[1] Her father was Edoardo Agnelli, an industrialist, and her mother was Donna Virginia Bourbon del Monte, a noblewoman.
[2] In 1973, she was added to the International Best Dressed List for "outstanding example of elegance without ostentation", and was elevated to the Best-Dressed Hall of Fame in 1975.
At a party in Cortina d'Ampezzo, where she was visiting her sister Clara, she met Brandolino Brandolini d'Adda, Count of Valmareno, nicknamed Brando, the son of Carlo Brandolini d'Adda, Count of Valmareno, the president of Municipal Company of Lagoon Waterborne Transport,[7] and Maria José Alvares Pereira de Melo.
Brandolino and Erasmo were close friends and in memory of this friendship, the coat of arms of the Brandolinis still bears the depiction of the braids of the famous captain of Narni.
The couple owned homes in Venice, Paris, and Geneva but mainly spent time at their country estate Vistorta.