Antonia Fiermonte, originally from Puglia, was a painter and violinist who became the main character of a love affair that began in Rome at Villa Medici, when the sculptor Bertola introduced her to René Letourneur. This affair continued in Paris, ended in Rome, and was finally eternalised in a cemetery in Mentana. When Antonia met René it was love at first sight, and he left his first wife Jeanne for her so they could marry. Jacques Zwoboda was also powerless when he encountered Antonia's charm.

Despite his guilt towards his friend, he courted her, writing to her almost daily with letters overflowing with love. Difficult years followed in which these lovers practically lived under the same roof, all of them torn between love and friendship. Eventually, Antonia decided to leave her husband to indulge her passion for Jacques, who had also powerfully reawakened her artistic encountered Antonia's charm. inspiration.

Antonia indelibly marked Parisian art and social life in the first half of the 20th century, creating in Fontenay-aux-Roses a 'salon that was frequented by some of the most important names of the time, including Louise de Vilmorin, Paul Herbé, Pierre Chardourne and André de Vilmorin. When The tragedy of the German invasion arrived, the park was turned into a refuge and many Jews were hidden there, including Jean Rosenthal, who had followed General De Gaulle to London, returning to France from time to time to support the resistance

In 1956, during a holiday in Rome, Antonia died suddenly at only 42 years of age. Distraught and mad with grief, Zwobada built her a mausoleum in the cemetery of Montana, a few kilometres from Rome.