Every summer the picturesque little town of Ravello, perched atop a rocky ridge on the Amalfi Coast, comes alive with the uplifting melodies of classical music for the Ravello Festival.
Beginning in early April and spanning across the summer months until October, the Ravello Festival coincides with the Mediterranean superyacht season, providing a perfect opportunity for music fans on an Amalfi Coast yacht charter to step ashore.
The Ravello Festival also goes by the name of the ‘Wagner Festival’ and this hints at the origins of the event, which dates back to May 1880 when the German composer visited Ravello.
He stayed at Villa Rufulo, where he was won over by the Moorish architecture and beautiful cliff-side gardens, which are said to have inspired a major portion of his final opera, Parsifal.
It wasn’t until 1954, however, that a group of local residents decided to commemorate Wagner’s stay by launching the festival. It is now one of the most celebrated music and arts festivals Italy has to offer.
When the event initially came into being, it was entirely devoted to the music of Richard Wagner. But over the intervening decades, it has evolved to feature a wide variety of music, from orchestra to chamber to jazz, taking place at different venues across the town.
The main festival hub is the Annunziata Historic Building, but a highlight is always the Orchestra Italia, as well as other orchestras and performers, delighting audiences on the cliff-side terrace of Villa Rufulo.
Other big names to have performed at the Ravello Festival include the London Symphony Orchestra and the St Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra. Plus, ballet, art shows and discussion groups also now form part of the schedule.
Ravello can be reached by those on a luxury yacht charter by taking a tender ashore to Amalfi and taking a cab up the cliffside. For more details on incorporating the Ravello Festival into a superyacht vacation, speak to your preferred charter broker.
