Overview
Overlooking Piazza Vescovado, Villa Rufolo is a beautiful 13th-century residence in the historic centre of Ravello, recognisable by its characteristic Moorish towers. After centuries of pomp and splendour, the building fell into disrepair. It was the Scottish botanist Sir Francis Neville Reid who restored the villa to its former glory. Around thatr time, in May 1880, Wagner visited the villa and had the inspiration for Klingsor's magic garden in "Parsifal".
The villa's garden, also known as the Garden of the Soul, is on two levels. The route begins at the entrance tower, which leads to the Courtyard or Moorish Cloister, down a long avenue designed in the 19th-century style and lined with linden trees. On the right, hidden among the trees, is the chapel. A staircase joins the cloister to the upper garden. On the left you can see the main tower, while on the right is the dining room. From a staircase near the water lily pool, you can admire the balnea, a flowerbed planted with desert plants.
The lower garden is the venue for the Ravello Festival, with a stage overlooking the sea, set up every year for the summer concert season that has earned Ravello the name "city of music". Rows of flowerbeds in geometric patterns are filled with seasonal blooms, while others are planted with perennials.
