Ravello is on the Amalfi Coast and is often referred to as Italy’s Machu Picchu for its position on a high cliff some 60 kilometres south of Naples.
A UNESCO site with a rich cultural scene
On the beautiful Amalfi coast, Ravello is unique as from on high it overlooks many of the other world-famous little towns along the Gulf of Salerno like Positano and Sorrento. In 1997 its scenic sweep gained it World Heritage status. Ravello is not just called Italy’s Machu Picchu, but also the City of Music as it is home to the striking Oscar Niemeyer Auditorium and a vibrant cultural scene with the Ravello Festival and Ravello Concert Society among others. 
Ravello’s famous terraced gardens and 5-star Villa Cimbrone
The steepness of the terrain has led the inhabitants to model the land into terraces on which they cultivate gardens, citrus groves and vineyards with staircases connecting the different levels. The road up to the town gets very congested with the constant traffic, especially in the summer months, and when Richard Wagner visited in 1880 he had to be persuaded to take a donkey up the mule track which was the only access road in those days. The famous Terrace of Infinity of Villa Cimbrone with its 18th-century marble busts is in a beautiful English garden that had fallen into disrepair. Today the villa is one of the Mediterranean’s most luxurious 5-star hotels, with suites and rooms that have original vaulted ceilings and tiled floors, as well as a renowned restaurant. 
Statue at Villa Cimbrone
In nearby Castiglione there are free beaches and lidos
Ravello’s second thing of beauty is Villa Rufolo where visitors can admire the modern staircase - inspired by Maurits Cornelis Escher who passed through Ravello in 1922 - and visit the three floors and the Tower. The villa was built in the 13th century by the Rufolo banking family as a symbol of their power, while the splendid gardens were created by Sir Francis Neville Reid, the Scottish industrialist who bought it in 1851. In the town's old centre there are the Church of Santa Maria Assunta and the Cathedral where there is an ampulla with the blood of San Pantaleone, the patron saint. For those who want to spend time at the beach, Castiglione is just four kilometres away and has both a free beach and an equipped lido that rents sunbeds and beach umbrellas. It is better to go in the morning as, being surrounded by rocky outcroppings, the beach is shaded from the early afternoon hours.
