Music Festival

The current Ravello Festival is the oldest of the Italian festivals after the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino. Girolamo Bottiglieri and Paolo Caruso devised the idea for the cultural event which has contributed towards Ravello's status as a "Città della musica". 

Wagner's association with the Villa Rufolo made it a tempting venue for staging concerts. In the 1935 the orchestra of the San Carlo Theatre in Naples performed a Wagnerian programme. One concert was attended by the Princes of Piedmont. 

Paolo Caruso re-proposed the idea some twenty years later, adding the daring suggestion of a stand suspended over the sea. The plans were realised thanks to the commitment of the Provincial Board of Tourism. 

In the summer of 1953, on the 70th anniversary of Wagner's death, the "Wagnerian concert in the gardens of Klingsor" comprised two evening concerts performed by the Orchestra of the San Carlo Theatre and conducted by Hermann Scherchen and William Steinberg. 

The Ravello Festival encourages total immersion in an atmosphere which caresses mind, body and spirit. The serene landscape and mild climate, create the perfect backdrop to this festival of the senses.

However, the aim is always to accompany the visitor's summer without intruding on privacy; proposing myriad possibilities for enjoyment without interfering with the desire for solitude, silence and reflection.

The 2007 edition of the Ravello Festival exhibits a rich array of occasions, from symphonic music to chamber music, from opera to ballet, from cinema to the visual arts, from cultural reflection to entertainment.

Leading musical formations, prestigious artists and outstanding personalities have been called upon to make this array all the more precious. 

For more information regarding the Ravello Music Festival and Events please visit www.ravellofestival.it