Scipione, Principe Borghese

Scipione, Prince Borghese was the scion of the most distinguished Borghese family in Italy. Scipione was the 10th Prince of Sulmona, and numbered among his many titles four Princedoms, four Dukedoms, four Marquisates, and he was a French Duke and a Spanish Grandee. He is best known for winning the first Peking-Paris Motor Rally in 1907. Borghese, with his chauffeur-mechanic, Ettore Guizzardi and journalist Luigi Barzini, left Peking (Beijing) on 10 June 1907 and arrived in Paris 61 days later, despite making a detour to attend a ball held in Prince Borghese’s honor in St. Petersburg. Prince Borghese was co-opted onto the IOC in June 1908 but resigned in November 1909 and made no significant contributions to the Olympic Movement.

Prince Borghese served in the military briefly, but then entered the diplomatic service and also served as a Member of the Italian Parliament. He was a diplomat for a short time, but continued to undertake special missions before rejoining the Colours in World War I, serving as an artillery captain on the Udine Front. Prince Borghese had significant interest in exploration and in 1900 crossed Asia from the Persian Gulf to the Pacific, penetrating virtually unknown areas of Northern Persia and Turkestan. He was also known for his mountain climbing abilities.