| Ravello | |
|---|---|
| — Comune — | |
| Comune di Ravello | |
| Amalfi Coast looking south from Ravello | |
|
Ravello
|
|
| Coordinates: | |
| Country | Italy |
| Region | Campania |
| Province | Salerno (SA) |
| Frazioni | Sambuco, Torello, Castiglione, Marmorata, San Cosma, San Pietro alla Costa, Monte, Casa Bianca |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Paolo Vuilleumier |
| Area | |
| • Total | 7 km2 (2.7 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 365 m (1,198 ft) |
| Population (1 December 2009) | |
| • Total | 2,477 |
| • Density | 353.9/km2 (916.5/sq mi) |
| Demonym | Ravellesi |
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) |
| • Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) |
| Postal code | 84010 |
| Dialing code | 089 |
| Patron saint | St. Pantaleon |
| Saint day | July 27 |
| Website | Official website |
Ravello is a town and comune situated above the Amalfi Coast in the province of Salerno, Campania, southern Italy, with has approximately 2,500 inhabitants. It is a popular tourist destination.
Contents |
Ravello was founded in the 5th century as a shelter place against the barbarian invasions which marked the end of the Western Roman Empire. In the 9th century Ravello was an important town of the maritime republic of Amalfi, a producer of wool from its surrounding country that was dyed in the town and an important trading power in the Mediterranean between 839 and around 1200.
In 1086 it was made the seat of a bishopric by will of the Norman count Roger Borsa, as a counterweight to powerful Amalfi. In the 12th century it had some 25,000 inhabitants, and retains a disproportionate number of palazzi of the mercantile nobility, the Rufolo, d'Aflitto, Confalone and Della Marra. In 1137, after a first failed attack two years before, it was destroyed by the Republic of Pisa. After this event, it started a demographic and economical decline, and much of its population moved to Naples and its surroundings.
The nearest airport is Salerno-Pontecagnano Airport (QSR).
The town has served historically as a destination for artists, musicians, and writers, including Richard Wagner, Edvard Grieg, M. C. Escher,[1] Giovanni Boccaccio, Virginia Woolf, Greta Garbo, Gore Vidal, André Gide, Joan Mirò, Truman Capote, Tennessee Williams, Graham Greene, Leonard Bernstein and Sara Teasdale (who mentioned it in her prefatory dedication in Love Songs).
Every year in the summer months, the "Ravello Festival" takes place. It began in 1953 in honour of Richard Wagner, who signed the guestbook of his local hotel with the words "The magical garden of Klingsor is found" suggesting that it was in Ravello that the composer found the inspiration for his Parsifal.
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)
|
|||||||||||||||