Villa Rufolo
â¬5. Villa Rufolo is a palatial Moorish-style estate that was originally built in the 1270 for the Rufolo family. It is situated in Ravelloâs main square and is a ten-minute walk from Villa Combrone. The Villa Rufolo is comprised of a main building that adjoins a chapel with a reception hall and an entrance tower. The tower, known as the Torre Maggiore, is 30 metres high and was once used to spot pirate ships arriving to the Amalfi coast. The estate overlooks the Bay of Salerno and its upper terrace gardens contain cypress trees, cycads, yuccas and palms. The Villa remained with the Rufolo family until they sold it in 1588. Thereafter, the Villa slowly fell into disrepair due to earthquakes, negligence, and property subdivisions. Almost three centuries later it was finally restored by its new owner, a Scottish botanist named Francis Neville Reid. In 1880, a trip to Villa Rufoloâs garden inspired German composer Robert Wagner to write the second act of his final opera, Parsifal. Every summer since 1952, Villa Rufolo hosts the Ravello Music Festival, an open-air concert held in Wagnerâs honor.
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Villa Cimbrone
â¬6. Culture, tradition, and beauty intersect at Villa Cimbrone, the most spectacular hotel and public garden on the Amalfi Coast. The Villa is reached by a narrow pedestrian road and is situated on a cliff known as âcimbronium,â which gives the Villa its name. Before becoming a hotel and a site for weddings, conventions, and other events, the grounds were passed down from one influential family to another since the 11th century. It became apart of a nearby monastery around the 17th century and eventually fell into disrepair. In 1904, a British baron named Ernest William Beckett fell in love with the villa and purchased it with plans to renovate the grounds. With the help from Ravello architect Nicola Mansi and a French botanist, Beckett added the Villaâs garden, small temples, gazebos, and bronze and stone statues. Villa Cimbrone, an exterior view. The Villa has attracted many famous admirers, including E.M. Forster, Virginia Woolf, D.H. Lawrence, and Winston Churchill. Hollywood actress Greta Garbo and conductor Leopold Stokowski had a famous romantic getaway on its grounds in 1938. A stroll through the estate will reveal poetic inscriptions found on plaques and numerous replicas of Roman busts. One attraction is a statue of Mercury, the Roman messenger god, who invites visitors to a few moments of introspection. Another sight to see is the Terrace of Infinity, a serene location that sits high above a sheer cliff facing the ocean.
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The Cathedral
â¬2. Duomo is Ravelloâs cathedral, which is located in the townâs main square. Founded in 1086, the entrance of the Arabic-inspired church features two bronze doors that picture the 54 scenes of Christâs life. These bronze doors are one pair of only two dozen in Italy. Inside, the cathedral's interior is made of sculpted white marble. Visitors can climb behind the altar to get a look of vials that contains St. Pantaleoneâs holy blood or see a fragment of St. Thomasâ finger bone. In the crypt, the cathedralâs two-room museum features a third century sarcophagus, marble slabs decorated with mosaics, and a reliquary bust that holds the skull of Saint Barbara, the patron saint of artillerymen and miners.