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I was born in Naples. I don't know what the hospital was, I forget what hospital it was, but I was born in Naples because, again, there were no facilities at all in Capri. In fact, to indicate how bad the situation was--when I was two or three, I think, I got what everybody thought was a cold or the flu. Axel Munthe, the author who was also a doctor, was the only one there, and he said, “Ah, it's nothing at all, just the flu.” Well, it turned out it was diphtheria, which in those days was prevalent and quite a serious matter. And I think I was finally shipped over to Naples where they diagnosed it as diphtheria, and I think they even had to do a tracheotomy on me. But, as you can see, I survived, and it didn't affect my growth.

Just to get a little framework, how long did you live in Capri? From 1915 until when?

I lived there till about 1920.

So do you remember anything from Capri?

Very little. I have vague memories of the beach. I have very vague memories of the Faragliones, the rocks at the end of the island. I have memories of the square, and that's about it--and the house. I never returned to Capri, so whatever memories I have are either true memories, or, in the case of the house, may have been assisted by pictures.