Romeyne Robert Ranieri di Sorbello, also known as Romeyne Robert (New York, 16 October 1877 – Perugia, 22 January 1951), was an aristocrat and businesswoman, originally from the United States. She was a member of the Ranieri Bourbon di Sorbello family.
Family and education background
Romeyne Robert belonged to a wealthy family of the United States upper bourgeoisie with ancient French Huguenot roots, originally from La Rochelle (Charente Maritime, France), which settled in America around the end of the 17th century: the first member of this family who travelled to Italy was Judge Daniel Robert, in 1686. In the nineteenth century the family began to accumulate a substantial fortune, as a result of well-managed business activities; more specifically Christopher Rhinelander Robert (1802–1878), Romeyne's grandfather, was a prosperous businessman, who ̶ in 1835 – founded the company Robert & Williams, for the import of sugar, tea and coffee. A religious man and dedicated philanthropist, in 1863 he established the Robert College in Istanbul, an institution to which he left a substantial legacy and which became an important advanced training centre in the Near East, as well as a monument to American philanthropy.
Howell Robert (1844–1914), Christopher's son, married Charlotte Shaw (1841–1940), a second cousin of the writer, playwright, linguist and musical critic George Bernard Shaw. They had three daughters, but only Romeyne lived to become an adult.
Romeyne grew between Germantown, near Philadelphia and Morristown in New Jersey. A cultured young woman, great enthusiast of music and theatre and fluent in four languages, she travelled extensively across Europe with her parents, and continued her education there. In 1901 during a trip to Italy with her mother Charlotte, in Rome, she met her future husband: marquis Ruggero Ranieri di Sorbello (1864–1946), whom she married in 1902. She then moved permanently to Perugia, at Palazzo Sorbello, an aristocratic residence in town, historically property of her husband's family.
The "Scuola di ricami Ranieri di Sorbello" Romeyne became active in the area of philanthropy and social promotion, following the model inaugurated by the "settlement movement", established in England around the end of the 20th century, which later developed also in major cities along the north-east coast of the United States. The indigent communities living in what were known as settlement houses, funded by men and women from this movement, benefited from educational and welfare projects; this also included the development – particularly among immigrant women – of artistic and professional training, often with an ideal link to the Arts and Crafts movement, which had also reached England from the United States and whose purpose was the promotion of arts and the industry, creating products of high artistic value, highlighting the artisan experience by reproducing motifs and drawings related to the past, more specifically to the Renaissance period. These artefacts were actually the subject not only of great artistic interest, but also involved a flourishing market of collectors and enthusiasts.
Following this model, Romeyne then decided to set up at Villa del Pischiello, on the estate of the Ranieri di Sorbello family, in the hilly area around Lake Trasimeno, a school of embroidery, which later became known as "Scuola di ricami Ranieri di Sorbello".
For this project of hers, she availed herself of support from Carolina Amari (Florence, 9 September 1866 – Rome, 11 August 1942), one of the outstanding figures within the women's emancipation movement which started in Italy at the end of the nineteenth century, based on the model of what was happening at the time in the Anglo-Saxon world. Carolina Amari, an extremely cultured woman, with great sensitivity and philanthropic interest, also provided the necessary artistic and technical guidance to establish the cooperative called "Industrie Femminili Italiane" (1903), with the aim of supporting or developing workshops and embroidery and lace-making activities throughout Italy; this led to rediscovering an artistic technique by then in decline. Being also well known in the United States for her artistic interpretation on fabric of medieval and Renaissance patterns, as well as for her technical dexterity, in partnership with Florence Colgate and Gino Speranza, in 1905 she contributed to setting up in New York the "Scuola d'Industrie Italiane", whose purpose was to help immigrant women find meaningful employment by producing and selling embroidered and lace items.
