Originally from Klagenfurt am Wörthersee, Mirella Bentivoglio was born on March 28, 1922, to Italian parents – Margherita Cavalli and Ernesto Bertarelli, a prominent scientist and doctor whose research on syphilis was pivotal in understanding the disease. Growing up in Milan, Mirella pursued her studies in the humanities as a polyglot in German-speaking Switzerland, where her family had moved due to her father’s work, as well as in England until the outbreak of World War II. In 1949, she married Ludovico Matteo Bentivoglio, adopting his last name for her artistic career, as well as for its poetic and verbo-visual significance. Her husband, a professor of Space Law, went on to become a renowned expert in diplomatic matters within the United Nations, particularly dealing with the complex relationships between nations in the rapidly expanding realm of outer space. The couple had three daughters – Marina (1950), Leonetta (1952), and Ilaria (1960). Mirella remained a widow until her passing in 1980, at the age of 95. She spent most of her life in Rome, where she died on March 23, 2017.
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