The clifftop Amalfi Coast town of Ravello is one of the known for its dramatic views of the ocean and mountains. Considered to be one of the most charming and romantic towns on the Amalfi Coast, it has been known as la città della musica, the city of music, for the past several decades. Since the 1950s, Ravello has been home to the Ravello Festival, a primarily orchestral summer music festival hosted in a historic villa with sprawling views of the Mediterranean. This year marks the festival’s 71st edition and will run from July 2 to August 31.
Ravello was most likely founded in the 6th century AD by a colony of Romans seeking refuge from the Vandal invasions. However, the first documented evidence dates to the 9th century, when the various villages freckling the craggy hillsides were incorporated into the Amalfi city-state. It’s particularly renowned for its dreamy Villa Cimbrone, an 11-century villa that is now also a luxury boutique hotel. The villa’s gardens, containing a variety of flowers, were mainly redesigned at the start of the 20th century, and are open to the public every day from 9 a.m. to sunset. The Terrace of Infinity, a terrace lined with marble busts, is the principal attraction – it offers a sweeping vista of the coastline, at more than 1,200 feet above sea level.
In 1880, the town and its iconic 13th-century Villa Rufolo was visited by German composer Richard Wagner. So inspired by its beauty, Wagner completed the second act of Parsifal, an opera he had been working on for over two decades. In 1954, locals decided to honor Wagner’s stay in the town by creating the Ravello Festival, which at the time was an exclusive classic musical festival. Today, the festival also dabbles in a wide variety of musical genres, including jazz, as well as art shows, dance performances, and exhibits.
The festival takes place in the iconic Villa Rufolo gardens which have one of the most stunning and encompassing views of the Amalfi Coast. Seating is carefully built upon the garden arrangements, so as to not disturb their delicate integrity, and the stage literally juts out from the structure so that it hangs right over the Mediterranean to provide an unforgettable backdrop.
Asia London Palomba
Asia London Palomba is a trilingual freelance journalist from Rome, Italy. In the past, her work on culture, travel, and history has been published in The Boston Globe, Atlas Obscura, The Christian Science Monitor, and Grub Street, New York Magazine's food section. In her free time, Asia enjoys traveling home to Italy to spend time with family and friends, drinking Hugo Spritzes, and making her nonna's homemade cavatelli.