Villa Rufolo
Piazza Duomo, 1
Phone: ☎ +39 089 857621
About
Villa Rufolo, Piazza Duomo, 1, ☎ +39 089 857621 (info@villarufolo.it), [4]. Summer hours: 9 AM-8PM; Winter hours: 9AM-4PM. €5. Villa Rufolo is a palatial Moorish-style estate that was originally built in the 1270 for the Rufolo family. It is situated in Ravello’s main square and is a ten-minute walk from Villa Combrone. The Villa Rufolo is comprised of a main building that adjoins a chapel with a reception hall and an entrance tower. The tower, known as the Torre Maggiore, is 30 metres high and was once used to spot pirate ships arriving to the Amalfi coast. The estate overlooks the Bay of Salerno and its upper terrace gardens contain cypress trees, cycads, yuccas and palms. The Villa remained with the Rufolo family until they sold it in 1588. Thereafter, the Villa slowly fell into disrepair due to earthquakes, negligence, and property subdivisions. Almost three centuries later it was finally restored by its new owner, a Scottish botanist named Francis Neville Reid. In 1880, a trip to Villa Rufolo’s garden inspired German composer Robert Wagner to write the second act of his final opera, Parsifal. Every summer since 1952, Villa Rufolo hosts the Ravello Music Festival, an open-air concert held in Wagner’s honor.
