The City of Music and Coral
The City of Music and Coral
On the way from Positano to Amalfi, a common presence is the watchtowers along the coast, from the bottom to the top. Round or square, Saracen or Angevin, they suggest once this Coast was subject to frequent incursions of Pirates. This is why Ravello was born ( V a.C. ), located on a buttress between the Valley of the Dragone (Dragon) and the Valley of the Regina (Queen). It sits infact on one of the highest point of the Amalfitan Coast.
The name has two possible origins Rivellus, Little River, or Rebellum, because of it's rebellion to Amalfi, after this one rose up to the Norman domination in XI a.C..
What makes this city iconic, though, is it's linkage to many famous painters, actors, composers, photografers, artists in general. Richard Wagner took inspiration, in fact, from the enchanting terrace of Villa Rufolo to compose it's Parsifal and this is how Ravello became the City of Music. The most talented artists from all over the world have performed at the Ravello Music Festival, entitled to Wagner, and many others through out the year or have came to take inspiration: Andrè Gide ( L' Immoraliste ), Edward M. Foster ( The story of a Panic ), Humphrey Bogart, Robert Capa, Ray Charles, David Herbert Lawrence ( Lady Chatterley ), Paul Newman and many more.
Even being a little City, Ravello hides so many treasures: Villa Rufolo and Villa Cimbrone with their verdant and shining colors, the Coral Museum that still follows the ancient crafting, the Princess Gardens with the stunning Panorama, Villa Eva, Annuziata Historic Building, Oscar Niemeyer Auditorium, some of them.
Here is the enchanted garden of Klingsor! - Richard Wagner, visiting Villa Rufolo
Ravello is closer to the sky than it is to the seashore - Andrè Gide
