Candido Speroni and Carla Fendi

Carla Fendi was born in Rome on 12 July 1937, the fourth of the five Fendi sisters. In the mid-1950s, Carla went to the medieval town of Piancastagnaio, in the province of Siena, to spend the summer and treat a bad case of rheumatic fever, where she met Candido Speroni.

Candido was born in Piancastagnaio on 3 November 1930. He is the young son of Dr Osvaldo Speroni, a pharmacist in Piancastagnaio for fifty years – from 1923 to 1972 – a man of refined culture, especially music, who graduated in piano at the Accademia Chigiana in 1921 under the tutelage of Alfredo Casella and with a diploma signed by Pietro Mascagni. His mother, Graziella Scarpini, was the village primary school teacher.

In this place, rich in history, woods and good air, Carla and Candido exchanged glances for days until he declared himself, true love at first sight, as they would often say. After that, they never left each other’s side.

Soon afterwards, Candido moved to Rome with Carla so that they could both work in the family’s company, Fendi.

They married on 19 April 1960, in the Basilica of Saints Bonifacio and Alessio, on the Aventine.

Carla’s great aptitude for work and her passion contributed to the international successes of the Fendi group, and Candido remained inseparably close to her, which is why he would always say:”It never bothered me to have a wife who is more famous than me. In fact, it makes me proud“.

Among Carla’s various professional recognitions, 2008 is remembered as the year she was appointed Ad Vitam President of the Fendi group. Her great work ethic and enthusiasm were coupled with a deep understanding of institutions and maternal teachings, including the importance of always putting the public space before the private space.

During their life together, Carla and Candido dedicated themselves to numerous charitable and patronage activities. To name just a few, they financed and oversaw the restoration of the historic Caio Melisso Theatre in Spoleto, a city with which they had a deep affinity and of which Carla was made an honorary citizen in 2015. When Candido died on 2 November 2013, Carla did not forget their beloved Piancastagnaio, where she personally financed and supervised the restoration of the ancient Pieve di Santa Maria Assunta.

Carla Fendi Speroni died in Rome on June 19, 2017.

It is in Piancastagnaio where they have reunited after the conclusion of their earthly lives. They rest side by side in the small cemetery of the village on Monte Amiata, having returned, simply and infinitely, to being two teenagers who continue to exchange a look of eternal love.

Carla Fendi bequeathed their prestigious art collection and archive to the Candido Speroni and Carla Fendi Speroni Foundation, which combines her name with that of her beloved Candido. This collection and archive tell, through their eyes as privileged witnesses and often as protagonists, almost a century of our country’s history.