Patrizia Reggiani, the Italian socialite who spent 18 years behind bars for orchestrating the assassination of her ex-husband and Gucci fashion heir Maurizio Gucci, may soon add a multimillion-dollar inheritance to the alimony she already collects from his estate. A Milan court ruling handed down this week has invalidated the will of Reggiani's late mother, Silvana Barbieri, potentially clearing the path for the convicted killer to reclaim control of a fortune estimated at 20 million euros — just under $23 million.
The development marks the latest chapter in one of Italy's most sensational crime and inheritance sagas, one that has wound through courtrooms, criminal proceedings, and international headlines for more than three decades. At 77 years old and residing in Milan, Patrizia Reggiani — long known in the tabloid press as "Lady Gucci" — remains one of the most polarizing figures in Italian legal and social history.
WHAT HAPPENED
On Monday, a Milan court ruled that the last will and testament of Silvana Barbieri, Reggiani's mother, was legally void due to irregularities that rendered the document invalid. Barbieri had executed the will from her hospital bed in 2018, at the age of 90, with the assistance of a notary and her personal lawyer, Maurizio Enrico Carlo Giani. The contested will directed the entirety of Barbieri's estate — including substantial real estate holdings and high-yield rental properties in Milan — to an entity known as the Fernando and Silvana Reggiani Foundation, which was formed, headed, and operated by Giani himself.
Central to the court's decision was an audio recording made during the hospital meeting in which Barbieri executed her will. Barbieri's housekeeper, who was present during the proceedings, recorded the event on a mobile phone at Barbieri's own instruction. According to testimony provided by the housekeeper during recent proceedings, Barbieri personally directed her to preserve the recording in the event that "there were problems" later. Judges found discrepancies between the audio captured at the hospital and the final contents of the notarized will, and those inconsistencies proved sufficient to invalidate the document.
KEY DETAILS
Maurizio Enrico Carlo Giani, the family lawyer who stood to benefit from the will as head of the foundation, was separately investigated in a criminal case over allegations of undue influence over Barbieri's final testament. Giani was acquitted in 2024 in those criminal proceedings, meaning the civil invalidation of the will does not amount to a criminal finding against him. The civil and criminal cases operated on distinct legal standards, and the acquittal in the criminal matter did not preclude the civil court from finding the will legally defective on procedural or evidentiary grounds.
The case now advances to Milan's Court of Appeals. Should the appellate court uphold the lower court's ruling, Patrizia Reggiani would be reinstated as the primary heir to Barbieri's estate. The assets in question include real estate and rental holdings concentrated in Milan, with a combined estimated value of approximately 20 million euros. No timeline has been confirmed for when the appeals court will take up the matter.
BACKGROUND
Patrizia Reggiani and Maurizio Gucci were married in 1972, becoming fixtures of the international jet-set elite, with residences in both New York and Milan and a private mega-yacht. Their divorce was finalized in 1994 after a contentious separation. One year later, on March 27, 1995, as Maurizio Gucci walked into his Milan office building, a hired gunman fired three shots and killed him on the steps. The assassination was methodical and targeted.
Italian investigators ultimately traced the contract killing back to Patrizia Reggiani. In November 1998, following a five-month trial, Reggiani and four accomplices were convicted of premeditated murder. She received a sentence of 29 years. She was released early in 2016 after serving 18 years. Despite her conviction, an Italian appeals court subsequently ruled that Reggiani remained entitled to approximately $1.5 million in annual alimony from Gucci's estate, reasoning that the 1993 divorce settlement predated the 1995 murder by two years and remained a binding legal instrument. The couple's two daughters, Alessandra and Allegra, have repeatedly challenged the alimony arrangement on moral grounds, but courts have consistently upheld the appellate ruling.
The story gained a new generation of international attention in 2021 when director Ridley Scott brought the saga to cinema with the film House of Gucci, featuring Adam Driver as Maurizio Gucci and Lady Gaga in the role of Patrizia Reggiani. The film drew widespread audiences and renewed scrutiny of the legal and financial arrangements surrounding the case.
WHY IT MATTERS
The inheritance dispute raises serious questions about the intersection of criminal history and civil inheritance law in Italy. Reggiani's case presents a legal paradox that has persisted for decades: a woman convicted of first-degree murder for killing her ex-husband continues to draw alimony from his estate and now stands to gain a separate, substantial inheritance with no apparent legal mechanism to prevent it. Italian law does not automatically bar convicted killers from inheriting from relatives uninvolved in their crimes, and unless a specific legal challenge is mounted against Reggiani's standing as an heir to her mother's estate, the inheritance could proceed unimpeded if the appellate court upholds the ruling.
The case also highlights the vulnerability of end-of-life estate planning to allegations of undue influence, particularly when elderly individuals execute wills in medical settings with limited independent oversight. The fact that a housekeeper's unauthorized recording became the pivotal piece of evidence in overturning a formally notarized will underscores the fragility of such documents when the circumstances surrounding their execution come under scrutiny. The broader implications for estate law practitioners and courts across Europe are considerable.
CURRENT STATUS
As of the date of this report, the Milan trial court has invalidated the will of Silvana Barbieri, removing the Fernando and Silvana Reggiani Foundation as the named beneficiary of the estate. The ruling is not yet final. The case is proceeding to Milan's Court of Appeals, which will review the lower court's findings. If the appellate court upholds the invalidation, Patrizia Reggiani would be positioned as the primary heir to an estate valued at approximately 20 million euros, encompassing real estate and rental assets in Milan. Whether any party will mount a legal challenge to Reggiani's eligibility to inherit on the basis of her criminal history remains unconfirmed. Maurizio Enrico Carlo Giani's status in relation to the civil proceedings going forward has not been publicly detailed. The timeline for the appellate review has not been confirmed.
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