In 1871, just after the defeat of France in the Franco-Prussian War, she was called to a secret meeting with Otto von Bismarck to explain to him how the German occupation of Paris could be fatal to his interests. That same year, she returned to France and settled in Passy. Four years later, the Kingdom of Italy was proclaimed, conceivably in part due to the influence that the Countess had exerted on Napoleon III. The Countess returned to Italy in 1857 when her affair with Napoleon III was over. She was described as having long, wavy blonde hair, a fair complexion, a delicate oval face, and eyes that constantly changed colour from green to an extraordinary blue-violet.
George Frederic Watts painted her portrait in 1857. One of her most infamous outfits was a "Queen of Hearts" costume. The Countess was known for her beauty and her flamboyant entrances in elaborate dress at the imperial court. She had many lovers, including a banker of the Rothschild family and the then director of the Louvre Museum. During her relationship with the French emperor, she met Augusta of Saxe-Weimar, Otto von Bismarck and Adolphe Thiers. In 1856–1857, she entered the social circle of European royalty. In 1855, she had a brief affair with King Victor Emmanuel II of Italy, who nicknamed her "Nini". She achieved notoriety by becoming Napoleon III's mistress, a scandal that led her husband to demand marital separation. When the Count and Countess traveled to Paris in 1855, the Countess was under her cousin's instructions to plead the cause of Italian unity with Napoleon III of France. Her cousin, Camillo, Count of Cavour, was a minister of Victor Emmanuel II, King of Sardinia (that included also Piedmont, Val d'Aosta, Liguria and Savoy). She married Francesco Verasis, Count of Castiglione, at the age of 17.
Ignored by her father, she was educated by her grandfather Ranieri Lamporecchi. Virginia Elisabetta Luisa Carlotta Antonietta Teresa Maria Oldoïni Rapallini ( French: Virginie Élisabeth Louise Charlotte Antoinette Thérèse Marie Oldoïni) was born on 22 March 1837 in Florence, Tuscany to Marquis Filippo Oldoïni Rapallini and Isabella Lamporecchi, members of the minor Tuscan nobility she was often known by her nickname of "Nicchia". Portrait of the Countess di Castiglione painted in Paris in 1862 by Michele Gordigiani
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