RAVELLO

ENGLISH * RAVELLO
SET LIKE SOME PRECIOUS JEWEL IN ARISTOCRATIC DETACHMENT ON THE TOP OF THE HILL WHICH DIVIDES THE VALLE DEL DRAGONE FROM THE VALLE DELLA REGINNA, IS THE MUSICAL TOWN OF RAVELLO, WHERE RICHARD WAGNER COMPOSED PARSIFAL.
THIS PEARL OF THE AMALFI COAST, WITH AN EXTRAORDINARILY BEAUTIFUL VIEW WAS BUILT BY THE NOBLE RUFOLO FAMILY, AT THE TIME OF CHARLES I OF ANJOU.
BOCCACCIO MENTIONS RAVELLO IN THE DECAMERON. THE PONDEROUS TOWER WE CAN SEE SURROUNDED BY PINES AND CYPRESSES GIVES A FORTRESS LIKE APPEARANCE TO THE VILLA RUFOLO, WHICH THE TERRACE FULL OF FLOWERS SERVES TO SOFTEN. IN THE SUMMER, THE MOST FAMOUS ORCHESTRAS IN EUROPE PLAY HERE IN THE FAMOUS SERIES OF WAGNER CONCERTS.
LIKE ALL THE MOST IMPORTANT BUILDINGS ALONG THE AMALFI COAST, THE VILLA RUFOLO IS IN THE NORMAN SARACENIC STYLE. THE CLOISTERED COURTYARD HAS TWO ARCADED STOREYS RESTING ON GRACEFUL COLUMNS, WHILE THE GARDEN, WITH ITS FLOWERS AND EXOTIC PLANTS, BLENDS SO HARMONIOUSLY AND PICTURESQUELY WITH THE BUILDINGS THAT IT IS EASY TO BELIEVE WAGNER DREW INSPIRATION HERE.
OUR GAZE NEXT MEETS THE AUSTERE, WHITE FACADE OF THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF S. PANTALEONE, BETWEEN THE DARK GREEN PINES. THE CHURCH WAS BUILT IN THE SECOND HALF OF THE TENTH CENTURY.
WE CAN EVEN MAKE OUT THE FINE MARBLE DOORWAY WITH ITS BRONZE DOORS, CAST IN 1179, DIVIDED IN FIFTY FOUR PANELS, DEPICTING THE STORY OF THE PASSION, AND SAINTS. THE BELLTOWER, ON THE OTHER HAND, DATES FROM THE TWELFTH CENTURY: IT RISES UP AGAINST THE PINES WITH ITS PATTERN OF TWO LIGHT WINDOWS. OUR BIRD'S EYE VIEW CANNOT PENETRATE THE INTERIOR, WITH ITS MYSTICAL ATMOSPHERE, BUT WE CAN AT LEAST DESCRIBE IT.
THE CHURCH WAS ALTERED AT THE END OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY, BUT TODAY IT HAS BEEN RESTORED TO ITS ORIGINAL NORMAN SARACENIC APPEARANCE. A PARTICULARLY PRECIOUS WORK IS THE PULPIT, CARVED BY NICCOLO' DI BARTOLOMEO IN THE SECOND HALF OF THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY. THE "AMBO" IS EARLIER 1130 AND HAS MOSAICS SHOWING JONAH BEING SWALLOWED AND REGURGITATED BY A GREAT SHARK. THE BROWN STONE OF THE CHURCH OF ST. GIOVANNI DEL TORO STANDS OUT BETWEEN THE RED TILED ROOF AND THE GREEN PINE TREES. IT WAS BUILT AT THE SAME TIME AS THE CATHEDRAL, IN THE ROMANESQUE STYLE. THREE DOORWAYS DIVIDE THE FACADE, WITH AN ANCIENT ENTABLATURE OVER THE MIDDLE ONE. THE BELLTOWER IS TWELFTH CENTURY, A SUPERB BLEND OF THE NORMAN SARACENIC STYLE WITH ROMANESQUE AND BYZANTINE INFLUENCES. THE INTERIOR IS DIVIDED INTO NAVE AND AISLES: IN THE NAVE, THERE IS A MARVELLOUS TWELFTH CENTURY PULPIT, WITH MOSAICS REPRESENTING THE STORY OF JONAH. IN THE CRYPT, WITH THREE APSES, THERE ARE SOME FINE FOURTEENTH CENTURY FRESCOES DEPICTING STORIES FROM THE LIFE OF CHRIST AND THE SAINTS.
ANOTHER MEDIEVAL CHURCH, FROM THE TWELFTH CENTURY, IS S. MARIA A GRADILLO.
THE THREE DOORWAYS OF THE FACADE THE CENTRAL ONE AGAIN HAS AN ANCIENT ENTABLATURE CORRESPOND TO THE THREE INTERIOR AISLES DIVIDED BY COLUMNS CARRYING OGIVAL ARCHES.
THE TWO TOWERS ABOVE THE BUILDING SET IN THE MIDST OF A LARGE GARDEN BELONG TO THE VILLA CIMBRONE. THIS WAS BUILT ON ROMAN RUINS: ONE CAN MAKE OUT VERY CLEARLY THE COURTYARD, WITH A MARVELLOOUS WELL IN THE MIDDLE.
THE TERRACES GIVE ON TO A VIEW OF UNPARALLELED BEAUTY, STRETCHING ALL THE WAY FROM THE BAY OF SALERNO TO PAESTUM.