Count Alessandro de Larderel (c. 1854 -- c. 1886)

Research Status: Comprehensive Last Updated: 2026-05-24 Diary Coverage: Carnets 037-105, concentrated in 059-075 (April 1876 -- October 1877) Diary References: ~150 entry files across carnets 037-105, spanning 1875-1884 Type: Person -- romantic interest, Florentine aristocrat

Overview

Count Alessandro (Alexandre) de Larderel was a Florentine aristocrat, grandson of François Jacques de Larderel (1790-1858), the French-born industrialist who founded the boric acid extraction industry in Tuscany and was created Count of Montecerboli by Grand Duke Leopold II. Alessandro was one of Marie Bashkirtseff's most intense romantic infatuations, dominating her diary from spring 1876 through autumn 1877. Marie herself later classified the episode as a "violente toquade" (violent infatuation) -- passionate but ultimately one-sided, built more on fantasy than substance.

Unlike the complex intellectual rapport Marie developed with Pietro Antonelli, the Larderei affair was driven almost entirely by physical attraction and social glamour. Marie fell for an image -- the dashing Florentine horseman glimpsed at the Naples races -- and spent months building him into an ideal before meeting him face to face. When reality intruded, in the form of his drinking, his mistress, and his illegitimate daughter, the fantasy slowly collapsed, though not before producing some of Marie's most psychologically raw writing.

Biographical Information

Family and Background

Alessandro belonged to the second generation of the de Larderel dynasty. His grandfather François Jacques de Larderel (born in Vienne, Dauphine) arrived in Livorno and in 1818 began exploiting the boraciferous hot springs near Montecerboli in Tuscany, developing industrial techniques for extracting boric acid from volcanic steam. This enterprise made the family enormously wealthy and gave its name to the town of Larderello. François Jacques married his cousin Marie-Pauline Morand in 1815 and had eight children -- five sons and three daughters.

Alessandro's father was Enrico de Larderel, one of François Jacques's sons, who married Amicie Lefort d'Autry in 1843. Enrico and Amicie had at least three children:

- Gastone de Larderel (c. 1844-1895) -- the elder brother. Marie describes him as "le frère aine, Gaston de Larderei" and notes he was married to a Salviati of Rome. Altamura tells Marie that "ce Gaston de Larderei etait le garcon le plus comme il faut et le plus chic de l'Italie" (059, Apr 23, 1876). See GASTON_DE_LARDEREI.
- Alessandro de Larderel (c. 1854 -- died in his early thirties, c. 1886) -- the subject of this entry.
- Bianca Enrichetta de Larderel (1856-1942) -- the sister who married Emanuele Alberto Guerrieri, Count of Mirafiori (1851-1894), the illegitimate son of King Victor Emmanuel II and his morganatic wife Rosa Vercellana. This royal-adjacent connection fascinated Marie.

Marie first heard of the family through this Mirafiori connection. On July 18, 1875 (carnet 037), she recorded: "A Florence il y a un certain comte de Larderei dont la soeur a epouse le fils de Victor-Emmanuel et de la fille du tambour-major, ce M. de Larderei est tres a la mode. Danis m'en parle. Il faudra le connaitre." The "fille du tambour-major" is Rosa Vercellana, whose father was a drum major in the royal guard.

A separate branch of the family, descended from François Jacques's eldest son Federigo De Larderel (1815-1876, mayor of Livorno and senator), produced Florestano de Larderel (1848-1925), the II Count of Montecerboli, who continued the family's industrial and political prominence. The family seat was the Palazzo de Larderel on Via Tornabuoni in Florence.

Physical Appearance and Character

Marie's descriptions of Larderei oscillate wildly between adoration and contempt, depending on her emotional state. When infatuated, she finds him breathtakingly beautiful:

> Lorsque Larderei entra dans le salon de lecture ou nous attendions la table d'hotes, je fus si saisie de la surprise, et de la beaute de cet homme que j'en demeurai imbecile pour tout le reste de la soiree. (069, Mar 29, 1877)

> Je me suis assise sur les marches du perron, il s'assit a mes pieds et me prit la main en penchant sur mes genoux sa figure qui dans la nuit, fardee et redressee par les ombres, me parut d'une beaute et d'une finesse rares. (070, Apr 3, 1877)

When disillusioned, the portrait is devastating -- "cet etre venimeux, petit, blond, gras, ivre!" (068, Feb 22-23, 1877). In her 1883 retrospective she calls him "cet horreur de Larderei" and "l'insignifiant Larderei" (100, Jul 14, 1883). By 1884: "L'ignoble Larderei et sa cocotte. Moi avoir ete toquee de ce petit monsieur? Est-ce possible? Non." (105, Jul 5, 1884).

His character as Marie perceives it: charming, giddy ("l'air evapore"), a reckless spender, a drinker, a horseman and gentleman rider, expelled from clubs, living with a mistress and their illegitimate daughter. Marie's maid Rosalie garbles his name as "Ladréreel" and calls him "beau-frere de Mirafiol" (068, Feb 22-23, 1877). Marie gives him the pet name "Bijou" (Jewel) in the diary (from 069, Mar 16, 1877 onward).

Mistress and Daughter

Larderei lived openly with a mistress known as "la Righi," whom Marie contemptuously calls "Madame la Coquine" (Madam the Hussy), "sa cocotte," and "sa coquine." He had a daughter by her named Alexandrine ("ma petite Alexandrine"), whose existence he confessed during the Sorrento excursion. Marie's friends Melissano and Marcuard used the coded name "Silene" for la Righi, punning on the Hotel de la Sirene in Sorrento and the Greek god Silenus (god of drunkenness -- apt given Larderei's habits).

Relationship with Marie Bashkirtseff

Phase 1: The Fantasy (July 1875 -- February 1877)

Marie first heard of Larderei by reputation in July 1875 through Danis, who described the fashionable Florentine count whose sister had married into the royal family. She did not meet him but resolved to.

In April 1876, during the Naples racing season, Marie became captivated from a distance. She saw his horses race before she saw the man himself: "Les courses! Les chevaux du comte de Larderei m'interessent d'avance. Sans avoir aucune idee de ce monsieur je me sens capable de m'en occuper. Je ne l'ai jamais vu mais il m'interesse." A marginal note she added later reads: "[Rappelez-vous ces lignes a propos de Larderei.]" (059, Apr 20, 1876).

She watched him race in jockey costume -- "en satin blanc raye de vert et culotte noire" -- and was entranced: "vraiment, en costume de jockey si ridicule et si peu coquet, il est cent fois mieux qu'habille" (060, May 13-14, 1876). She spotted him on the Toledo with his mistress, at the Pincio in Rome posing "comme un chien devant moi," and pestered Antonelli to arrange an introduction.

Antonelli warned her off: "Larderei n'allait pas dans le monde, qu'il etait chasse de tous les clubs" (060, May 13, 1876). But Marie was undeterred, begging: "presentez-moi mon cher Larderei, seulement si vous garantissez qu'il ne me parlera jamais quand il y aura quelqu'un" (060, May 13, 1876).

Through late 1876 and into February 1877, Marie waited for Larderei in Naples with increasing obsession. She played Litolff's fileuse fifty times at the piano as a superstitious bargain -- "Si tu la joues, tu auras Larderei" (068, Feb 22-23, 1877) -- had her mother read cards predicting his arrival, considered sending Rosalie to Florence as a messenger, and drafted a telegram address: "Firenze, comte Alessandro Larderei."

Phase 2: The Encounter (March-April 1877)

Larderei finally arrived in Naples on March 29, 1877, leaving his card at the hotel for "Mme Bashkirtseff." Marie was beside herself: "Rosalie m'a reveillee par la carte que Larderei a remise au concierge ce matin [...] Je crois que j'ai baise cette carte, encore a moitie endormie, enchantee, folle!" (069, Mar 29, 1877).

That evening they met in the hotel reading room. Marie found him dazzlingly beautiful but also overwhelming: "La rapidite et la facilite avec laquelle il dit ses droleries, ses impietes, ses folies, m'est une impression toute neuve; je me sens lente et ne sais rien dire. [...] Larderei m'etourdit positivement." She assessed him as something beyond her previous romantic interests: "tandis que Larderei est un grand seigneur, capricieux, gate, fou, libre, tel que je le voulais et tel que je ne pensais pas le trouver." But she ended the entry with devastating self-knowledge: "Tel qu'il est, tu ne l'auras pas ma fille!" (069, Mar 29, 1877).

The climactic episode was the Sorrento excursion on April 3, 1877. Marie, Larderei, Marcuard, Melissano, her mother, and Dina traveled together to Sorrento, staying at the Hotel de la Sirene. There Marie experienced both ecstasy and anguish: she leaned against his arm on the carriage ride, walked with him through dark streets, heard him sing tender words -- but also watched him get drunk, heard coded references to his mistress, and learned of his daughter Alexandrine. At the hotel, adjacent rooms, he kissed her hand in the corridor as they parted. Marie heard through the thin walls as Melissano asked what happened, and Larderei replied: "Peuh! [...] je lui ai embrasse la main." -- "Seulement?"

Phase 3: The "Reine des Violettes" Letter (September 1877)

After the Naples encounter, Marie moved to Paris to begin art studies at the Academie Julian. In late September 1877, she received a letter from Larderei, written upon his arrival in Naples, that became one of the most quoted passages associated with their relationship:

> "Que la reine des violettes soit ici, je n'en doute pas. Mais quand pourrai-je etre admis dans son royaume???"

Marie commented: "C'est a moi, bien a moi que Larderei ecrivait ceci au moment meme de son arrivee a Naples." But she immediately deflated it: "Et puis... Ah! c'est trop long et vous savez comme moi cette degringolade absurde" (075, Sep 26, 1877). The violet was Marie's signature color and flower.

Phase 4: Disillusionment and Retrospect (1878-1884)

References to Larderei continue sporadically through 1878-1882, with diminishing intensity. In May 1880, she sat at the circus directly above "Alexandre Larderei avec Marie Delannoie qui est une ravissante creature" and noted: "ce Larderei ne me rappelle rien sinon que Naples et Sorrente sont de beaux pays et que je voudrais y retourner" (088, May 22, 1880). Indifference had replaced obsession.

In a retrospective list of her romantic attachments (Feb 2, 1884), Marie catalogued him flatly: "3 Larderei... violente toquade. Musique: Paul et Virginie de Masse, dix-huit ans. Pas de vers" (103, Feb 2, 1884). He was number three, after her childhood crush and Audiffret, and she was eighteen at the time.

By April 1882, her father reported meeting Larderei at Monaco: "cet illustre florentin s'est montre tres reserve [...] On dit qu'il est tombe assez bas, Barnola a prononce le mot tare. [...] s'afficher avec les filles et jouer avec n'importe qui." Marie added: "j'ai garde un faible pour ma famille de Florence" (094, Apr 10, 1882).

The final diary reference, July 5, 1884, is withering: "Qu'est-ce qui est assis au premier rang devant nous? L'ignoble Larderei et sa cocotte. Moi avoir ete toquee de ce petit monsieur? Est-ce possible? Non. Sa vue n'eveille aucun souvenir, aucun, quelque chose de desagréable pourtant, mais presque rien" (105, Jul 5, 1884).

Diary Nicknames and Code Names

- Bijou (Jewel) -- Marie's pet name from March 1877 onward
- Alexandre le grand -- mocking wordplay on his first name (069, Mar 3, 1877)
- Ladreréel beau-frère de Mirafiol -- Rosalie's mangled pronunciation (068, Feb 22-23, 1877)
- Monsieur le comte -- used ironically, contrasted with "Monsieur le cocher" (his coachman, who controlled his movements)
- l'illustre florentin -- ironic epithet in later references

Key Diary Passages

| Date | Carnet | Significance | |------|--------|-------------| | 1875-07-18 | 037 | First mention: learns of Larderei through Danis, notes Mirafiori connection | | 1876-02-25 | 054 | First sighting at Rome carnival: "la cocotte du comte de Larderei" | | 1876-03-31 | 056 | Mirafiori-Larderel sister connection: Fanny Lear scandal | | 1876-04-20 | 059 | Naples races: first sees him ride, falls instantly | | 1876-04-27 | 059 | "Larderei, Larderei, Larderei" -- the obsession declared | | 1876-05-10 | 060 | Rome: "Larderei! Larderei tout seul! ! Larderei seul!" | | 1876-05-13 | 060 | Tries to arrange introduction through Antonelli; warned off | | 1876-05-18 | 060 | Records his address: "Comte Alexandre de Larderei, Florence" | | 1877-02-22 | 068 | Piano ritual: plays Litolff fifty times for superstitious bargain | | 1877-02-25 | 069 | "Larderei! Je ne sais si je l'aime" -- waiting in Naples | | 1877-03-09 | 069 | Dreams of Gaston's wife; "Bijou" nickname; "Alexandre le grand" | | 1877-03-16 | 069 | Learns he has been wounded in a duel; receives a letter | | 1877-03-29 | 069 | He arrives: card at hotel, first face-to-face meeting | | 1877-04-03 | 070 | Sorrento excursion: the climactic episode; hand kiss | | 1877-09-26 | 075 | "Reine des violettes" letter | | 1880-05-22 | 088 | Paris circus: sits above him, feels nothing | | 1882-04-10 | 094 | Father meets him at Monaco: "tombe assez bas" | | 1883-07-14 | 100 | Retrospective: "cet horreur de Larderei" | | 1884-02-02 | 103 | Self-catalogue: "violente toquade... dix-huit ans" | | 1884-07-05 | 105 | Final mention: "L'ignoble Larderei et sa cocotte" |

Historical Context

The de Larderel family rose from provincial French origins to become one of the most prominent industrial dynasties in Tuscany. François Jacques de Larderel's exploitation of the boraciferous lagoons near Montecerboli from 1818 onward revolutionized boric acid production and gave his name to the town of Larderello, which later became famous as the site of the world's first geothermal power plant (1904, developed by his great-grandson Piero Ginori Conti, who married Florestano de Larderel's daughter Adriana).

The family occupied the Palazzo de Larderel on Via Tornabuoni in Florence, one of the city's grandest addresses. By the 1870s, the dynasty had divided into two branches: the elder branch descended from Federigo (Florestano's line, holding the Montecerboli title and managing the industrial enterprise) and the younger branch descended from Enrico (Alessandro's line, more socially prominent but apparently less industrious).

Alessandro's connection to the House of Savoy through his sister Bianca's marriage to Count Mirafiori placed the family at the intersection of Italian industry, aristocracy, and quasi-royalty -- precisely the social milieu that dazzled Marie. The Mirafiori connection was double-edged, however: Emanuele Alberto was an illegitimate royal son, and the family's attempts to elevate Rosa Vercellana to queen status (as Marie notes in the diary) placed them in opposition to Queen Margherita of Savoy.

Related Glossary Entries

- GASTON_DE_LARDEREI -- Elder brother, married to a Salviati
- MADAME_DE_LARDEREI -- Mother (Amicie Lefort d'Autry)
- COMTESSE_DE_LARDEREI -- Sister Bianca, Countess of Mirafiori
- ANTONELLI -- Pietro Antonelli, who introduced Marie to Larderei's world
- RIGHI -- La Righi / "Silene" / "Madame la Coquine," Larderei's mistress
- ALEXANDRINE -- Larderei's illegitimate daughter by la Righi

Sources

- François Jacques de Larderel -- Italian Wikipedia
- De Larderel family -- Italian Wikipedia
- Florestano de Larderel -- Italian Wikipedia (cousin's branch)
- Federigo De Larderel -- Italian Wikipedia (uncle's branch)
- Rosa Vercellana -- English Wikipedia (Mirafiori connection)
- Geni.com: Gastone de Larderel -- Genealogy
- Geni.com: Blanche de Larderel -- Genealogy (sister Bianca)
- Marie Bashkirtseff, unpublished diary (manuscript), carnets 037-105