The Caetani Centre, located in Vernon, BC, is a heritage house with over 125 years of mysterious and heartbreaking history behind it. The house is the former home of renowned artist, writer, mentor and teacher Sveva Caetani – locally known as ‘the Countess,’ due to her aristocratic background, the mystery shrouding her upbringing, and eventually her status as a visionary figure in the local community. When she passed in 1994, Sveva left her historic home and 1.3 acres of gardens to the community of Greater Vernon, with the express wish that it serve as a community cultural facility for artistic and critical exploration. Today, Sveva’s vision is being well-realized – her house is open to the public, it’s available for both guided and self-guided tours, it’s a frequent host to special events and festivals, and it serves as a venue and residence for visual artists and writers from across Canada. Since 2008, the Caetani Centre has been operated by the Caetani Cultural Centre Society, a not-for-profit organization committed to helping visitors learn about the fascinating Caetani history and story. Since taking over the facility, they have worked diligently and invested heavily in order to serve Sveva’s vision through a variety of creative and thoughtprovoking programming. The story of the Caetani house – and the story of Sveva Caetani, in particular – is a remarkable and complex one. A more complete telling is available on the Caetani Centre’s website – and Sveva’s story is also told in the documentary ‘Sveva Imprisoned,’ written, produced and directed by local filmmaker Jim Elderton – but the main beats of the story are as follows: MARCH 2023
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