Villa Rufolo
The Villa Rufolo is a residential complex built in the early 13th century and rebuilt in the 19th century in the Italian town of Ravello . It is located in the province of Salerno , Campania on the Amalfi Coast .
history
The villa was built by the influential and wealthy Rufolo family in the 13th century. The Rufolo originally came from Rome and had their own ships and banks in Apulia and Sicily . In the 14th century, King Robert of Anjou was a guest in the villa. This then passed through the hands of other families such as the Confalone, Muscettola and d'Afflitto.
In 1851 the villa was sold to the Scottish industrialist Francis Neville Reid , who undertook a major renovation. The villa and the garden can still be visited in this form today.
In 1880 , Richard Wagner found the inspiration for the stage design for act 2 (Klingsor's magic garden) of his opera Parsifal in the villa gardens . Other musicians such as Edvard Grieg and Giuseppe Verdi were also impressed by the gardens.
Buildings and gardens
A massive gate tower forms the entrance area of the villa on the central cathedral forecourt. You enter this through an ogival gate, which is adorned by two stone crocodile heads. Inside, the tierless tower is designed with a ribbed vault and numerous elements made of yellow and gray tuff . In the corners of the tower there are four statues that represent the four seasons. The tower has always served as a decorative element and has no defensive function. This also applies to the 30 meter high tower inside the complex, the Torre Maggiore . You can enter the three-story tower through a pointed arch portal. Upstairs, it is decorated with two double windows on each side.
In the interior of the villa there is an 18th century courtyard, which is designed on three sides like a Moorish cloister with pointed arches, arabesques and double columns. In addition, the villa has a vaulted chapel and a dining room, which, supported by low and massive columns, spans three floors.
The gardens laid out in the 19th century are particularly impressive. The garden around the villa is rather closed with many small buildings. For example the Sala dei Cavalieri , a ruin with mighty pointed arches, which was originally connected to the residential tower. The highlight of the garden are the terraces on the south side with differently shaped flower beds, numerous plant species and a wide view over the sea.
present
Exhibitions of mostly contemporary art take place in the interior of the villa.
In memory of Richard Wagner's visit, Wagner concerts are held annually in the gardens of Villa Rufolo. For this purpose, an orchestral stand will be built that extends beyond the walls of the villa.
Today the villa is the seat of the Centro Universitario Europeo per i Beni Culturali (European University Center for Cultural Heritage), which, among other things, develops projects for cultural and environmental protection as well as new approaches to cultural tourism.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Visit Ravello and its villas, sights, monuments and natural beauties. www.ravelloitalien.de, accessed on December 5, 2014 .
- ^ Barbara Conti, Giuliano Valdés, Giovanna Magi: Amalfi - Sorrento . Bonechi Guides, 2009, ISBN 978-88-476-1387-4 , pp. 113, 115 ( online via Google Books [accessed December 5, 2014]).
- ^ Villa Rufolo. www.ravellotime.it, accessed on September 3, 2018 (English).
- ↑ RAVELLO - AMALFI COAST. ondaverde.it, accessed December 5, 2014 .
Coordinates: 40 ° 38 ′ 54.6 ″ N , 14 ° 36 ′ 45.9 ″ E