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Ravello,
was founded probably in the 4th century a.C. by Roman
populations escaping from barbarians, Ravello is situated in a
splendid position, on a rocky spur astride the Dragon's and
Reginna's Valleys. It is situated in a more elevated position
than the other pearls of the Amalfi Coast and it can boast
exceptional landscapes that have earned Villa Cimbrone's
terrace the name of "Terrace of Infinity". The writer Andre Gide
has given us a splendid and synthetic description: "Ravello is
nearer to the sky than it is to the shore". It already enjoyed a
good economic development when it was part of the Amalfi
Republic, but Ravello rebelled against the Republic when the
Amalfi people betrayed the Norman king Roberta il Guiscardo in
1081, electing their own Doge. Ravello refused to follow the
Amalfi people towards betrayal and deserved the appellation of
Rebello, from which today its name still derives, by the Amalfi
population. However, in that occasion, it had the support of
Pope Vittore III who firstly redeemed it from subordination to
Amalfi, making it a bishop's palace and subsequently (1086)
making it an Episcopal seat. It then became an economic power,
seat of flourishing textile industries and as a result has left
indirect testimonies in an elevated number of artistic
treasures of churches and villas . From the pillage carried out
in 1137 by people from Pisa, a slow decline began and broke off
only in the last century when Ravello became a preferred
destination of the Grand Tour, educational and pleasure travels
of European intellectuals and artists. In Ravello Wagner,
Longfellow and many others stayed for a time, and everybody was
enchanted by the extraordinary fascination of these places.
Last but not least in Ravello Greta Garbo hid for one of her
elopements that impassioned readers of society news all over the
world in the thirties. Among the numerous churches in Ravello,
undoubtedly the Cathedral and Chiesa del Toro, besides the
famous S. Francesco cloister, deserve a particular mention.
Orso Pavicio, the first bishop of Ravello, ordered the Cathedral
to be built. |
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The building
began in 1087 and went on for many years with integrative and
additional interventions aimed at increasing decoration splendour.
The last remarkable intervention occurred in 1786; recently a
restoration aimed at recovering the original parts of the sacred
building has been begun. The unadorned front has been restored
many times. However some original elements, such as a million
window with two lights, three eyes and four columns of the
ancient pronaos, destroyed by an earthquake, remain. The marble
portal and the bronze door of 1179 are very beautiful. The door is
composed of 54 panels, built by Barisano da Trani, where he
portrayed Passion scenes, and scenes of saints and warriors, one
of which grasps a characteristic oriental arch in confirmation of
the Byzantium influence still exerted in Italy in that time. |
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The inside,
with nave and two aisles, is magnificently decorated. In the
centre, there is a marble pulpit of 1200, built by Niccolo di
Bartolomeo from Foggia who also made the woman's head, a
sculpture of Sigilgaita, the wife of Nicola Rufolo, the generous
patron who commissioned the pulpit to the Apulian artist.
Today this sculpture is in the Museum annexed to the Cathedral
that also deserves a visit. In front of the pulpit, we can
admire an ambo richly decorated by mosaics, commissioned by
another bishop of Ravello, Costantino Rogadeo. The mosaics
describe Giona's myth, who was swallowed and spit out again by
Pistrice, a monstrous animal. On the left of the high altar
there is the chapel of S. Pantaleone, to whom the Cathedral is
dedicated. Here the Saint's relics and a reliquary containing
his blood are preserved. According to the tradition every year
his blood liquefies on July 27th in the anniversary of his
martyrdom , which took place in 305. The Church of S. Giovanni
del Toro was built in the 12th century and was subsequently
restored several times over. In the inside, there is a
12th-century pulpit, commissioned by the rich family Bovio from
Ravello and built by Alfano da Termoli. Like the one preserved
in the Cathedral, it is decorated by mosaics portraying Giona
and Pistrice. In the crypt, it is possible to admire some
14th-century frescoes. Furthermore, an interesting 13th-century
cloister is annexed to the Church of S. Francesco. The builder
of Villa Cimbrone was inspired by this cloister and reproduced
it inside its gardens. |
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Villa Cimbrone |
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Villa
Rufolo |
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We cannot but visit the
already-quoted Villa Cimbrone. It was built in the
twentieth century and was commissioned by the English
nobleman William Bechett. This villa imitates classicized
and medieval styles and forms. Its celebrity is due to the
already-quoted "Terrace of infinity", that is really one of
the most charming places on the Coast. But the beauty of the
Villa consists in its gardens, decorated by statues, busts
and marble groups, among them we have to remember the
temple in Doric style with the marble statue of Cerere;
Bacchus's temple, with a bronze sculptural group and a
reproduction of David by Vernocchio. In the cloister, just
on the left of the entrance, there is a bas-relief
reproducing the seven deadly sins. |
Villa Rufolo is
very ancient, it was built approximately in 1280 by the
homonymous family, one of the richest and most important
families in Ravello.
Through a luxuriant garden, which is steeper and wilder than
the well-arranged and elegant gardens of Villa Cimbrone, we
arrive at roof-gardens hanging over the sea. Here, every
year Wagner's concerts are celebrated as a memento of
Richard Wagner's stay.
There
are elements that are present in almost all the monuments of
Ravello's glorious and rich past. On the other hand even in
nature, due to wind and sea erosion, this architectonic
element is present: along the entire Coast there are, in
fact, many natural arches both along coasts and inside steep
gorges. |
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