The Most Beautiful Woman of the Nineteenth Century: Countess of Castiglione (Spy vs. Spy)

About this episode

The episode explores the life of Virginia Oldoini, the Countess of Castiglione, who was a spy and a pioneer of photography in the 19th century.

Virginia Oldoini considered herself the most beautiful woman of the nineteenth century. In the 1850s, a high-ranking Italian official deployed her to France on a secret mission to seduce Emperor Napoleon III for political reasons. After her stint as a spy, the Countess emerged as a poioneer of photography, leaving behind one of the most stunning bodies of photographic self-portraits of the 1800s. If you'd like to support the show, please consider becoming a patron at www.patreon.com/artofcrimepodcast . For show notes and full transcripts, please visit www.artofcrimepodcast.com .

People in this episode

Host: Gavin Whitehead

Topics covered

• beauty
• spy
• photography
• politics
• 19th century
• Countess of Castiglione

Keywords

• Countess of Castiglione
• Virginia Oldoini
• Napoleon III
• 19th century beauty
• photographic self-portraits
• spy
• political mission

Sponsors

Patreon

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: artofcrimepodcast.com

More episodes of The Art of Crime

• The Rankings (Spy vs. Spy) · June 10, 2026 · 15 min
• School for Scandal: Anthony Blunt (Spy vs. Spy) · May 20, 2026 · 1h 18m
• Leonora Carrington's Surreal World War (Spy vs. Spy) · May 9, 2026 · 49 min
• Leonora Carrington's Surreal World War (Spy vs. Spy) · May 6, 2026 · 48 min
• The Renegade Chevalière: Beaumarchais Part Two (Spy vs. Spy) · April 22, 2026 · 1h 4m
• A Real Figaro: Pierre Beaumarchais, Part One · April 8, 2026 · 44 min