Villa Cimbrone, Ravello 2.11.07

A few weeks ago we went back to the Amalfi Coast town of Ravello, one of our favorite cities here. It sits high above the coast and the views from the gardens at Villa Rufulo are breathtaking. A few days before we had taken a drive in the afternoon and spent a short amount of town wandering in the gardens of the other lovely Villa, the Villa Cimbrone. This is a very high-end hotel, built by an English lord in the late 1800s with an absolutely stunning view of the coast and lots of charming little corners, to while away an afternoon.

It is about a 10-minute walk uphill to reach the Villa from the main piazza, but they also have a helicopter pad for those guests who can afford to be escorted from the airport directly to the Villa without having to deal with the rest of the tourists schlepping their suitcases from the bus. The Clinton's have stayed here among other famous personalities like Greta Garbo, but they also open their doors to tourists who, for around 5 euros a head, can wander the grounds and appreciate the views. We imagine that if their guests are high profile enough, they must curtail this type of visit. It is lovely and understated and we found that we lost the light before we were ready to leave and promised to return, for me to paint and for Bob to take more photos.

We spent several hours on our next visit with a beautiful blue sky and puffy white clouds overhead. I had a delightful time sitting on the bench and studying the beautiful details of the gates and doors and flowerpots on steps decorated with ceramic tiles. Bob spent his time blissfully focusing his camera lens on all the lovely details of the place and before we knew it, the light was fading once again and it was time to go.

Signs of winter are still apparent. Many trees are still bare and the rose bushes are only beginning to think about sending buds out. But we think it will not be long before this sleeping paradise comes to life and hope to return before the end of March and perhaps catch a glimpse of spring's awakening in this secret garden.

Buona sera,
Rosemary e Roberto