Campania · Salerno
Ravello
A ridge town above the Amalfi Coast where Wagner found Klingsor's garden in 1880.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why Ravello is on our list
It holds UNESCO and Città del Vino.
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Visiting
- Best time
- May–Sep
- By car
- 33 min from Salerno
- Population
- 2,338
- J11°
- F12°
- M13°
- A16°
- M20°
- J25°
- J29°
- A29°
- S25°
- O20°
- N16°
- D13°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. The sea is warmest in August at 28° and coldest in February at 15°. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Going to the sea? How to find the free beaches in Italy.
Why come
Ravello sits on a spur above the Amalfi Coast, between the valleys of the Dragone and the Reginna Minor, 782 stairs up from Atrani at sea level. The village grew rich in the 12th and 13th centuries as a satellite of the Amalfi maritime republic, when patrician families like the Rufolo, Confalone and d'Afflitto built their houses on the ridge to escape the coastal raids. The upper village holds the older churches and the social life of the piazza; the villas that made the town's later reputation sit toward the cliff edge, their gardens and belvederes facing the water.
One villa's garden was seen by Richard Wagner in 1880 and identified by him with Klingsor's enchanted garden in his opera Parsifal, and he wrote the opera's second act on the strength of it. The Ravello Festival began playing orchestral concerts in that same garden in 1953, the year the council decided to use Wagner's visit to rebuild a postwar economy. The town's shape, ridge above, stairs down to the coast, patrician houses turned toward the sea, is the record of why families climbed here in the first place and what they built once they had reason to stay.
How to get there
From Naples (NAP), about 1 h 8 min by car.
Rome Fiumicino (FCO) is about 3 h 28 min away.
By car from the center of Salerno 33 min or Naples 1 h 2 min.
Coming by train into Salerno? Ravello is about 35 min away by road.
Every town within reach of Naples airport.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Villa Rufolo
Patrician residence built 1270 with Moorish cloister and terraced gardens; setting for the Ravello Festival concerts and the second act of Wagner's Parsifal.
Villa Cimbrone
Cliff-edge villa restored after 1904 by Lord Grimthorpe, ending in the Terrazza dell'Infinito, a marble belvedere over the Gulf of Salerno.
Duomo di Ravello
Cathedral on Piazza Vescovado, founded 1086, with the bronze portal cast by Barisano da Trani in 1179 and the marble pulpit signed by Niccolò di Bartolomeo da Foggia in 1272.
Chiesa di San Giovanni del Toro
Eleventh-century church in the upper village, with a polychrome marble pulpit of 1230 and three apses decorated with Persian and Egyptian ceramics.
Piazza Vescovado
Triangular square in front of the cathedral, the social center of the village, on the ridge between the patrician villa and the upper churches.
From the guides
Where to eat and stay
Not our picks, but places the guides put their name to: a Michelin star, a Gambero Rosso fork, a Slow Food snail, a Michelin Key for the hotels. Worth a table, a counter, or a night when you pass through.
Il Flauto di PanRistorante
Il Flauto di Pan carries one Michelin star, plus a Gambero Rosso listing.
Belvedere dell'Hotel CarusoRistorante
Belvedere dell'Hotel Caruso has two Gambero Rosso forks (82/100) to its name.
RossellinisRistorante
Rossellinis has one Michelin star to its name.
4 more places the guides name in Ravello
Terrazza del ProfessoreRistorante
Two Gambero Rosso forks (80/100), at Terrazza del Professore.
Caruso, A Belmond Hotel, Amalfi CoastHotel
Caruso, A Belmond Hotel, Amalfi Coast holds one Michelin Key and a La Liste score of 97.
Palazzo AvinoHotel
Palazzo Avino has one Michelin Key and a Leading Hotels of the World listing.
Villa CimbroneHotel
Villa Cimbrone holds a La Liste score of 91 and a place in the Michelin hotel guide.
Before you sit down: how to order at a restaurant, how to spot a tourist trap, what aperitivo is and how the Italian bar works.
Living here
Could you live here?
Ravello is at the end of the road.
- A village of 2,338. The nearest town of 5,000 people, Maiori, is 18 min away: past our 15-minute rule, which makes this the end of the road.
- Salerno, a city of 126,000, is 33 min by car. Inside our 30 to 60 minutes: close for the services, far enough to keep its own life.
The rules come from our series Where to Move in Italy, written from the places we have lived: Part 1, The End of the Road · Part 2, The Small Town · Part 3, The City · Part 4, The Postcard · Part 5, The Other Half. The towns we would pick are in Part 6, The Best Towns.
- Population 2,338, down 7.1% since 2015
- Nearest city Salerno, 33 min drive
- Nearest national health service hospital Gragnano, 8 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €3,400 to €4,900 per m² to buy, €7.10 to €10.00 per m² a month to rent
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- Remote
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Full fibre reaches 83% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 3, low hazard
- Naples airport (NAP), 1 h 8 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Naples, 1 h 2 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
3% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Ukraine, India and Romania, against 9% across Italy. There are 215 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 49% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Salerno province ranks 90th of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
There is an emergency room in the comune. The nearest major one is in Salerno, 17 km away. The nearest children's emergency room is in Cava de' Tirreni, 10 km away. The nearest IB school is St. Stephen's School, 224 km as the crow flies. The nearest school listed as international is École Francaise de Naples Alexandre-Dumas, 38 km away.
Information, not medical advice. Confirm with a professional.
Taxes
A home that is not your main one pays 1.06% a year in property tax, charged on the cadastral value rather than the price. A main home pays none unless it is in a luxury category. The town adds between 0.55% and 0.8% to your income tax, depending on your income, with nothing due on income under €9,000. 7% pensioner tax: this town qualifies, for someone with a foreign pension who has lived abroad for five years: 7% on foreign income, for ten years.
Information, not tax advice. Confirm with a professional.
What it costs
The average household in Campania spends about €1,800 a month, €650 of it on food, against about €2,170 across Italy. A family of three pays about €328 a year for water, on the Campania average.
Climate and risk
It is in climate zone D, on a scale from A, the warmest, to F, the coldest, and heating may run from November 1 to April 15, up to 12 hours a day, unless the mayor changes it. The national maps show no residents in a high or medium flood zone. 49% live in a zone rated high or very high for landslides.
These shares cover the whole comune, not any one street. Check an address on IdroGEO.
Moving from abroad? Which visa you need. Sources: ISTAT, the Ministry of Health, ISPRA, the Finance Ministry, the Ministry of Enterprise, Poste Italiane, the comuni, the IB, International Schools Database, Il Sole 24 Ore, Cittadinanzattiva.
Known for
RAVELLO FESTIVAL
Concerts on the Villa Rufolo terrace since 1953, founded to commemorate Wagner's 1880 visit; runs roughly July through August each year.
TERRAZZA DELL'INFINITO
Marble belvedere at Villa Cimbrone, classical busts lined along the parapet, hanging out over the Gulf of Salerno 365 meters below.
BARISANO BRONZE PORTAL
Cast by Barisano da Trani in 1179 for the Duomo, with 54 panels of saints and Christ in glory, signed and dated by the maker.
LIMONE COSTA D'AMALFI
The commune lies inside the Limone Costa d'Amalfi IGP production zone.
Common questions
- What is Ravello known for?
- Ravello is a ridge town above the Amalfi Coast where Wagner found Klingsor's garden in 1880.
- Where is Ravello?
- Ravello is a comune in the province of Salerno, in Campania, at 365 meters above sea level.
- What is the nearest airport to Ravello?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Naples (NAP), about 1 h 8 min by car.
- How long is the drive from Salerno to Ravello?
- About 33 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Ravello?
- Best in May–Sep. July is the warmest month, averaging 29 degrees, and November the wettest, with about 15 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Ravello?
- Montescudaio, Praiano and Minori.
- How many people live in Ravello?
- 2,338 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Ravello a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Ravello is at the end of the road: the nearest town of 5,000 people, Maiori, is 18 min away. The nearest city, Salerno, is 33 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Gragnano, 8 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 83% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 365 m
- Population: 2,338
- Surface area: 7.94 km²
These figures were compiled from public directories: ISTAT, OpenStreetMap and Wikidata, and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.
The ranked lists
Lists Ravello appears in
- The best wine towns inside a nature park in CampaniaCampaniawineinside a park7 towns · smallest 683 residents
- The best wine towns that eat well in CampaniaCampaniawineeats well7 towns · smallest 683 residents
- The 8 best wine towns within 90 minutes of SalernoNear Salernowinewithin 90 min8 towns · smallest 683 residents · closest 22 min away
- The best small wine towns in CampaniaCampaniawinesmall8 towns · smallest 683 residents
- The best towns worth staying overnight that sit inside a nature park in CampaniaCampaniainside a parkworth staying overnight8 towns · smallest 644 residents
- The 10 best towns inside a nature park that have a serious restaurant in the province of SalernoSalerno provinceinside a parkserious restaurant10 towns · smallest 644 residents
Instead of Ravello: coastal towns and hill towns within 90 minutes
Similar
Towns like Ravello
What all six share with Ravello: on the Tyrrhenian coast
Montescudaio
Province: Pisa
both under 3,000 people · both hill towns
Praiano
Province: Salerno
both under 3,000 people
Minori
Province: Salerno
both under 3,000 people
Fiumefreddo Bruzio
Province: Cosenza
both under 3,000 people · both hill towns
Isola del Giglio
Province: Grosseto
both under 3,000 people · both hill towns
Castellabate
Province: Salerno
both hill towns
The letter
Ravello is on our list. Its letter is still to come.
We are writing about all 1,000 of these towns, one at a time, in a free letter: the photo, what is worth eating, and when to turn up. That is our mission. Sign up and you will be there when Ravello comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Turin.
The nearest town we have written up is Cerveteri, 258 km away. Read its letter →
Paid plans, the moving year and the books are on the membership page.