The mystery of Gina Lollobrigida's €9 million disappearance: the battle over the Italian woman's fortune reaches a new level - The mystery of Gina Lollobrigida's €9 million disappearance: the battle over Gina Lollobrigida's fortune reaches a new level

Inheritance dispute

A dispute over the inheritance of Italian actress and beauty queen Gina Lollobrigida has taken a mysterious turn after it was discovered that nine million euros of her estate had disappeared.

Lollobrigida, who became known in the 60s as "the most beautiful woman in the world" and starred in numerous films, died on January 16 at the age of 95. In her will, the sex symbol divided her estate between her 66-year-old son Milko Skofic Jr. and her 35-year-old assistant Andrea Piazzolla, who cared for Lollobrigida in her final years.

The inheritance dispute

But a bitter dispute broke out, with Lollobrigida's family accusing Piazzolla of manipulating the actress to get a share of her inheritance. And in the latest twist in the ongoing legal dispute, Italian authorities compiling an inventory of Lollobrigida's estate said they discovered that 9 million euros of assets - the vast majority of the star's fortune - had disappeared.

Two heirs

Italian actress and beauty queen Gina Lollobrigida, who became known in the '60s as "the most beautiful woman in the world" and starred in numerous films, died on Jan. 16 at the age of 95. In her will, the sex symbol divided her estate between her 66-year-old son Milko Skofic Jr. and her 35-year-old assistant Andrea Piazzolla (pictured together in Rome in 2019), who cared for Lollobrigida in her final years.

Milko Skofic, the actress' estranged son, claims Piazzolla took advantage of his elderly mother's frailty. The actress' possessions include a purple cushion-shaped ruby worth €1,200 (£1,050), marble statues of cherubs, a wooden statue of Buddha, and famous paintings - all housed in her luxury villa in Rome.

Legal sports

"We can only speculate where the missing assets are kept," Alessandro Gentiloni Silveri, a lawyer for Scofic Jr, the actress's only son, told The Times newspaper. "My guess is as good as anyone else's." In the last years of her life, Lollobrigida sued Scofic Jr. accusing him of humiliating her and violating her "legal right to grow old without being robbed." But Skofic Jr. along with his son Dimitri Skovic claim that Piazzolla tricked the elderly actress into handing over her possessions to him, cutting off contact with her family members and close friends. A court in Rome will decide on June 7 whether Lollobrigida was in a state of mind when she signed her will.

The state of mind dispute

"Lollobrigida was not lucid enough to sign her will," Gentiloni told Silveri. "She was extremely weak and people were prompting her with false information, claiming it was good for her." Piazzolla's lawyers argue that Lollobrigida was not vulnerable and knew what she was doing when she signed the will. "She was clear and read everything," said Filippo Morlacchini, Piazzolla's attorney. "She always had the last word.".