The Amalfi Coast - Day 5 - Ravello

Today we hopped on a public bus and headed up the mountain to the village of Ravello.

[An aside here about transportation along the Amalfi Coast: there are public buses that have a schedule, and each day they start out pretty well.  For instance, today we were catching the 9:15 a.m. bus, and it arrived at the bus stop more or less on time. For the return trip, we were planning on a 2:15 p.m. bus, but our group gave up somewhere between 2:30 and 3:00 p.m. and journeyed back down the mountain in a couple of cabs.  A few folks caught the 1:00 p.m. which actually arrived in the vicinity of 1:00 p.m.; by 2:15, all semblance of a schedule apparently had been abandoned.  This is not the fault of the bus drivers, or even the passengers. The actual road is the culprit - the road and other drivers.  In at least two places the road narrows to one lane, and there are actual traffic signals at a particular curve where traffic backs up one way to let the other line through, and vice-versa. While this seems odd to the American tourist, it does work. At least we haven't seen any actual crashes. However, it does wreak havoc with the timetable. We have heard tales of buses getting stuck because there was just that one inch of space where a driver made a terrible judgment call. Needless to say, schedules are actually just suggestions.

Another funny quirk which I think is quite common in mountainous areas across Europe: the bus driver gives a blast on his horn as he approaches a blind curve, or even an iffy intersection.  This works. I've wondered what it must sound like to an approaching car, as the horn sounds more like a train than anything else.  And about the cars: they are cars.  Mostly little cars. It has now been five days since I have seen a pickup truck, or even a small SUV.]

Back to Ravello:  This is a lovely little town perched very high on the mountainside.  The community hosts an international music festival every summer (sadly, after we are to be back in the U.S.), with a pretty impressive lineup of stars.  The locals are quite proud of the long line of celebrities who have visited and fallen in love with the town. Gore Vidal owned a villa here, as did Richard Wagner, who found the inspiration for "Parsifal" in the terraced gardens of the Villa Rufulo. The Villa is now open for tours and the gardens are spectacular, even in early summer.

Ravello also boasts a cathedral that is Romanesque, quite plain when compared to some of the later, more ornate churches.  Its mosaics are stunning and the Byzantine influence is everywhere. The cathedral and the Villa sit side by side, a fascinating blend of sacred and secular.

Upon our return to Amalfi and after a brief rest, we had time to visit the cathedral which sits just up the street from our hotel.  We have passed through the piazza numerous times while we've been here, but this was the first chance we had to go in. The cathedral's entrance is at the top of a broad staircase which functions for this village much the way the Spanish Steps do in Rome.  Convenient resting places are occupied by locals and tourists alike, some snacking, some sketching, some just watching the passing throng.

The interior of the Amalfi Duomo is far more ornate than the Ravello church, although still not as overwhelming as those we have seen in Rome and Florence or even eastern Europe. The ceiling of the church is quite beautiful and shows the beginnings of the practice of displaying fine art that is so far above the floor that only God can see it.

We lingered in the piazza after our church visit for a drink and conversation, then proceeded to dinner at a restaurant featuring lemon trees with lemons hanging through the latticed covering over the outdoor tables - a truly memorable meal.

Tomorrow we visit Paestum, the most well-preserved Greek town north of Sicily.  We have the Romans to thank for this: they never disturbed religious structures or burial grounds, reasoning that as long as their conquered subjects followed the rules of the emperor, they were entitled to their own customs.  The town simply withered away and was forgotten until the 18th century, when it was rediscovered and somewhat excavated and preserved.  This will be our chance to see the Greek foundations of the Roman architecture we observed in Pompeii.

Paestum is some distance from Amalfi Town, so tomorrow will be a long day.