A superb villa known as four windson the island of Capri, has just sold for an undisclosed sum. The two-bedroom retreat, nestled among the steep slopes of Mount Solaro, offers panoramic views of the Bay of Naples and Vesuvius in the distance. Although its price could not be confirmed with the listing agent, Lionard Luxury Real Estate, the property has been estimated to be worth $3-4 million.
The breathtaking view of the Bay of Naples at Four Winds. Courtesy of Lionard.
With his 2,690 square feet over two floors, Four Winds features marble floors, vaulted ceilings, citrus and olive groves, and a tiled outbuilding used as a spa. The villa, a short walk from the picturesque Piazzetta di Capri, was acquired by the De Sica family of directors in the 1930s and remained in their possession until 2015, when Christian de Sica sold it to a private buyer.
According to SEO, during the 20th century, the villa became a refuge for writers and artists. Elihu Vedder, an American Symbolist painter and poet, had it built in 1903 and named it Casa Vedder, using it as a studio and residence. It was later renamed Villa dei Quattro Venti (Villa of the Four Winds) after the four weather vanes that can still be seen at the top of the roof terrace.
Villa Four Winds on the island of Capri. Courtesy of Lionard.
During the 1920s, the island refuge changed hands for a fellow Vedder…Earl Henry Brewster, painter, writer and Buddhist scholar. Brewster was also the biographer and close friend of DH Lawrence. Four Winds served as the long-term residence of the famous British author, the place where he wrote his last and perhaps most outrageous novel, Lady Chatterley’s Lover. It was among these green hills that Lawrence dreamed up the affair between the wealthy young English woman and her hired gamekeeper. Published first in Italy, then in France, the book was banned elsewhere and was the subject of an obscenity trial in the UK.
The Four Winds spa. Courtesy of Lionard Luxury Real Estate.
In the decades that followed, according to Lionard, Four Winds was frequented by artists such as Joseph Beuys and Cy Twombly. While it’s unclear exactly what brought Twombly to Four Winds, the artist’s affinity for Italian art and culture is well documented, starting with his first visit to the country in 1952, accompanied by Robert Rauschenberg. The avowed Italophile later bought his own villa in the town of Gaeta – across the bay from Capri – where he made annual pilgrimages and painted some of his most important works, including those of the “Four Seasons”, now held by the MoMA. 1988 painting of Twombly Venere Sopra Gaeta (Venus over Gaeta) soared to nearly $17 million in a recent Christie’s Sale.
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