Ravello

Music in the sky

by amalficoasting.org

Among the most famous vacation spots not only on the

Amal Coast but in all of southern Italy, Ravello is nestled in the
mountains between the valleys
of the Dragon and the Regina
streams. Ravello, besides being a
small jewel in and of itself, is a
town of contrasts between the
mountainous setting and the sea
and the melancholy of the medieval palaces and the explosive
vitality of their gardens.
The history of Ravello is connected to the glorious history of
the Maritime Republic of
Amal. The rst historically documented evidence of the towns
existence dates back to the 9th
century, when it was recorded as
a subject of Amal. Incorporated
into the Duchy of Amal, it followed that towns fortunes.
In 1137 Bernardo da Chiaravalle described it as "ancient,
well-fortied and impregnable,
as well as being opulent it is so
beautiful that it can easily be
numbered among the rst and
most noble cities."
Under the Normans, and even

more their successors, the Anjou

dinasty, Ravello kept growing in
prosperity. In the 13th century,
which was the period of greatest
auence, along with Scala, Ravello had 36,000 inhabitants.
The clearest testimony to the
wealth of that era, is oered by
the numerous civil and religious
buildings built in Arab-Sicilian
style that was introduced to the
area by the wealthy merchant
families who had commercial relations with Sicily, North Africa,
Spain and the Middle East. The
town prospered, thanks in particular to the ourishing woolspinning mill, known then as
the "Celendra," that was given to
Bishop Giovanni Allegri by King
Charles II of Anjou in 1292, to
stimulate trade, especially with
the Arabs and Byzantines.
After losing its prosperous
economy, in the 17th century,
Ravello was left with an incomparable position overlooking the
Mediterranean Sea and architectural and artistic marvels built
during the centuries of splendor.
The Duomo (#1 on the map),

The Duomo of Ravello

divided by ancient columns and

pillars, has been completely
changed in a restoration completed in the 1970s which suppressed the vaults and stuccoes,
(a few traces are left in the
transept).
To the right of the entrance, at
the bottom on the inner wall of
the facade, there are traces of
ancient frescoes. In the middle
of the left nave, is the ambo,
built in 1130 by the bishop of
Ravello. It is signicant both for
its Byzantine origin and for
being the sole example of such
style in all of southern Italy. It is
decorated with 13th century mosaics depicting the death and
resurrection of Christ. It faces a
richly decorated pulpit that
bears inscriptions with the name
of the artist (Niccol di Bartolomeo) and the date: 1272.

Ravello

Ravello

or Cathedral, which stands on a

high podium in piazza del
Vescovado, is dedicated to
S.Pantaleone and was founded
in 1086 or 1087 by the rst
bishop of Ravello. The bell
tower, at the bottom of the right
side of the church, was built in
the 13th century.
Rebuilt in its present form in
the 12th century, the Duomo
was remodeled in 1786, when
the portico that preceded its
simple faade was demolished
(only four columns remain). The
lintels of the three doors are
made of marble frames. In the
middle is the precious bronze
door of Barisano da Trani. The
door is divided into 54 panels
(one of them has the date, 1179)
depicting saints, stories of the
Passion and two masks.
The interior, with three naves

1 Duomo
2 Villa Rufolo
3 Monastero e Chiesa di Santa Chiara
4 Villa Cimbrone (
SCALA
5 Cattedrale di San Lorenzo
6 Chiesa di Santa Annunziata
7 Basilica of Sant'Eustacchio
8 Chiesa di San Giovanni Battista

Duomo, interior

terrace overlooking the bay, was

erected in the second half of the
14th century by the Rufolos, the
richest family of Ravello ( a Landolfo Rufolo is remembered by
Boccaccio in his "Decameron"),
who then passed it along to the
the Confalones and then the
DAittos. In 1851 it was bought
by the Scotsman Francis Neville
Reid, who restored it. A pointed
arch leads to the vestibule of the
Tower (early 14th century),
which is decorated with interlaced arches in the ceiling and
on the walls, and four limestone
statues (on the corners).
The path leading to the front
of the villa is shaded by large cypress trees and creepers. To the
right is the square courtyard.
Similar to a cloister, it has two
orders of loggias on columns

and rich, polychromous decorations. Around the villa lies the

garden, full of exotic plants,
pines trees and cypresses. A
wonderful backdrop to the romantic ruins it inspired Richard
Wagner to think of the magic
garden of Klingsor in "Parsifal".
From piazza del Vescovado, to
the right of Villa Rufolo, one can
take via San Francesco, which
after a arch moves uphill with
steps toward the church of the
same name.
Continuing on via Santa
Chiara, which oers a beautiful
view of the rising mountains
around Ravello, one arrives at
another church, preceded by a
small porch. Already in existence in the 13th century but rebuilt in 18th, the Monastero &
Chiesa di Santa Chiara (#3) has
three naves with ancient
columns and an 18th century
maiolica tile oor. The adjoining

Villa Ruffolo

monastery was founded in 1333.

Past Santa Chiara, a staircase
to the right leads to Villa Cimbrone (#4, open daily 9am-8pm
in the Summer, 9am to sunset
the rest of the year, tel (+39) 089
858072). The Belvedere Cimbrone on the most prominent
point of the spur where Ravello
was built, oers a spectacular
view from Amal to the plain of
Paestum.
In the spring of 1880, Richard
Wagner arrived at Villa Rufolo,
in Ravello, accompanied by his
stage designer, the painter
Joukovsky. At that time, the
great German musician was
working on Parsifal. In Ravello
Wagner found both inspiration
for the scenography of Act 2 of
Parsifal and ideas for improving
the whole musical architecture
of his ultimate masterpiece.
Other musical giants inspired
here were Arturo Toscanini,

Ravello

Ravello
5

The marble case is decorated

with rectangular marble
columns, mosaics and elegant
friezes and is supported by six
spiral columns, also decorated
with mosaics, and the roaring
of young lions at the base. The
mosaics are mostly made with
ceramic tiles that were imported from Syria in the 13th
century.
From the right transept you
enter into the Sacristy, where
there is a painting from the beginning of the 14th century
representing a Madonna with
Child, Saint Sebastiana and
Mary Magdalene; another painting with the Archangel Michael,
vestments from the 17th to the
19th century and a collection of
scrolls.
In the Crypt of the Museum
of the Cathedral there are carvings and jewelery from various
eras, Roman sarcophagi, 13th
and 14th century tombstones,
and various fragments decorated with 12th century mosaics.
On the right of the cathedral,
a square tower marks the entrance to the complex of Villa
Rufolo (#2, open daily 9am8pm, tel:(+39) 089 857657, website).
Built in the 13th and 14th centuries, it was repeatedly refurbished in the following
centuries.The villa, built on a

Scala, Cathedral of San Lorenzo

Ravello for decades.

Scala
Just outside Ravello, in a beautiful position on the right bank
of the River Dragon, is the small
town of Scala which already existed in the early Christian era as
attested to by the many third
and 4th century tombs found
there.
Scala's Cattedrale di San
Lorenzo (#5), or cathedral of St.
Lawrenc), dedicated to , is mentioned in a document from 1169.
On the facade, which has a
simple 18th century decoration
and is preceded by two bare
columns, are the beautiful Romanesque portal and a sepulchral slab of the Angevin era.
The interior, with three wide
naves, has 18th century stucco
decorations, and a coered ceiling dated 1746. The safe in the
last pillar on the right preserves
a bishop's miter with enamel
decorations from the 13th and
14th centuries, donated by
Charles of Anjou, and a silver
chalice with enamel decorations
dated 1332. From the right aisle,
a staircase leads to the Crypt,
one of the most interesting
structures in the Amal Coast. It
is divided into two aisles by four
tall bare columns that hold
vaults. Above the main altar are

The ruins of SantEustacchio

columns of oriental granite,

there are a marble eagle (rst
half of the 14th century), a
13th/14th century baptismal font
and, behind the altar, a 13th century urn. The crypt is decorated
with 12th century frescoes
(Christ between Saint John the
Baptist and the prophets Daniel
and David; Life of Mary; Legend
of St. Nicholas ).
From the square in front of
the church and to the south, one
can see the ruins of the Basilica
di Sant'Eustacchio (#7), or BasilThe small borgo of Campi- ica of St. Eustace. Simply judging
doglio (the Capitol), with two from what is left of it, this basilsmall churches oers a beautiful ica must have been extraordiview of Ravello and the sea. nary, and it is absolutely worth
About a thousand yards from visiting even today.
Near Scala is the village of
Scala is Minuto, the site of the
Pontone, known as Scalella until
original cathedral.
The Chiesa di Santa Annun- the middle of the 12th century.
ziata (#6, visit on request), built In its main square, where the
at the end of the 13th century, is roads toward Minuto, Amal
preceded by a portico with three and Atrani converge, one nds
pointed arches and three por- the Chiesa di San Giovanni Battals. In the interior, with three tista (#8), or St. John the Baptist.
naves divided by ten ancient
13th century wooden sculptures
(a Crucix, the Virgin and St.
John).
From the little square to the
right of the church there is a
beautiful view of Ravello. Scala,
like other towns on the Amal
Coast, has a polycentric structure, made up of small neighborhoods stretching from North to
South and defended by two castles.

Outside Scala

Ravello

Ravello
7

Bruno Walter, Leonard Bernstein and Mstilav Rostropovich.

Ravello has also hosted artists
such as the Spanish painter
Mir, the Dutch artist Mauritius
Cornelius Escher and, at the beginning of the 19th century,
Turner, the English engraver
and watercolorist.
Literary gures have been attracted to the town since Boccaccio visited it in the 13th
century and called it one of "the
most delightful place in Italy.
Ravello also had the good fortune to repeatedly play host to
other English writers, including
Virginia Woolf, author of To the
Lighthouse. David Herbert
Lawrence wrote numerous
chapters of Lady Chatterley's
Lover in Ravello, and Andr
Gide set a part of his novel, The
Immoralist here.
Others include Paul Valry,
Graham Greene, Tennessee
Williams, Rafael Alberti and, of
course, Gore Vidal, who lived in