Discover Ravello - Salerno

Ravello is a town situated above the Amalfi Coast in the province of Salerno, Campania, Italy and has approximately 2500 inhabitants. Ravello was an important town of The Maritime Republic of Amalfi, an important trading power in the Mediterranean between 839 and around 1200. Ravello was a diocesan town from 1086 to 1603; after that the bishop's see was moved to Scala. One church in Ravello, S. Giovanni del Toro (Saint John of the Bull) dates to before the year 1000. The small city lies at approximately 300 metres above sea level and is a popular tourist destination. Every year in the summer months, the "Ravello Festival" takes place. They began in 1953 in honour of Richard Wagner. The beauty of the city, its charm, and a sense of freedom has inspired its inhabitants and guests for centuries. In 1270, Nicola Rufolo, one of the richest men of Ravello, had his villa built on a ledge and it has become a famous attraction for thousands of visitors. The Villa Rufolo 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. Another spectacular home, Villa Cimbrone, is famous for its "Terrace of the Infinite." 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, and Sara Teasdale who mentioned it in her prefatory dedication in Love Songs, one of her many books of poems.