


The Salon of the Sphinx from August 21 to 23, starting at 7 p.m.
The seventh edition of Il Salotto della Sfinge (The Sphinx's Salon) at Villa San Michele in Anacapri—organized by the Axel Munthe Foundation and directed by director Kristina Kappelin—returns from Thursday, August 21 to Saturday, August 23. This year’s program of cinema, literature, and art opens with a significant new permanent exhibition: the Marchesa Casati Installation, dedicated to Luisa Casati Stampa, whose life and style inspire this edition’s theme, “The 1920s.”Over the course of the festival, the panoramic terrace will host a diverse lineup of guests, including actors Violante Placido, Davide Iacopini, Malich Cissé, Anastasia Kaletchuk, and Marco Adamo; political scientist and author Flavia Restivo; supermodel Simonetta Gianfelici; directors Edgardo Pistone and Giorgio Caporali; essayist Fabriano Fabbri; journalist Luciano Garofano; and curators Nils Harning and Anna Bergman Jurell.
Thursday, 21 August
7:00 PM – Opening of the festival with a cocktail vernissage of the exhibition Marchesa Casati Installation in the Olivetum Pavilion, followed by a presentation with curators Anna Bergman Jurell and Nils Harning and journalist Luciano Garofano.
The exhibition celebrates the extraordinary life of Luisa Casati — a leading figure of the international jet set, a visionary muse, and an iconic dark lady. It marks a symbolic return to Villa San Michele, her residence in the 1920s.
8:00 PM – Theatrical performance by actress Violante Placido, taken from Paolo Puppa’s play Interview with the Marchesa, followed by an audience Q&A.
The piece is set in London in November 1956. Luisa Casati, aged 75, receives in her salon a Sicilian journalist working on a feature about d’Annunzio and his romantic relationships.
Their conversation retraces the passing of time — the splendid parties in Piazza San Marco, exotic animals, black magic, and great passions.
Friday, 22 August
7:00 PM – Conversation with top model Simonetta Gianfelici and essayist and lecturer Fabriano Fabbri. Together they will explore style, fashion, and art through a journey that, starting from the 1920s, reveals differences and similarities with the 2020s. Joining them will be political scientist and activist Flavia Restivo. Through the presentation of her book The Swedes Do It Better (Rizzoli), the author addresses a crucial theme: sex and emotional education, an area in which Sweden stands as an example of social and economic development.
8:00 PM – Readings from The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, performed by actor Davide Iacopini, followed by an audience Q&A. Jay Gatsby lives life as a dazzling party, yet is steeped in desperate loneliness and hopelessly in love with Nick’s married cousin, Daisy. The American Dream unravels page by page — keeping its glittering façade while revealing the fragility beneath.
Saturday, 23 August
7:00 PM – Meeting with two of the most promising debut film directors of 2025: Edgardo Pistone, author of the multi-award-winning Ciao Bambino, a story of friendship, love, and survival; and Giorgio Caporali, director of his first feature film The Ark, a celebration of the value of travel and freedom.
With them will be the lead actors of their stories — Marco Adamo, Anastasia Kaletchuk, and Malich Cissé — sharing their experiences behind the camera and the emotion of audience acclaim.
All events will be moderated by Villa San Michele’s director, Kristina Kappelin.
The events are free and open to the public, subject to seat availability.
For information and reservations: 0818371401 - events@sanmichele.org
Possibility of return to Naples with the last maritime run.