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by Norman Harrison | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Fontana Vecchia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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To this day, Fontana Vecchia remains as bewitching as it was in Lawrence's time. Thousands of tourists each year take the short walk from Taormina just to glimpse at the house of D.H. Lawrence and Truman Capote from the street below. The villa, built into the side of the mountain, has stone walls that are a half-meter thick. Many of those stones were taken from a Roman aqueduct that predates Christ. The villa fronts to the southeast, so there are few days of cold wind. As long as one keeps the doors and windows closed and stays bundled up, the house stays reasonably comfortable in spite of the cold temperatures in winter. The sun is shining in the window and the coffee is hot. This is a fine day to write about this magical villa. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| The former home to both Lawrence and Capote | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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As you will read, this villa brings good fortune to its occupants. When I discovered this villa, I had no idea it was the former home to both Lawrence and Capote, two of the world's foremost writers. When I returned to my apartment after signing the rental agreement, I found that I had an e-mail message in which a publisher had agreed to publish my first novel sent at the very moment I was with my new landlord! Built in the around 1650, Fontana Vecchia is one of the best-kept secrets of Taormina. One would be hard pressed to find a single Taormina resident that even recognizes the names of these two famous writers. Yet, a street is named for D.H. Lawrence and another for the villa Fontana Vecchia. The natives go about their business without so much as a thought about these literary greats as though they never existed, yet alone lived among them. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| D.H. Lawrence and his wife, Frieda, lived here in 1920-22. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Wonderful, beautiful, tranquil, serene, awe-inspiring, magic and good fortune are a few adjectives that come to mind when describing the villa. D.H. Lawrence and his wife, Frieda, lived here in 1920-22. When Lawrence lived in the house was located in a field of orange and lemon groves. A winding dirt road led to town. Thirty years later, Truman Capote moved into the villa. Rather than describe this experience solely in my words, I will let two writers explain in their own words what it was like for them. |
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