Villa Rufolo

History

Originally belonging to the powerful and wealthy Rufolo family who excelled in commerce (a Landolfo Rufolo has been immortalized by Boccaccio in the* Decameron*), it then passed by inheritance to other owners such as the Confalone, Muscettola and d'Afflitto.

Around the middle of the nineteenth century it was sold to the Scotsman Francis Neville Reid who took care of a general restoration, resulting in today's layout.

The villa is entered through an opening in the arched entrance tower, and after a short street a clearing is dominated by the Torre Maggiore: the latter facing the bell tower of the cathedral in Ravello, overlooking the terraces (upper and lower) as well as overlooking the Amalfi Coast and the Gulf of Salerno with flower gardens that are in bloom most of the year.

Of particular interest among the rooms of the villa is a large courtyard elevated like a cloister and some rooms forming a small museum.

The German opera composer Richard Wagner visited the villa in 1880. He was so overcome by the beauty of the location that he imagined the setting as the garden of Klingsor in the second act of Parsifal. In commemoration, every year the lower garden of Villa Rufolo hosts a Wagnerian concert.

Gallery

File:Intérieur Villa Rufolo.jpg|Interior File:Villa Rufolo - terrace garden 1.JPG|Gardens File:Ravello Torre Maggiore.JPG|Torre Maggiore File:Ravello Italy coast.JPG|View of the sea File:Ravello BW 2013-05-15 13-41-40 DxO.jpg|Entrance File:Ravello, costumes du petit musée de la Villa Rufolo (3).jpg|Mask in the small museum

References

References

1. Ann Larås, Åke Lindman, ''Gardens of Italy'', 2005
2. Carter, Marina (2006). ''Adventure Guide Naples, Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast: Capri, Ischia, Pompeii, Positano''. Hunter Publishing, Inc.