Lorenzo Borghese
Encyclopedia
Lorenzo Borghese commonly known as Prince Lorenzo Borghese, is a member of the House of Borghese, a cosmetics entrepreneur and animal advocate, and the featured bachelor on the 9th season of ABC
’s The Bachelor American television show. Lorenzo is the son of Prince Francesco Marco Luigi Costanzo Borghese (born 1938) and his American wife, Amanda Leigh. His mother's stepfather was sign and lighting designer Douglas Leigh
. Lorenzo Borghese's paternal grandmother was Princess Marcella Borghese
, who founded the Borghese cosmetics line in 1958; it was a subsidiary of Revlon
.
His storied paternal ancestors include Napoleon’s sister, Paulina Bonaparte Borghese (whose famous statue by Canova is displayed in the Galleria Borghese
and is the focal character in Borghese's new book, The Princess of Nowhere ,. ), Pope Paul V (Camillo Borghese) and Cardinal Scipione Borghese, both of whom had an enormous influence on Italian art and beautifying Rome in the 1600s, and who helped finish St. Peter's Basilica
. To honor Pope Paul V’s accomplishment, the Borghese family name (spelled in Latin, Bvrghesivs ) and coat of arms
(eagle and a dragon) can be found on the façade of the famous basilica.
The Borghese family received their Papal Titles (Prince and Princess) from Pope Paul V. in the early 1600’s. During that time, the Pope was considered similar to a king, or some may say more powerful than a king. Like a king, he had the power to bestow titles on people. These are called “Papal” titles. These titles were also tied to territories of land. Prince Lorenzo’s branch of the family received five different titles, among which: Prince of San Paolo and Prince of Sant'Angelo, and Duke of Bomarzo.
Prince Lorenzo’s ancestors were also one of the largest owners of property and art throughout Italy. While Pope Paul V was in power, he purchased entire towns and approximately 1/3 of the land south of Rome. As a family, the Borghese’s became the largest landowners of the "Roman Campagna," the central region in Italy, which is an area of approximately 1,300 miles.
The Borghese name is displayed throughout Italy including in Florence at the Palazzo Borghese, Siena, where the family began and Rome where the name is most prominent. Rome’s largest Park, Villa Borghese gardens
, was owned by the family until 1902 and one of Rome’s largest museums, Galleria Borghese
, holds the family’s art collection. One of Rome’s most famous streets is also named after the family, Via Borghese, and the family’s crest can be found in many piazzas throughout Italy. The family also has a private chapel in one of Rome’s most famous basilicas, Santa Maria Maggiore. Beneath this Basilica in a private crypt where many of the famous Borgheses are laid to rest including Pope Paul V, Paulina Borghese and her huband, Camillo Borghese as well as Lorenzo's grandparents, Princess Marcella Borghese and Prince Paolo Borghese.
on June 9, 1972. He is an Italian and American citizen who has lived in Rome
, Paris
, and moved to Connecticut
when he was five years old. He was raised in Short Hills, New Jersey
and attended elementary school there. Prince Lorenzo attended Pomfret School
in Connecticut. He graduated from Rollins College
in Florida in 1995, where he was initiated into the Phi Delta Theta
fraternity. He later received his MBA from Fordham University
in New York City.
. In 2009, he started a luxury pet shopping site, Royal Pet Club, which sells prestigious pet items as discount prices. Prince Lorenzo is also a managing partner in LB2, LLC, a private label Italian cosmetics company that sells numerous brands to major department stores and direct retail outlets.
In addition, Prince Lorenzo is executive vice president of Multimedia Exposure, Inc., a family-owned business that acts as an agency for various products for television shopping channels in the U.S. and Europe.
.
In the summer of 2009, Borghese announced he would be searching for his "princess" on a web reality show titled America's Next Princess. The show was to coincide with the launch of Royal Pet Club, an online shopping destination for his Royal Treatment pet products.
However, when the show debuted online on August 17, 2009, the series was actually revealed to be a spoof of celebrities and reality TV shows, with the premise of a millionaire dog searching for love among ten finalists, who are also dogs. Borghese appears on the show but portrays the dog's butler. The series also revealed its new name, America's Next Top Dog: The Princess.
In 2010 Borghese starred in the Dutch SBS6 show Coming to Holland: Prins Zoekt Vrouw (Dutch for 'Prince looks for wife') as one of the three bachelor princes. This reality show was based on the movie, "Coming to America" in which Eddie Murphy went undercover and exchanged his crown for a job at a fast food restaurant.
In December of 2010, Borghese's first novel, The Princess of Nowhere, published by Harper Collins, debuted. This historical fiction romance novel is a re-imagining of the life of the author’s famous ancestor, Princess Pauline Bonaparte, who became Princess Pauline Bonaparte Borghese after her marriage to Prince Camillo Borghese.
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
’s The Bachelor American television show. Lorenzo is the son of Prince Francesco Marco Luigi Costanzo Borghese (born 1938) and his American wife, Amanda Leigh. His mother's stepfather was sign and lighting designer Douglas Leigh
Douglas Leigh
Douglas Leigh was an American advertising executive and lighting designer, and a pioneer in signage and outdoor advertising. He is famous for making New York City's Times Square the site of some of the world's most famous electric billboards...
. Lorenzo Borghese's paternal grandmother was Princess Marcella Borghese
Princess Marcella Borghese
Marcella Borghese, born Marcella Fazi, was a manufacturer of cosmetics.- History :Marcella Fazi was born in Sicily in 1911. In 1938 she became the second wife of the widowed nobleman Paolo Borghese, Duke of Bomarzo and Prince of Sant’ Angelo of San Paolo, and acquired the title of Princess...
, who founded the Borghese cosmetics line in 1958; it was a subsidiary of Revlon
Revlon
Revlon is an American cosmetics, skin care, fragrance, and personal care company founded in 1932.-History:Revlon was founded in the midst of the Great Depression, 1932, by Charles Revson and his brother Joseph, along with a chemist, Charles Lachman, who contributed the "L" in the Revlon name...
.
His storied paternal ancestors include Napoleon’s sister, Paulina Bonaparte Borghese (whose famous statue by Canova is displayed in the Galleria Borghese
Galleria Borghese
The Borghese Gallery is an art gallery in Rome, Italy, housed in the former Villa Borghese Pinciana. It is a building that was from the first integral with its gardens, nowadays considered quite separately by tourists as the Villa Borghese gardens...
and is the focal character in Borghese's new book, The Princess of Nowhere ,. ), Pope Paul V (Camillo Borghese) and Cardinal Scipione Borghese, both of whom had an enormous influence on Italian art and beautifying Rome in the 1600s, and who helped finish St. Peter's Basilica
St. Peter's Basilica
The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter , officially known in Italian as ' and commonly known as Saint Peter's Basilica, is a Late Renaissance church located within the Vatican City. Saint Peter's Basilica has the largest interior of any Christian church in the world...
. To honor Pope Paul V’s accomplishment, the Borghese family name (spelled in Latin, Bvrghesivs ) and coat of arms
Coat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
(eagle and a dragon) can be found on the façade of the famous basilica.
The Borghese family received their Papal Titles (Prince and Princess) from Pope Paul V. in the early 1600’s. During that time, the Pope was considered similar to a king, or some may say more powerful than a king. Like a king, he had the power to bestow titles on people. These are called “Papal” titles. These titles were also tied to territories of land. Prince Lorenzo’s branch of the family received five different titles, among which: Prince of San Paolo and Prince of Sant'Angelo, and Duke of Bomarzo.
Prince Lorenzo’s ancestors were also one of the largest owners of property and art throughout Italy. While Pope Paul V was in power, he purchased entire towns and approximately 1/3 of the land south of Rome. As a family, the Borghese’s became the largest landowners of the "Roman Campagna," the central region in Italy, which is an area of approximately 1,300 miles.
The Borghese name is displayed throughout Italy including in Florence at the Palazzo Borghese, Siena, where the family began and Rome where the name is most prominent. Rome’s largest Park, Villa Borghese gardens
Villa Borghese gardens
Villa Borghese is a large landscape garden in the naturalistic English manner in Rome, containing a number of buildings, museums and attractions. It is the second largest public park in Rome after that of the Villa Doria Pamphili...
, was owned by the family until 1902 and one of Rome’s largest museums, Galleria Borghese
Galleria Borghese
The Borghese Gallery is an art gallery in Rome, Italy, housed in the former Villa Borghese Pinciana. It is a building that was from the first integral with its gardens, nowadays considered quite separately by tourists as the Villa Borghese gardens...
, holds the family’s art collection. One of Rome’s most famous streets is also named after the family, Via Borghese, and the family’s crest can be found in many piazzas throughout Italy. The family also has a private chapel in one of Rome’s most famous basilicas, Santa Maria Maggiore. Beneath this Basilica in a private crypt where many of the famous Borgheses are laid to rest including Pope Paul V, Paulina Borghese and her huband, Camillo Borghese as well as Lorenzo's grandparents, Princess Marcella Borghese and Prince Paolo Borghese.
Personal life
Prince Lorenzo Borghese was born in MilanMilan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
on June 9, 1972. He is an Italian and American citizen who has lived in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, and moved to Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
when he was five years old. He was raised in Short Hills, New Jersey
Short Hills, New Jersey
Short Hills is an unincorporated area located within the township of Millburn, in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. It is a popular commuter town for residents who work in New York City...
and attended elementary school there. Prince Lorenzo attended Pomfret School
Pomfret School
Pomfret School is an independent coeducational boarding and day school in Pomfret, Connecticut, United States for grades 9 through 12 plus a post-graduate year. Pomfret School was founded in 1894, on the principles of intellectual rigor and the development of character...
in Connecticut. He graduated from Rollins College
Rollins College
Rollins College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college located in Winter Park, Florida , along the shores of Lake Virginia....
in Florida in 1995, where he was initiated into the Phi Delta Theta
Phi Delta Theta
Phi Delta Theta , also known as Phi Delt, is an international fraternity founded at Miami University in 1848 and headquartered in Oxford, Ohio. Phi Delta Theta, Beta Theta Pi, and Sigma Chi form the Miami Triad. The fraternity has about 169 active chapters and colonies in over 43 U.S...
fraternity. He later received his MBA from Fordham University
Fordham University
Fordham University is a private, nonprofit, coeducational research university in the United States, with three campuses in and around New York City. It was founded by the Roman Catholic Diocese of New York in 1841 as St...
in New York City.
Business
Prince Lorenzo currently resides in New York City. He is the founder and president of Royal Treatment Italian Pet Spa, a high-end bath, body and skin care line for pets, using the finest natural organic ingredients and fragrance oils from Italy, which can be found in hundreds of boutiques nationwide and on the television station Home Shopping NetworkHome Shopping Network
Home Shopping Network or HSN began in 1977 as a 24-hour/7 day a week home shopping television network televised via cable, satellite, and some terrestrial channels in the Philippines. HSN can also be shopped online at hsn.com...
. In 2009, he started a luxury pet shopping site, Royal Pet Club, which sells prestigious pet items as discount prices. Prince Lorenzo is also a managing partner in LB2, LLC, a private label Italian cosmetics company that sells numerous brands to major department stores and direct retail outlets.
In addition, Prince Lorenzo is executive vice president of Multimedia Exposure, Inc., a family-owned business that acts as an agency for various products for television shopping channels in the U.S. and Europe.
Reality television and author
In the fall of 2006, Borghese starred in the ninth season of ABC’s popular reality show The BachelorThe Bachelor
The Bachelor is an American reality television dating game show debuting in 2002 on ABC. For all seasons, the show is hosted by veteran television personality, one-time game show host and news anchor Chris Harrison...
.
In the summer of 2009, Borghese announced he would be searching for his "princess" on a web reality show titled America's Next Princess. The show was to coincide with the launch of Royal Pet Club, an online shopping destination for his Royal Treatment pet products.
However, when the show debuted online on August 17, 2009, the series was actually revealed to be a spoof of celebrities and reality TV shows, with the premise of a millionaire dog searching for love among ten finalists, who are also dogs. Borghese appears on the show but portrays the dog's butler. The series also revealed its new name, America's Next Top Dog: The Princess.
In 2010 Borghese starred in the Dutch SBS6 show Coming to Holland: Prins Zoekt Vrouw (Dutch for 'Prince looks for wife') as one of the three bachelor princes. This reality show was based on the movie, "Coming to America" in which Eddie Murphy went undercover and exchanged his crown for a job at a fast food restaurant.
In December of 2010, Borghese's first novel, The Princess of Nowhere, published by Harper Collins, debuted. This historical fiction romance novel is a re-imagining of the life of the author’s famous ancestor, Princess Pauline Bonaparte, who became Princess Pauline Bonaparte Borghese after her marriage to Prince Camillo Borghese.