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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.
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.
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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