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The 120+ year old Caetani Cultural Centre is a 6,000 sq. ft. designated heritage house, situated on 1.5 acres of land on lower East Hill. The facility is operated by The Caetani Cultural Centre Society as a registered not for profit charitable organization, and is owned by the City of Vernon.

The society hosts special events such as the lively Summer Music Series, Summer Arts Festival & Art Trail, heritage tours, and the not-to-be-missed "fun"raiser A Splash of Red, usually held the third Thursday in August.

The house is the former home of renowned artist, writer, mentor and teacher Sveva Caetani.  Sveva was locally known as ‘the Countess’ due to her aristocratic background and she was a visionary figure in the community with a deep belief in culture, knowledge and artistic endeavours.  

The mysterious and heartbreaking story behind the history of the house and its inhabitants provides a gateway to understanding our recent past, opening a window to a much different world and shedding light on the many artworks and writings created by our benefactor Sveva Caetani. Following the death of her father in 1934 she was kept a virtual prisoner in her own home for 25 years by her invalid mother. Her story is one of overcoming adversity and rising above her circumstances. Sveva left her 1.5 acres of gardens and historic home to the community of Greater Vernon in 1994 with the express wish that it serve as acommunity cultural facility for artistic and critical exploration. 

Sveva’s vision for her home has become reality and is now being carried out through creative and thought-provoking programming. The Caetani Centre (C3) provides a venue for visual artists from around Canada and the world to explore a diverse range of arts practices, theories and experiences through our Residency progams for visual artists, writers, curators, and creative individuals. 

C3 provides quality arts facilities that allow artists and writers to experiment, develop new ideas and interact with fellow artists and the community through talks, workshops and exhibitions.  Programming includes partenrships with additonal community organizations to encourage artists to approach creativity, exploration and research in different ways and present the community both locally and globally with new ways of seeing, experiencing and interpreting arts and the environment around us.

We are located two blocks from the heart of beautiful downtown Vernon, British Columbia, within walking distance or public transportation to shopping, as well as most public facilities and amenities.

Please visit our website at www.caetani.ca for more information.