Villa Lysis is a neoclassical fantasy built on a cliff above Capri by the French poet and aristocrat Jacques d’Adelswärd-Fersen. Forced to leave Paris after a scandal involving minors, Fersen settled on the island and completed his private retreat in 1905. Its severe columns and white façade conceal blue-tiled rooms, golden mosaics, terraces facing the Gulf of Naples and a basement chamber arranged around a marble altar. The villa was named after Plato’s dialogue on friendship. Above the entrance, Fersen added its less restrained dedication: Amori et Dolori Sacrum—sacred to love and sorrow.
Villa Lysis
