Villa Lysis
Encyclopedia
Villa Lysis — initially called La Gloriette, today also known as Villa Fersen — is a villa on Capri
built by industrialist and poet Jacques d'Adelswärd-Fersen
in 1905. "Dedicated to the youth of love" (dédiée à la jeunesse d'amour), it was Fersen's self-chosen exile from France
after a sex scandal involving Parisian schoolboys and nude (or nearly nude) tableaux vivants.
Architecturally, the house is mainly Art Nouveau
with many Neoclassical
elements, the style might be called "Neoclassical decadent." The well-known Latin
inscription above the front steps (AMORI ET DOLORI SACRVM, "a shrine to love and sorrow") highlights Fersen's Romantic
view of himself. "Lysis" is a reference to the Socratic dialogue
Lysis discussing friendship, and by our modern notion, homosexual love.
Fersen purchased the 12,000 m² land in 1904 for 15,000 lire
and his friend, the architect Édouard Chimot
, designed the building. The house was described in detail by Roger Peyrefitte
in his novel L'Exilé de Capri (1959), a fictionalized account of Adelswärd-Fersen's years on Capri together with his lover Nino Cesarini. In the atrium a marble stairway, with wrought iron balustrade, leads to the first floor where there are bedrooms with panoramic terraces, and a dining room. Fersen's large room was on the upper floor, facing East, with three windows overlooking the Gulf of Naples
and three towards Mount Tiberio. (The ruins of Villa Jovis
, one of Tiberius' twelve villas on Capri, are a few hundred meters to the ESE of Villa Lysis.) Nino also had a room on the upper floor. On the ground floor there is a lounge decorated with blue majolica and white ceramic, facing out over the Gulf of Naples. The large garden is connected to the villa by a flight of steps which leads to a portico with ionic columns.
In the basement there is a room for smoking opium
, also known as the Chinese room. Fersen became addicted to opium on a trip to Ceylon during construction of the house (Peyrefitte relates that a worker was killed during construction, and Fersen therefore decided to travel until the anger of the locals at him had subsided), and after World War I he started using cocaine. He eventually committed suicide in 1923 by ingesting an overdose of cocaine.
After Fersen's death, the villa was given first to Nino Cesarini, who sold it to Fersen's sister, Germaine, who gave it to her daughter, the Countess of Castelbianco.
The house had the last maintenance work done in 1934, and therefore was essentially in ruins by the 1980s. In 1985, Villa Lysis passed into possession of the Italian state, but it was only in the 1990s that the building was restored by Lysis Funds Association (founded in 1986) and the Municipality of Capri. The Tuscan architect Marcello Quiriconi supervised the work.
Since the restoration, Villa Lysis has been open to tourists. It is also available to rent for parties and dinners and cultural events have taken place there, e.g. an exhibition of photographs by Wilhelm von Gloeden
in 2009. However, as of March 2010, Villa Lysis has been put up for sale for €7,000,000, so it might become private property again if a buyer can be found. The house is listed as having a size of 450 m² with a 12,000 m² garden.
Capri
Capri is an Italian island in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the Sorrentine Peninsula, on the south side of the Gulf of Naples, in the Campania region of Southern Italy...
built by industrialist and poet Jacques d'Adelswärd-Fersen
Jacques d'Adelsward-Fersen
Baron Jacques d'Adelswärd-Fersen was a novelist and poet of the early 20th century; his modern fame is based on a mid-century fictionalised biography by Roger Peyrefitte....
in 1905. "Dedicated to the youth of love" (dédiée à la jeunesse d'amour), it was Fersen's self-chosen exile from France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
after a sex scandal involving Parisian schoolboys and nude (or nearly nude) tableaux vivants.
Architecturally, the house is mainly Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau is an international philosophy and style of art, architecture and applied art—especially the decorative arts—that were most popular during 1890–1910. The name "Art Nouveau" is French for "new art"...
with many Neoclassical
Neoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...
elements, the style might be called "Neoclassical decadent." The well-known Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
inscription above the front steps (AMORI ET DOLORI SACRVM, "a shrine to love and sorrow") highlights Fersen's Romantic
Romanticism
Romanticism was an artistic, literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Europe, and gained strength in reaction to the Industrial Revolution...
view of himself. "Lysis" is a reference to the Socratic dialogue
Socratic dialogue
Socratic dialogue is a genre of prose literary works developed in Greece at the turn of the fourth century BC, preserved today in the dialogues of Plato and the Socratic works of Xenophon - either dramatic or narrative - in which characters discuss moral and philosophical problems, illustrating a...
Lysis discussing friendship, and by our modern notion, homosexual love.
Fersen purchased the 12,000 m² land in 1904 for 15,000 lire
Italian lira
The lira was the currency of Italy between 1861 and 2002. Between 1999 and 2002, the Italian lira was officially a “national subunit” of the euro...
and his friend, the architect Édouard Chimot
Édouard Chimot
Édouard Chimot was a French artist, illustrator and editor whose career reached its peak in the 1920s in Paris, through the publication of fine quality art-printed books...
, designed the building. The house was described in detail by Roger Peyrefitte
Roger Peyrefitte
Roger Peyrefitte was a French diplomat, writer of bestseller novels and gossipy non-fiction, and a defender of gay rights.-Life and work:...
in his novel L'Exilé de Capri (1959), a fictionalized account of Adelswärd-Fersen's years on Capri together with his lover Nino Cesarini. In the atrium a marble stairway, with wrought iron balustrade, leads to the first floor where there are bedrooms with panoramic terraces, and a dining room. Fersen's large room was on the upper floor, facing East, with three windows overlooking the Gulf of Naples
Gulf of Naples
The Gulf of Naples is a c. 15 km wide gulf located in the south western coast of Italy, . It opens to the west into the Mediterranean Sea. It is bordered on the north by the cities of Naples and Pozzuoli, on the east by Mount Vesuvius, and on the south by the Sorrentine Peninsula and the main...
and three towards Mount Tiberio. (The ruins of Villa Jovis
Villa Jovis
Villa Jovis is a Roman palace on Capri, southern Italy, built by emperor Tiberius who ruled from there between AD 27 and AD 37...
, one of Tiberius' twelve villas on Capri, are a few hundred meters to the ESE of Villa Lysis.) Nino also had a room on the upper floor. On the ground floor there is a lounge decorated with blue majolica and white ceramic, facing out over the Gulf of Naples. The large garden is connected to the villa by a flight of steps which leads to a portico with ionic columns.
In the basement there is a room for smoking opium
Opium
Opium is the dried latex obtained from the opium poppy . Opium contains up to 12% morphine, an alkaloid, which is frequently processed chemically to produce heroin for the illegal drug trade. The latex also includes codeine and non-narcotic alkaloids such as papaverine, thebaine and noscapine...
, also known as the Chinese room. Fersen became addicted to opium on a trip to Ceylon during construction of the house (Peyrefitte relates that a worker was killed during construction, and Fersen therefore decided to travel until the anger of the locals at him had subsided), and after World War I he started using cocaine. He eventually committed suicide in 1923 by ingesting an overdose of cocaine.
After Fersen's death, the villa was given first to Nino Cesarini, who sold it to Fersen's sister, Germaine, who gave it to her daughter, the Countess of Castelbianco.
The house had the last maintenance work done in 1934, and therefore was essentially in ruins by the 1980s. In 1985, Villa Lysis passed into possession of the Italian state, but it was only in the 1990s that the building was restored by Lysis Funds Association (founded in 1986) and the Municipality of Capri. The Tuscan architect Marcello Quiriconi supervised the work.
Since the restoration, Villa Lysis has been open to tourists. It is also available to rent for parties and dinners and cultural events have taken place there, e.g. an exhibition of photographs by Wilhelm von Gloeden
Wilhelm von Gloeden
Baron Wilhelm von Gloeden was a German photographer who worked mainly in Italy. He is mostly known for his pastoral nude studies of Sicilian boys, which usually featured props such as wreaths or amphoras suggesting a setting in the Greece or Italy of antiquity...
in 2009. However, as of March 2010, Villa Lysis has been put up for sale for €7,000,000, so it might become private property again if a buyer can be found. The house is listed as having a size of 450 m² with a 12,000 m² garden.