Ravello
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Comune di Ravello | |
|---|---|
 Municipal coat of arms |
|
| Country |  Italy |
| Region | Campania |
| Province | Salerno (SA) |
| Area | 7 km² (3 sq mi) |
| Population | |
| - Total | 2,506 |
| - Density | 358/km² (927/sq mi) |
| Time zone | CET, UTC+1 |
| Coordinates | |
| Gentilic | Ravellesi |
| Dialing code | 089 |
| Postal code | 84010 |
| Frazioni | Sambuco, Torello, Castiglione, Marmorata, San Cosma, San Pietro alla Costa, Monte, Casa Bianca |
| Patron | St. Pantaleon |
| - Day | July 27 |
| Website: www.comune.ravello.sa.it | |
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.
Contents |
[edit] History
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.
[edit] Main sights
- The Duomo.
- Villa Rufolo (1270), built by Nicola Rufolo, one of the richest men 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.
[edit] 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, 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)
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Official website
- Ravello Tourism Society with a good page on the town's history
- Ravello e le sue chiese
- News about Ravello - in Italian and English. News in English are normally posted under "News Amalfi Coast"
- Ravello, Amalfi Coast Lady - A complete description with Amalfi Coast Accommodation Information
