Overview

The 125+ year-old Caetani Centre is a 6,000 sq. ft. designated heritage house and museum situated on 1.3 acres of park-like grounds within walking distance of downtown Vernon, BC. The former home of renowned artist, writer, mentor and teacher Sveva Caetani, the house and grounds are now owned by the City of Vernon, and operated by the Caetani Cultural Centre Society, a registered not-for-profit charitable organization. Now open to the public, the Centre hosts several programs such as guided, self-guided, private and school tours that tell the fascinating Caetani history and story - stemming from a papal and aristocratic line in Italy to the shores of Okanagan Lake. The museum on the main floor of the heritage house is home to treasured family artifacts, including haute couture and home movies from the 1920s. An art gallery on the premises features the permanent exhibition of Sveva Caetani’s heralded Recapitulation painting series, recently returned to the Caetani Centre after 35 years from the Alberta Foundation for the Arts. The Centre is also host to a self-directed artist and writer-in-residence program, where artists can stay and work from two weeks to three months in a creative and historic environment. The Caetani property is also home to five on-site studio/workspaces, open to both artists in residence as well as for rent by local artists, a reception courtyard, a large garden area, and an outdoor stage/natural amphitheatre that is used for special festivals and events such as the lively Summer Music Festival and the not-to-be-missed “fun”raiser, the Caetani Splash Viva d’Arte.