Photo: SOLOXSALERNO at Italian Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0 · editedVilla Rufolo
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#8Gardens in ItalyTravelers' Choice 2026
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About
Villa Rufolo is a medieval residence and terraced garden overlooking Piazza Duomo in Ravello, on Italy’s Amalfi Coast.
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Istvánka · CC BY-SA 3.0 · edited
What's on here
A quattro mani nell'opera
Sunday · All day
Trio Hermes
Friday · All day
Tempus Trio
Sunday · All day
Duo Sini, Polia
Friday · All day
Dialoghi a otto corde
Sunday · All day
Trio Clara
Sunday · All day
Why go
- The gardens where Wagner imagined Klingsor’s enchanted garden for Parsifal in 1880.
- The annual Ravello Festival in the lower garden, held in memory of Wagner’s visit.
- A vertical museum housed in the roughly 30-metre Torre Maggiore since 2017.
Opening hours
Today09:00 – 20:00Show all
Monday09:00 – 20:00
Tuesday09:00 – 20:00
Wednesday09:00 – 20:00
Thursday09:00 – 20:00
Friday09:00 – 20:00
Saturday09:00 – 20:00
Sunday09:00 – 20:00
Don't miss
- Entrance tower statuesFour statues at the tower’s corners represent the seasons.At the entrance tower
- Stone crocodile headsTwo stone crocodile heads decorate the pointed entrance arch.Above the entrance gate
- Torre MaggioreThe 30-metre tower faces Ravello Cathedral’s bell tower.Inside the complex
- Sala dei CavalieriA garden ruin with large pointed arches once connected to the residential tower.In the garden
- South-facing terracesFlowerbeds and broad views stretch across the Amalfi Coast and Gulf of Salerno.Southern garden terraces
What you see
- Elevated lookout — Views over Ravello’s historic centre and the Amalfi Coast.
Best time to visit
- Flower gardens bloom for most of the year.
Photo spots
- Lime-tree avenueFrame the entrance avenue through its lime trees and intervening shrubs.Entrance avenue
Shorts
History
The Rufolo family’s trading wealth helped sustain its influence in Ravello for more than two centuries. The property later passed to the Confalone and Muscettola families, then to the D’Afflitto family of Scala. Landolfo Rufolo appears in Boccaccio’s Decameron; Boccaccio himself may have stayed at the villa.
- 13th c.The Rufolo family built the residence; the garden’s origins also date to this period.
- 14th c.King Robert of Anjou stayed here.
- 1851Francis Nevile Reid bought the villa and reshaped the residence and gardens into substantially their present form.
- 1863Reid funded an aqueduct to Piazza Vescovado, where it still feeds a public fountain.
- 1951–1955A flood damaged the garden in 1951; road construction destroyed its upper section in 1955.
Show all
- 1974The EPT of Salerno acquired the privately held part of the villa.
- 1988–1999Excavations and restoration covered the Balnea, Teatro and Moorish cloister.
- 2007Fondazione Ravello took over management.
How to get there
- On footThe entrance is at Piazza Duomo 1, through the massive gate tower on Ravello’s cathedral forecourt. Beyond the pointed arch, a short avenue leads into the complex.
Accessibility
- Lookout access The lookout requires a climb of about 100 steps. A staircase also connects the cloister to the upper garden.
- Upper terrace area Part of the upper terrace area is closed to visitors.
Sources: Villa Rufolo - Wikipedia · Scopri Villa Rufolo, il gioiello prediletto di … · LA VILLA E LA SUA STORIA – Scopri Villa Rufolo,… · BOTANICA – Scopri Villa Rufolo, il gioiello pre… · Villa Rufolo - Wikipedia · Villa Rufolo - Wikipedia · checked 6 Oct 2026
Where
Piazza Duomo 1, Ravello
- Phone
- +39089857621
Plan from here: Evening walk →
Questions and answers
What are Villa Rufolo’s opening hours?
Villa Rufolo is open daily from 09:00 to 20:00.
Are there art exhibitions at Villa Rufolo?
The villa’s rooms and garden host exhibitions, usually of contemporary art; individual displays vary.
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