Giovanni Battista Meneghini
Giovanni Battista Meneghini (* 1896 in Verona ; † January 21, 1981 in New York City ) was an Italian industrialist, music lover and opera patron. He owned a cement factory in Venice. Meneghini was married to the Greek opera diva Maria Callas from 1949 to 1959 and was also her manager during this time.
Meneghini lived between 1950 and 1959 with Maria Callas, who was 27 years younger than him, in the village of Sirmione on the south shore of Lake Garda . In 1959 Callas divorced her husband for the Greek billionaire Aristotle Onassis . The couple had previously accepted an invitation to take a cruise on Onassis' luxury yacht " Christina ", where the love affair between Maria Callas and Onassis presumably began.
Giovanni Battista Meneghini died of a heart attack in 1981.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Meneghini, Giovanni Battista |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Italian industrialist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1896 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Verona |
| DATE OF DEATH | January 21, 1981 |
| Place of death | New York City |