Ravello

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ravello
Comune
Comune di Ravello
Amalfi Coast looking south from Ravello

Coat of arms
Ravello
Location of Ravello in Italy
Coordinates: 40°39′N 14°37′E / 40.650°N 14.617°E / 40.650; 14.617
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 (3 sq mi)
Elevation 365 m (1,198 ft)
Population (1 December 2009)
 • Total 2,477
 • Density 350/km2 (920/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 approximately 2,500 inhabitants. It is a popular tourist destination due to its scenic beauty.

History

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.

There were many noble families that made it so famous Ravello, Ravello are the noble families who had the title of Patricians of Ravello. There are: Acconciajoco, Alfano, Appencicario, Aufiero, Bove, Campanile, Cassitto, Castaldo, Citarella, Confalone, Coppola, Cortese, D'Afflitto, De Curtis, Dell'Isola, Della Marra, De Piccolellis, De Vito, Fenice, Foggia, Frezza, Fusco, Giusto, Grisone, Guerritore, Longo, Mansi, Marinelli, Muscettola, Panicola, Papice, Pironti, Rago, Rogadeo, Rovito, Rufolo, Russo, Rustici, Sasso, Arcucci.

Main sights

Overview

  • In 1996, Ravello was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
  • The Duomo (Cathedral) of Ravello: the central nave contains the "Pulpit of the Gospels", on the right of the central nave, created in 1272 by Nicolò di Bartolomeo from Foggia.[1]
  • Villa Rufolo (1270), built by Nicola Rufolo, one of the richest Patricians 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.[2]
  • Villa Cimbrone, famous for its "Terrace of the Infinite".[3]
  • The church of San Giovanni del Toro (Saint John of the Bull) dating to before the year 1000. The church contains the Bove pulpit, dateable to 1200–1230, incorporated as mosaic fragments Raqqa bacini.
  • The small church of Santa Maria a Gradillo (11th century). It has a basilica plan, with three apses.
  • Sanctuary of Sts. Cosmas and Damian (14th century)
  • Two famous gardens: Villa Cimbrone and Villa Rufolo.
  • Amalfi Coast: the amalfi coast, or Costiera Amalfitana in Italian, is a stretch of coastline on the southern side of the Sorrentine Peninsula of Italy, extending from Positano in the west to Vietri sul Mare in the east

Photogallery

  • Ravello's Duomo

  • Villa Rufolo Gardens

  • Villa Rufolo (Bell house)

  • View of the sea from Villa Rufolo

  • Duomo square

  • Center of the town

  • Villa Cimbrone,Terrace of the Infinite

  • Villa Cimbrone

  • Palazzo Confalone

Airport

The nearest airport is Salerno-Pontecagnano Airport (QSR).

Culture

The town has served historically as a destination for artists, musicians, and writers, including Giovanni Boccaccio, Richard Wagner, Edvard Grieg, M. C. Escher,[4] Virginia Woolf, Greta Garbo, Gore Vidal, André Gide, Joan Mirò, Truman Capote, Tennessee Williams, Graham Greene, Jacqueline Kennedy, 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)

See also

References

  1. ↑ Duomo di Ravello
  2. ↑ Villa Rufolo
  3. ↑ Villa Cimbrone
  4. ↑ Emmer, Michele (2004). Matematica E Cultura 2004. Springer. p. 248. ISBN 978-88-470-0291-3. 

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ravello.
Amalfi Coast
Municipalities
Places of interest
Italy
Sorrentine Peninsula

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike; additional terms may apply for the media files.