Gaia Servadio

Gaia Cecilia Metella Servadio (13 September 1938 – 20 August 2021) was an Italian writer. She was born in Padua, Italy, to Luxardo Servadio, an industrial chemist of Jewish heritage, and Bianca Prinzi, who was Sicilian and Catholic. She completed her undergraduate education at Camberwell School of Art in London.

Her literary debut was the novel "Tanto gentile e tanto onesta," also known as "Melinda," published in 1967 by Feltrinelli in Italy and by Weidenfeld & Nicolson in the United Kingdom. This work was recognized as a commercial success at the time of publication.

In her personal life, Servadio was married circa 1961 to 1989 to William Mostyn-Owen, a British art historian. The couple resided in Scotland in 1968, occupying approximately 23 rooms of one wing of Aberuchill Castle in Perthshire. They had three children: Owen, born in 1962; Allegra, born in 1964; and Orlando, born in 1973. Allegra became the first wife of politician Boris Johnson, and Orlando is an artist and painter.

After her divorce from Mostyn-Owen, Gaia Servadio married Hugh Robert Myddelton in 1995. Myddelton was associated with Chirk Castle in Wales and was an alumnus of Eton College. In 2001, their surname was changed to Myddelton Biddulph, becoming Hugh Robert Myddelton Biddulph and Gaia Servadio Myddelton Biddulph. The couple remained married until her death in 2021. Gaia Servadio resided in Belgravia, London.

Professionally, Servadio authored numerous works across genres, including fiction, non-fiction, music, poetry, and curatorial projects. Her fiction works include titles such as "Don Giovanni e L'azione consiste" (1968), "Il Metodo" (1970), "Un'infanzia diversa" (1988), "Il lamento di Arianna" (1988), "La storia di R." (1990), "Abramo, La vallata" (1990), "E i morti non sanno" (2005), "Raccogliamo le vele - Autobiografia" (2014), "Didone Regina" (2017), and "Giudei" (2021).

Her non-fiction publications feature biographies and cultural studies, such as "Angelo La Barbera. A profile of a Mafia Boss" (1974), "Mafioso" (1976), "Luchino Visconti" (1980), "La Donna del Rinascimento" (1986), and "Rossini. Una vita" (2004). She also authored books on specific historical and cultural topics, including "Mozia. Alla scoperta di una civiltà scomparsa" (2003), "Sammezzano" (2007), "Incontri" (1993), and "Il Rinascimento allo specchio" (2007).

Servadio contributed to musical scholarship with works like the libretto "La vera Traviata" (2013) and "The Last Zodiac," a collection of poems published in 2015. Her curatorial work includes "Ancient Syrian Writings" (2009), published by the General Secretariat of Damascus.

Gaia Servadio died on 20 August 2021.