Il Salotto della Sfinge opens at Villa San Michele 28–29 August 2026

The eighth edition of Il Salotto della Sfinge returns to Villa San Michele in Anacapri on Friday 28 and Saturday 29 August. Organised by the Axel Munthe Foundation under the direction of Superintendent Kristina Kappelin, this year’s programme of conversations spanning film, literature and the arts will explore the theme of “The Enigma.”

Swedish and Italian guests will take to the stage on Villa San Michele’s panoramic terrace over the course of the two evenings. They include Eugenia Carfora, one of Italy’s best-known school principals; writers Anders de la Motte, Anette de la Motte, Amanda Romare and Jens Lapidus; screenwriter and director Giuliano Scarpinato; Renato Esposito, an author and leading expert on the island of Capri; former magistrate Raffaele Marino; and performer Savanna Hanneryd.

“Crime fiction has been one of Sweden’s most successful cultural exports to Italy over the past twenty years,” says Superintendent Kristina Kappelin. “Swedish crime writers have not only given us their share of thrills, but have also revealed a different side of Sweden. I am fascinated by the way all of us, regardless of nationality, are drawn to the darker sides of human life—perhaps as a way of escaping a real world that can often be even more frightening. Among those exploring this theme will be novelists, lawyers who became writers, and an extraordinary woman fighting to give young people a future in a place that might otherwise appear to offer little hope. These two days will provide plenty of opportunities both for enjoyment and reflection.”

The event is organised by the Axel Munthe Foundation, under the patronage of the Consulate of Sweden, the Campania Region, the City of Capri, the Municipality of Anacapri and the Embassy of Sweden, and in partnership with Capri Palace Jumeirah and Staiano Tour Capri.

Programme

Friday 28 August
7.00 p.m.Il Salotto della Sfinge opens with a cocktail in the Loggia delle Sculture, followed by a conversation on the panoramic terrace between Professor Renato Esposito, a leading expert on the island of Capri, and former Naples magistrate Raffaele Marino, authors of L’isola dei suicidi imperfetti, and Anders de la Motte and Anette de la Motte, the award-winning Swedish husband-and-wife writing team behind a successful series of thrillers set in Italy, including Ett fall på Capri (A Murder on Capri), set against the backdrop of the island.

8.00 p.m. Swedish writer and producer Amanda Romare will discuss her autobiographical bestseller Halva Malmö består av killar som dumpat mig, an unfiltered and sharply humorous account of contemporary dating. What lies behind an encounter that begins online? What expectations do we bring to a new relationship? And what drives the constant search for love, when every first meeting is still shrouded in mystery?
The novel inspired the 2025 Netflix series Diary of a Ditched Girl, starring Carla Sehn, which became an international success.

Saturday 29 August
7.00 p.m. Director, playwright and screenwriter Giuliano Scarpinato, co-writer of the film La Gioia, inspired by the Rosboch murder case and winner of both the Premio Solinas and the 2026 Globo d’Oro for Best Screenplay, will meet Jens Lapidus, one of Sweden’s best-known contemporary crime writers, a former criminal defence lawyer and author of the Stockholm Noir series.
Drawing on their respective experiences, they will examine the relationship between real-life crime and fiction: how a criminal case becomes a story, and how characters are created who resist any simple distinction between victim and perpetrator.

8.00 p.m. From real life to fiction: a conversation with Eugenia Carfora, principal of the Francesco Morano secondary school in Parco Verde, Caivano, and a leading figure in the fight against school dropout. Her story inspired the Rai 1 television series La preside, starring Luisa Ranieri.
Carfora will tell the Capri audience about a commitment that has taken her far beyond the school gates and into the homes and streets of the neighbourhood, where she works to bring young people back into the classroom and offer them a tangible alternative to dropping out and becoming involved in crime. Her journey through the complex realities of schools on the urban periphery—at times resembling a thriller—and her determination never to give up convey a powerful message of renewal.

The unease and difficulties of an increasingly enigmatic world, and its search for certainty, will be interpreted through a performance by Savanna Hanneryd, a Swedish dancer, choreographer and music producer. Her artistic practice focuses on krump, a street-dance style that emerged within the African American community of South Los Angeles in the early 2000s as a powerful form of non-violent expression.

All events will be moderated by Villa San Michele’s director, Kristina Kappelin.

Free admission, subject to availability.

Info and reservations: tel. +39 081 8371401 - events@sanmichele.org