Is Ravello worth visiting? The question is really about what you're paying for, because Ravello has a specific price structure, literally and experientially. The town itself (600 permanent residents, a cathedral square, a couple of streets) takes 30 minutes to see. The villas with their cliff-edge gardens. Villa Cimbrone and Villa Rufolo, are the reason to go and cost €7-10 each to enter. The Ravello Festival (July-August, outdoor concerts in Villa Rufolo's belvedere (panoramic viewpoint) with the Amalfi coast as backdrop) is extraordinary but expensive (€40-150 per ticket). The hotels are among the most expensive on the coast. Is Ravello worth it? If you're there for the gardens and possibly the festival: yes. If you're there expecting a lovely Amalfi Coast village experience: you'll find something more curated and more expensive than you expected.
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Villa Cimbrone
The Villa Cimbrone was created at the beginning of the 20th century by Ernest William Beckett (Lord Grimthorpe) in collaboration with the local gardener Nicola Mansi, transforming a ruined medieval estate into a garden of extraordinary theatrical quality. The garden's climax is the Terrazza dell'Infinito (Terrace of Infinity), a belvedere edged with a line of marble busts looking out over the Gulf of Salerno and the Amalfi coast, 350 metres above the sea. This is one of the most photographed views in southern Italy and justifies every cliché applied to it. The view from the Terrazza dell'Infinito at dusk, with the coast curving below and the sea turning rose and gold, is genuinely the best of the Amalfi coast views available at a single point. Entry €7. Part of the villa is now a luxury hotel (Villa Cimbrone Hotel), the garden is accessible independently of hotel guests.
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Villa Rufolo
The Villa Rufolo (13th century, built by the powerful Rufolo merchant family of Ravello) has a Moorish-influenced architecture, a small cloister with interlocking pointed arches decorated with ceramic, two towers, and a garden terrace. Richard Wagner visited in 1880 and declared the garden the inspiration for Klingsor's magic garden in Parsifal, the connection is commemorated with a statue and a plaque. The Ravello Festival uses the Villa Rufolo's belvedere as its main concert venue. Entry €7.
Questions: Is Ravello Worth Visiting?
How do I get to Ravello?
By bus from Amalfi: 20 minutes, SITA bus running approximately every 30-60 minutes. By car: extremely limited parking in Ravello (the access road is narrow and steep). The bus from Amalfi is the practical solution. Ravello is 6km inland from the Amalfi Coast road, its height (350m) is what gives it the views that the coastal towns don't have.
Is Ravello better than Positano?
Different. Positano is on the sea, beach, boats, seafront restaurants. Ravello is on a cliff 350m above the sea, views, gardens, silence, no beach. Positano for the coastal experience. Ravello for the garden-and-view experience. Neither is a substitute for the other. On the Amalfi Coast, if you have 3 days: Positano (1 night), Amalfi (1 night), Ravello (day trip from either).
What is the Ravello Festival?
The Ravello Festival (ravellofestival.com) is an annual classical music and performing arts festival held primarily in July-August. The outdoor concerts in Villa Rufolo's belvedere, with the Amalfi coast visible in the background, are the signature event. Conductors and orchestras of international quality perform. Tickets €40-150 depending on event and seat. The festival also includes indoor concerts, chamber music, and dance performances.
Curiosità su Ravello
Ravello è stata associata a una lista notevole di artisti e scrittori che vi soggiornarono nel XIX-XX secolo: Wagner (1880), André Gide (1895), D.H. Lawrence (1926, scrisse qui parte di Lady Chatterley's Lover), Gore Vidal (1948-2003, possedette una villa. La Rondinaia, nella quale visse la maggior parte della sua vita adulta), e Graham Greene (ambientò qui un romanzo). La concentrazione di visitatori illustri è proporzionale alla qualità delle viste e degli spazi - Ravello offre la combinazione di isolamento accessibile, paesaggio straordinario, e privacy che gli artisti cercano quando cercano di lavorare lontano dal rumore. La villa di Gore Vidal è diventata un hotel di lusso dopo la sua morte nel 2012, potete dormire nello stesso edificio dove scrisse per decenni, se disponete del budget necessario. Vedi anche: Amalfi Coast · Positano · Cetara.
