None of her relatives went to the funeral which was held at the expense of the Municipality as they considered her needy
When Rafaela Donvito, 78, died last April, her funeral was held at the expense of the City of Milan as she was considered destitute. None of her relatives attended. But eight months after her death, it was revealed that Rafaela was a… millionaire
"She lived for decades and in her last days she had almost no relations with anyone," say Rafaela's roommates in the apartment building in Via Lulli. "While she wanted to know everything about others, she was a woman with a big heart but never said anything about herself and had recently retired to one of her two apartments."
No one expected the 78-year-old woman who had come from Tripoli, Libya, Italy in the late 1960s, to be the heir to a large fortune, writes Corriere Della Sera.
When Rafaela died, the same neighbors acted to look for possible relatives or heirs, but in vain. "Rafaela probably suffered from a tumor, but she never wanted to see a doctor: she always refused," said one of her relatives.
Suddenly, on New Year's Eve, two real estate companies announced that Rafaela had incredible real estate in Milan, Bergamo, Como and Mantua.
According to some testimonies, Rafaela may have been the "mysterious benefactor" who a few months ago had bequeathed 2,7 million euros to a nursing home.