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Sveva Caetani (August 6, 1917 – April 28, 1994), was a Italian-Canadian artist well known for her young adulthood in her mother's captivity, and later her artwork.

Sveva Caetani is noted for being kept in her home by her grief stricken mother, and her series of watercolour paintings composed after her mother's death.

She emigrated to Canada in 1921 with her father Leone Caetani and her mother Olfeia Fabiani. Leone brought his family to Canada due to irreconcilable differences in philosophy, with Caetani being a radical socialist and the regime in Italy being fascist.

Life
Sveva was born in Rome into the aristocratic Caetani Family. She left the city when she was four years old with her family. They left Italy to settle in Canada in the town of Vernon, British Columbia in 1921, buying a home in the neighbourhood of East Hill.

In her youth Sveva was offered an extensive education and privileged upbringing. She received a top-notch education from private tutors and regular trips to Europe  It was through this exceptional education that Sveva learned a love of art.

However with her father Leone's death from cancer in 1935, Sveva's life changed dramatically. Her mother became mentally and physically ill following the loss of her father, and it was at this time that Ofelia Fabiani began demanding Sveva stay inside home. Her mother was so distressed that she would suffer severe physical ailments such as heart palpitations whenever Sveva would leave.

After a brief period where her mother permitted Sveva's artistic pursuits Sveva was not allowed to engage in making artwork, and for theyears she remained captive in the family home, books were virtually her only connection to the outside world.

In 1960 her mother passed away, leaving her to pursue both independence and her artistic pursuits. Becoming a teacher, she served the local area as an art teacher. However, that wasn't the end of her contributions, as Sveva began painting a series of 56 watercolours intended to reflect her life. This series was titled "Recapitulation".

Legacy
Her paintings and her estate were donated to the City of Vernon upon her death in 1994.

Sveva Caetani's image is depicted in downtown Vernon along with her family in a mural painted by Michelle Loughery.

Works

 * Recapitulation, 1989