Born: February 20, 1880, Paris, France
Died: November 5, 1923, Capri
Lived: Villa Lysis, Via Lo Capo, 80073 Capri, Italy (40.55916, 14.25972)
Buried: Protestant Cemetery, Capri, Città Metropolitana di Napoli, Campania, Italy
Find A Grave Memorial# 58117754
Books: Messes Noires- Lord Lyllian
People also search for: Nino Cesarini, R. P. Coppini, R. Nieri
Baron Jacques d'Adelswärd-Fersen was a novelist and poet of the early 20th century; his fame is based on a mid-century fictionalized biography by Roger Peyrefitte. In 1903, a scandal involving Parisian students made him persona non grata in the salons of Paris and dashed his marriage plans, after which he took up residence in Capri with his longtime lover, Nino Cesarini. He became one of the many "characters" of the island in the interwar years, featuring in novels by Compton MacKenzie and others. His house was christened Villa Lysis (later sometimes referred to as Villa Fersen) in reference to Plato's Socratic dialogue Lysis discussing friendship (or, according to modern notions, homosexual love). Villa Fersen remains one of Capri's tourist attractions. Jacques d'Adelswärd-Fersen died in 1923 —allegedly by suicide achieved through drinking a cocktail of champagne and cocaine. His ashes are conserved in the non-Catholic cemetery of Capri. Cesarini returned to Rome.
Together from 1903 to 1923: 20 years.
Baron Jacques d'Adelswärd-Fersen (February 20, 1880 - November 5, 1923)
Nino Cesarini (September 29, 1889 – October 25, 1943)
Days of Love edited by Elisa Rolle
ISBN-13: 978-1500563325
ISBN-10: 1500563323
Release Date: September 21, 2014
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Villa Lysis (initially, La Gloriette; today, Villa Fersen) is a villa on Capri built by industrialist and poet Jacques d’Adelswärd-Fersen. "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.
Address: Via Lo Capo, 80073 Capri, Italy (40.55916, 14.25972)
Type: Museun (open to public)
Hours: Monday through Sunday 10.00-18.00
Phone: +39 0818386111
Place
Built in 1905
Fersen purchased the 12,000 square metres (130,000 sq ft) land in 1904 for 15,000 lire. The real designer of the Villa is unknown. A recent analysis of letters of Jacques d’Adelswärd-Fersen to his friend, the artist Edouard Chimot, shows that Chimot, who, since 1907, due to a trial following an accident in the building site, was said to be the designer, is not. 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. Architecturally, the house is mainly Art Nouveau with 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. 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. 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. In the basement, there is a room for smoking opium, also known as the Chinese room. The large garden is connected to the villa by a flight of steps which leads to a portico with ionic columns. The ruins of Villa Jovis, one of Tiberius’ twelve villas on Capri, are a few hundred meters to the east-southeast of Villa Lysis.
Life
Who: Baron Jacques d’Adelswärd-Fersen (February 20, 1880 – November 5, 1923)
Jacques d’Adelswärd-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 WWI he started using cocaine. He eventually committed suicide in 1923 by ingesting an overdose of cocaine. His ashes are conserved in the non-Catholic cemetery of Capri. After Fersen’s death, the villa was left first to his sister, Germaine, but with the usufruct to Nino Cesarini. Cesarini sold the rights for 200 000 lire to Germaine and went to live in Rome. Germaine later gave the villa to her daughter, the Countess of Castelbianco. With the last of the maintenance work done in 1934, the house was essentially in ruins by the 1980s. In 1985, Villa Lysis passed into possession of the Italian state. The building was restored in the 1990s by the 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, such as an exhibition of photographs by Wilhelm von Gloeden in 2009. In Mar. 2010, the villa was put up for sale, listed as being 450 square metres (4,800 sq ft) with a 12,000 square metres (130,000 sq ft) garden.
Queer Places, Vol. 3 edited by Elisa Rolle
ISBN-13: 978-1532906695
ISBN-10: 1532906692
Release Date: July 24, 2016
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Cimitero acattolico di Capri is a non-Catholic cemetery on the island of Capri. Established in 1878 by Englishman George Hayward, it contains 204 graves from a total of 21 different nations.
Address: Via Marina Grande, 80073 Capri NA, Italy (40.55153, 14.23452)
Type: Cimetery (open to public)
Phone: +39 081 838 6111
Place
Most of the people buried in the cemetery are of English,. German, Russian or American nationality. Aside from Protestants, also buried in the cemetery are people professing the Catholic religion (such as Anglicans, Jews, Orthodox). Notable interments include French Baron Jacques d'Adelsward-Fersen, Lucio Amelio, Günter Ammon, Gracie Fields, Norman Douglas and Jakob Johann von Uexküll. After WWII, the cemetery saw a period of great neglect, which ended in 1986 when the Municipality of Capri ensured the preservation and restoration of the cemetery graves.
Notable queer burials at Cimitero acattolico di Capri:
• Jacques d'Adelsward-Fersen (1880-1923), French novelist and poet. His life forms the basis of a fictionalised biography by Roger Peyrefitte.
• Norman Douglas (December 8, 1868-February 7, 1952), British writer, now best known for his 1917 novel South Wind. His travel books such as his 1915 Old Calabria were also appreciated for the quality of their writing.
Queer Places, Vol. 3 edited by Elisa Rolle
ISBN-13: 978-1532906695
ISBN-10: 1532906692
Release Date: July 24, 2016
CreateSpace Store: https://www.createspace.com/6228901
Amazon (print): http://www.amazon.com/dp/1532906692/?tag=elimyrevandra-20
Amazon Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01IZXI10E/?tag=elimyrevandra-20
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