One of the lesser known aspects of Valentino's personality was his intelligence, far superior to that normally ascribed to film stars. Perhaps he was not particularly practical, not shrewd enough to make the best of every situation, but he was inarguably cultured. His books were evidence of this, effectively an ideal library, rare, splendidly produced editions, chosen judiciously by Valentino himself, of Latin, French, German, Spanish, Old English, Greek, Russian and obviously Italian texts. Rudy read and understood his books, and had an extraordinary memory when it came to discussing them. The range of his interests is also demonstrated by a collection of national costumes from every epoch. He also collected volumes on world-wide national customs, reading in Italian and English in order to guarantee the most detailed knowledge possible and judge each subject for himself. His collection of costumes was completed by an array of spears, arrows, swords, hunting knives and daggers, all exhibited against a background of red velvet. Beside the arms stood statues in worked ivory, antique silver, jade and onyx. Rudy knew the story of every object in his collection.



INDEX ITALIAN SPANISH