Hanging gardens and the Terrace of Infinity at Villa Cimbrone
High on a ridge 350 metres above the sea, Ravello is the most refined and peaceful village of the Amalfi Coast, a place loved by artists, writers and musicians: Boccaccio, Wagner, Virginia Woolf, D. H. Lawrence and Greta Garbo all stayed here. André Gide said it was "closer to the sky than to the sea".
In the main square, Villa Rufolo, built in the thirteenth century by a rich merchant family, has a Moorish cloister, a slender tower and terraced gardens with a breathtaking view over the coast. Here in 1880 Richard Wagner found the inspiration for the magic garden of Klingsor in his opera Parsifal; in his honour the Ravello Festival holds concerts in summer on a stage suspended over the void. A short walk away, Villa Cimbrone has a romantic park that ends in the Terrace of Infinity, a belvedere lined with marble busts overlooking the sea, one of the most famous views in Italy. The Auditorium Oscar Niemeyer and the cathedral complete the visit.
Tip: the gardens of Villa Cimbrone are open until sunset; book the concerts of the festival in advance, especially the dawn concert.
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