The police are blocking the auction of Gina Lollobrigida due to a conflict among the heirs.

The Roman court was supposed to make a decision on June 6 regarding whether a representative of the late Italian actress Gina Lollobrigida attempted to auction off around 350 of her belongings, including paintings, sculptures, and jewelry, against her will. The case, which has been postponed until December 15 due to a lawyers' strike, is part of an ongoing legal dispute between competing heirs of the actress's estate, which is estimated to have decreased by about 9 million euros.

Lollobrigida, who passed away in January at the age of 95, became an international celebrity thanks to the films "Bread, Love and Dreams" (1953) and "Trapeze" (1956). She became one of the first sex symbols of Europe and later ran unsuccessfully for the European Parliament. She was also a well-known art lover, studied sculpture in Florence, and held solo exhibitions of her works. For her artistic achievements, she was awarded the French Legion of Honor and was photographed alongside Giorgio de Chirico and Salvador Dalí.

The actress's collection included everything from Baroque paintings to busts of Buddhist deities. Many of her items listed in the inventory compiled during a recent assessment of her assets and provided to the newspaper "The Art Newspaper" were auctioned at the Roman auction house Colasanti in May 2020, with an estimated value of 300,000 euros. Among them were paintings attributed to Abraham Bruegel (estimated value 10,000 euros), a Flemish artist who worked in Italy (3,000 euros), and a Neapolitan school artist (8,000 euros).

Lollobrigida's son, Milko Skofic Jr., discovered the upcoming auction on the Colasanti website a few days before it started and contacted the Italian police, who blocked the auction, says Lollobrigida's lawyer, Alessandro Gentiloni Silveri.

Andrea Piazzolla, a former employee and assistant of Lollobrigida, to whom she left 50% of her estate, is accused of attempting to sell the actress's belongings against her will.

Speaking with the newspaper "The Art Newspaper," Piazzolla's lawyer Filippo Morlacchini claims that the actress initially sought permission from her legal guardian to hold the auction, but later denied knowledge of the auction when questioned by the Roman prosecutor.

Morlakkin claims that Lollobrigida changed her position because she did not want to reveal to the prosecutor her intentions to hold an auction. "She didn't want to leave anything to her son, that's true," the lawyer adds.

Works from the blocked auction, including about 70 sculptures by Lollobrigida, are currently under the protection of the auction house, while other pieces are stored in her former residences inRome and Pietrasanta, says Roberto Buldrini, an art expert who helped assess Lollobrigida's estate during a recent inspection. He adds that all the works are being kept in "good condition."

In a separate case, which was scheduled for June 7 and postponed to September 18 due to a strike, the Roman court will decide whether Piazzolla influenced Lollobrigida to leave him half of her estate. Notary Vittorio Occorsio, who conducted a recent assessment, estimated the actress's remaining assets at around 500,000 euros, taking into account her debts, which indicates that about 9 million euros in cash, including money from the sale of some of her properties, has disappeared. The court's decision could lead to the redistribution of the entire estate of the actress to Milko Skofic Jr.

The procrastination of the hearing on June 6 regarding the blocked auction may have been caused by the strike of criminal lawyers, says Gentiloni Silveri. As for the final fate of the artworks, the lawyer states: "They will be returned to the heirs, whoever they may be."