ROME — Twenty-four men will be on center stage competing at the 44th Ryder Cup, as the highly anticipated three-day event begins at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club.
But it’s women who’ve made possible the stage on which the 12 American and 12 European players will perform.
If not for Lavinia Biagiotti and her late mother, Laura, the eyes of the golf world would not be on Marco Simone, a 25-minute drive outside the center of Rome.
Lavinia Biagiotti’s parents bought the property in 1978 — the year she was born — and then decided to build the golf course on it.
Thanks to the vision of Laura Biagiotti, Marco Simone was awarded the Ryder Cup in 2015.
The only shame to this celebrated week for the Biagiotti family is that Laura didn’t live to see the grand proceedings on the stage she dreamed about and created. She died in 2017.
That’s when Lavinia took over — not only the golf course and Ryder Cup project, but her mother’s fashion business, one of the most iconic in the Italian fashion industry.
Given the history behind those who own this venue, it’s fitting (pun intended) that the Ryder Cup has become known almost as much for the fashion worn by the players on the golf course and their significant others at the gala that precedes the tournament as for the golf itself.
In essence, Marco Simone this week will serve as the runway for the most popular and intense team-golfing competition in the sport.
The centerpiece to the property is an 11th century castle that sits between the sixth and eighth holes and overlooks much of the golf course. That’s where Lavinia Biagiotti has lived since childhood after her parents bought it, and that’s where the fashion design business is headquartered.
“I don’t really feel like I own this place,’’ Lavinia Biagiotti said in a recent interview. “I feel I’m taking care of this place … because there are layers and layers of history.”
The famous astronomer Galileo Galilei once lived in the castle, and there are remains of prehistoric fossils that date back 300,000 years in the dungeon.
“There was so much energy here in the Renaissance and I really feel that the Ryder Cup is a new renaissance for Marco Simone,” Lavinia said. “There are so many cultural reasons to play Marco Simone. [After] the Ryder Cup, there will be an opportunity to embrace a new experience of golf, culture, fashion, food and archeology.”
The person charged with taking care of the Marco Simone golf course is also a woman — 33-year-old for Spaniard Lara Arias is the golf course superintendent, a rarity in a field dominated by men.
Lavinia is the first woman to own a Ryder Cup venue and Arias is the first woman superintendent of a Ryder Cup course.
“I think it is interesting to have a Ryder Cup with more women involved,” Lavinia said.
There’s a lot of gender-related ground-breaking going on here, and it began with Lavinia’s grandmother, Delia, who started the fashion house in the 1960s as a dressmaker. In 1964, Delia Soldaini Biagiotti became famous when she designed the uniforms for the Alitalia Airlines cabin crew.
Laura Biagiotti then developed an international fashion brand, becoming the first Italian designer ever to hold a fashion show in China, in 1988.
“I’m the third generation,’’ Lavinia said. “It’s great to carry on this legacy. It’s an Italian story with three leading women. I have experienced biases in the fashion industry and golf as well, but I was lucky to meet many people at Ryder Cup Europe and the Italian Golf Federation who love women and think of me as a person and not as male or female. I don’t think women are better than men. We are all people who should combine energies.
“I was raised here in the castle and I love this land and this place. It is a special spot so close to Rome. I always had it in mind I wanted to attract something big here, but maybe the Ryder Cup was even beyond my expectations. But I think Rome demands big sports events.’’
The women behind this Ryder Cup will be behind the scenes while the players are the stars on the golf course, but this wouldn’t be possible without them.
