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Villa Cimbrone
via Santa Chiara, 26 Phone: fax: +39 089 857777About
Villa Cimbrone, via Santa Chiara, 26, ☎ +39 089 857459 (info@villacimbrone.com, fax: +39 089 857777), [3]. Public gardens are open daily 9 AM-sunset. €6. Culture, tradition, and beauty intersect at Villa Cimbrone, the most spectacular hotel and public garden on the Amalfi Coast. The Villa is reached by a narrow pedestrian road and is situated on a cliff known as “cimbronium,” which gives the Villa its name. Before becoming a hotel and a site for weddings, conventions, and other events, the grounds were passed down from one influential family to another since the 11th century. It became apart of a nearby monastery around the 17th century and eventually fell into disrepair. In 1904, a British baron named Ernest William Beckett fell in love with the villa and purchased it with plans to renovate the grounds. With the help from Ravello architect Nicola Mansi and a French botanist, Beckett added the Villa’s garden, small temples, gazebos, and bronze and stone statues. Villa Cimbrone, an exterior view. The Villa has attracted many famous admirers, including E.M. Forster, Virginia Woolf, D.H. Lawrence, and Winston Churchill. Hollywood actress Greta Garbo and conductor Leopold Stokowski had a famous romantic getaway on its grounds in 1938. A stroll through the estate will reveal poetic inscriptions found on plaques and numerous replicas of Roman busts. One attraction is a statue of Mercury, the Roman messenger god, who invites visitors to a few moments of introspection. Another sight to see is the Terrace of Infinity, a serene location that sits high above a sheer cliff facing the ocean.
