# Henrik Ibsen in Casamicciola **At a glance:** The Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen arrived on Ischia on 20 May 1867 and settled in Casamicciola, at Villa Pisani, where he pressed on with writing Peer Gynt, later completed in Sorrento. On the island his walking companion, all the way to the summit of Monte Epomeo, was the Danish writer Vilhelm Bergsøe. ## Useful information - **Type:** Famous people - **Period:** 1867 - **Arrival on Ischia:** 20 May 1867 - **Where:** Villa Pisani, Casamicciola - **Work:** Peer Gynt (written in Rome, Ischia and Sorrento; published 14 November 1867) - **Walking companion:** The Danish writer Vilhelm Bergsøe - **Walking companion:** The Danish writer Vilhelm Bergsøe ## From Norway to Ischia Henrik Ibsen (Skien 1828 – Kristiania, now Oslo, 1906) left Norway in April 1864 and lived abroad for many years, much of the time in Italy. In Rome he wrote _Brand_, published in 1866, and began work on his new dramatic poem, _Peer Gynt_: in a letter of 5 January 1867 he says he has started the first act. ## Summer 1867 at Villa Pisani In spring Ibsen set off for Ischia with his family, landing on the island on **20 May 1867**. He settled in Casamicciola, at **Villa Pisani**: according to the critic and translator William Archer, it was there that the writing of _Peer Gynt_, slow until then, finally began to flow. The Centre for Ibsen Studies at the University of Oslo notes that the work was written partly in Rome, partly on Ischia and partly in Sorrento: the last act was posted from Sorrento on 18 October 1867 and the book came out in Copenhagen on 14 November of the same year. Some local scholars have seen in the Casamicciola experience a turning point in the character of Solveig, the woman who redeems the hero at the end: an appealing interpretation, but one that remains a critical hypothesis. ## Walks with Bergsøe In Casamicciola Ibsen met the Danish writer and naturalist Vilhelm Bergsøe, who was on the island for treatment. The two became walking companions, climbing Monte Epomeo and exploring the Tamburo valley. ## Ibsen and 19th-century Casamicciola Ibsen's stay belongs to the era when Casamicciola was an international destination for cures and holidays, frequented by writers, scientists and politicians. [Alphonse de Lamartine](https://visitcasamicciola.com/en/history/alphonse-de-lamartine/) had come before him; in the 1870s [Ernest Renan](https://visitcasamicciola.com/en/history/ernest-renan/) would arrive. For the wider picture, read [Casamicciola, a European spa resort](https://visitcasamicciola.com/en/history/casamicciola-european-spa-resort/) and [Origins and history of Casamicciola](https://visitcasamicciola.com/en/history/origins-and-history-of-casamicciola/). ## Frequently asked questions ### Did Ibsen write Peer Gynt in Casamicciola? In part, yes. The work was written in Rome, on Ischia and in Sorrento: in Casamicciola, in the summer of 1867, Ibsen wrote a substantial part of it, while the last act was posted from Sorrento on 18 October 1867. ### Where did Ibsen live in Casamicciola? At Villa Pisani, as the translator William Archer notes in his introduction to the collected works. Ibsen had arrived on the island with his family on 20 May 1867. ### Who was Vilhelm Bergsøe? A Danish writer and naturalist who was in Casamicciola for treatment. He was Ibsen's walking companion on the island, including on Monte Epomeo. ## Also worth seeing - [Alphonse de Lamartine in Casamicciola](https://visitcasamicciola.com/en/history/alphonse-de-lamartine/) - [Ernest Renan in Casamicciola](https://visitcasamicciola.com/en/history/ernest-renan/) - [Casamicciola, a European Spa Resort](https://visitcasamicciola.com/en/history/casamicciola-european-spa-resort/) - [Origins and History of Casamicciola](https://visitcasamicciola.com/en/history/origins-and-history-of-casamicciola/) ## Sources and further reading - [Casamicciola Terme e i suoi ospiti illustri – Guida all'Isola d'Ischia](https://www.ischia.campania.it/index.php/casamicciola-terme-e-i-suoi-ospiti-illustri/) - [Peer Gynt – Centre for Ibsen Studies, Università di Oslo](https://hf.uio.no/is/english/services/virtual-ibsen-centre/on-ibsen-s-work/pg) - [The collected works of Henrik Ibsen, vol. XIII (introduzione di William Archer) – Wikisource](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Page:The_collected_works_of_Henrik_Ibsen_(Volume_13_Scribner%27s).pdf/129) - [Henrik Ibsen – Discover Campania, personaggi storici](https://nuovo.discovercampania.it/en/historical-characters/249-henrik-ibsen) - [INGVterremoti – Casamicciola, 28 luglio 1883](https://ingvterremoti.com/2018/07/27/i-terremoti-nella-storia-28-luglio-1883-la-catastrofe-di-casamicciola-sullisola-dischia/)