pauline lays out the terms under which the reunion is to proceed, insisting that Borghese support her properly in Rome and pay the arrears of her “spillatico,” or personal allowance. Determined to maintain control over the negotiations, she instructs Vannutelli: “You must not deviate from my wishes and must listen only to me; I alone have the right to command in this matter.” Wary of renewed interference by members of the Bonaparte family, she nevertheless directs him to consult Cardinal Rivarola and her uncle, Cardinal Joseph Fesch, who “will bring you up to date on everything.” She concludes with firm conditions for the reconciliation: “You must never go beyond the limits I have just prescribed to you, nor place any obstacle in the way of the reunion other than that of remaining in Rome during the winter; in summer, when my health requires it, and going to take the waters when the doctors order it.” In very good to fine condition, with edgewear, staining to the lower right corner, and paper loss to the right edge of the third page.