Ravello, Italy


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Ravello is a town and commune situated above the Amalfi Coast in the province of Salerno, Campania, Italy and has approximately 2,500 inhabitants. It is a popular tourist destination.

Main Sights
  • The Duomo (Cathedral) of Ravello: the central nave contains the "Pulpit of the Gospels", on the right of the central nave, created in 1272 by Nicolò di Bartolomeo from Foggia.
  • Villa Rufolo (1270), built by Nicola Rufolo, one of the richest Patricians of Ravello, on a ledge and it has become a famous attraction for thousands of visitors. The villa was mentioned by Giovanni Boccaccio in his Decameron and it is the place where Richard Wagner in 1880 was inspired for the stage design of his opera Parsifal.
  • Villa Cimbrone, famous for its "Terrace of the Infinite".
  • The church of San Giovanni del Toro (Saint John of the Bull) dating to before the year 1000.
Culture

The town has served historically as a destination for artists, musicians, and writers, including Richard Wagner, M. C. Escher, Giovanni Boccaccio, Virginia Woolf, Gore Vidal,André Gide and Sara Teasdale who mentioned it in her prefatory dedication in Love Songs, one of her many books of poems.

Every year in the summer months, the "Ravello Festival" takes place. It began in 1953 in honour of Richard Wagner.

There is an ancient legend, still recounted by tour guides in Salerno and Amalfi, that it was to Ravello, with its breathtaking view of the Mediterranean and the dramatic Amalfi coastline, that Satan transported Jesus during His second temptation to show the beauty of the world's kingdoms. (Luke 4: 5-8)

Also See
External Links

- Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ravello

Bay of Naples and the Amalfi Coast

“A vertical world of gleaming limestone cliffs and hidden coves, of romantic corners and blue horizons, a world where boats outnumber cars and stairs serve in place of cars.”

The main towns of the Bay of Naples and the Amalfi Coast:

Capri, Ischia, Procida, Sorrento, Positano, Amalfi, Ravello, Salerno.

The Almafi Coast is the most spectacular stretch of coastline in Italy and, indeed, one of the most entrancing in all of Europe. The heady mix of stunning scenery, legend and romance has been seducing visitors since Roman times. The contrast couldn’t be greater between coast and city: just an hour down the road from the urban mayhem of central Naples and you’re in a different world.

There are two main entry points to the coast: to the west Sorrento and 50km further east Salerno. The former, a cliff-top resort whose charm has miraculously survived the onslaught of package tourism, is not actually on the Almafi Coast but on the northern side of the Sorrento Peninsula (the thin strip of that divides the Bay of Naples from the Gulf of Salerno). However, it’s only a short and spectacular drive away from pastel-hued Positano, the Almafi Coast’s smartest and most expensive town.

It’s also the nearest point to Capri, the most famous and fashionable of the bay’s three islands. A day trip mecca, Capri is an intriguing mix of luxury hotels, designer boutiques and unspoiled Mediterranean countryside. To the northwest, Ischia has long sold itself on its curative spa waters, lush gardens, and fine beaches, while a short ferry ride away Procida is the smallest and least developed of the islands. Although not totally free of tourism, its colourful fishing villages retain an authenticity that’s not always apparent elsewhere.

Back on the mainland, Amalfi is a pretty little town with a weighty history of maritime power and commerce. Today, however, its revenue comes mainly from the tourists disgorged daily from the ferries to idle around the Piazza del Duomo, wander the medieval streets and visit the extraordinary cathedral.

Perched above the coast is aloof Ravello, famed for its Wagnerian connection and grandiose villas. Finally, and by the way of the ceramic town of Vietri sul Mare, there is Salerno, a workaday port whose appeal lies in its lack of souvenir shops and vibrant centro storico (historic center).

(information is directly quoted from Naples and the Amalfi Coast by Lonely Planet).
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