Elisa Brătianu

Elisa Brătianu was a Romanian aristocrat, political figure and participant in the Inter-Allied Women's Conference of 1919. She was born into the Stirbey royal family, the daughter of Prince Alexandru B. Știrbei (1837-1895) and the Princess Maria Ghika-Comănești (1851-1885), inheritor of two noble titles, the Ghika family occupying the title of royal family in the history of Romania. An avid gardener, she designed the gardens at the Albatross Villa in Buzău and discussed plans for gardens in Bucharest with the town gardener. Concerned about the loss of traditional Romanian culture, she developed schools to keep stitchery traditions alive and published books of patterns. When her husband, long-serving prime minister Ion I.C. Brătianu died, she spearheaded a foundation to collect his archives and create a library to publish his most important works.