Hotel Pool After a Windy Night

Strong gusts of wind outside the window shutters woke me up just before the alarm went off. I looked out of the window to find several sunbeds had blown into the hotel pool and that the balcony table’s cloth and cushions had blown onto the floor. We made our way downstairs to breakfast which was inside rather than outside due to the weather. There was a good spread of both continental hot and cold food to choose from.

Ravello Cathedral

After breakfast we had intended to go on a walking tour of Ravello to find out what there was to see but due to the extremely strong gusts of wind we decided to go into the Cathedral (Duomo) instead. The main entrance to the Cathedral is via two twelfth century bronze doors cast with 54 scenes of the Passion. On entering the Cathedral, it is notable that the floor slopes quite steeply upwards towards the altar giving the impression of walking up towards God. There are two huge mosaic-covered pulpits; one on either side of the aisle.

Chapel Dedicated to St Pantaleone

To the left of the altar is a small  chapel dedicated to St Pantaleone at the back of which is a small passageway that leads to the Holy Relic of St Pantaleone; a vial of his blood that becomes translucent every 27th July, the day of his martyrdom. I was quite dismayed that a tour guide was talking loudly to her group just outside the chapel, a place that I felt should be a place for reflection rather than noise! After she had gone I entered the chapel and visited the relic which is placed behind glass and contained in a metal grille.

Ravello Street

After leaving the Cathedral we sat in the square for some time drinking tea before setting off on a walk to find the tourist information centre so that we could buy a multi-site ticket to Ravello’s attractions. We arrived at where it should have been to find that it had recently moved location and so we set off to find the new location, taking in some spectacular views along the way. As we paused to take some photos at the top of a flight of steps, there was a loud bang and the sound of shattering glass. An upper window had banged against its shutter and shattered into the street, narrowly missing Mr C.

We continued walking along S. Giovanni del Torro past the Palazzo Avino Hotel and the Hotel Parsifal both of which were on our list of options for a meal one evening. Nearby we paused to look at the war memorial and memorial stone to Umberto I, King of Italy before finally reaching the tourist information office. We found out that the ticket we required was only available at the Cathedral, in the ticket office we had tried earlier in the day but it was closed!

Pathway

We continued our walk, looking for a lunch venue that served Pizza, ending up back almost where we had started our walk. After we had finished our pizzas, which were delicious, we returned to the Cathedral to find the ticket office now open so we were able to purchase our multi-site tickets. Presumably the ticket office is only open when the Cathedral is shut between 12.00 and 17.00 hours. However with the ticket we were able to enter the Cathedral even though it was closed.

We started with the Cathedral museum which has many interesting items including a reliquary bust of St Barbara which contains her skull. A former Bishop insisted that holes be drilled into the bust so that he could check inside to see the relic. Our second visit of the day to the Cathedral was much more tranquil than our first and we paused to light  candles before we left and I offered silent prayers.

Pathway

Our plan for an evening meal was the Villa Amora where we had eaten lunch the previous day but after getting slightly lost on our way there we arrived to find that they only did lunches. We settled on a plan B and booked a table in the Hotel Rufolo before making our way back to our hotel to relax and freshen up before dinner. For my meal I chose sword fish which came with roast potatoes, tomatoes and olives followed by rum baba.

We had a perfect seat overlooking the Amalfi Bay with its twinkling lights and saw some fireworks in the distance. Closer by there was a son et lumière set to the music of Wagner lighting up the Villa Rufolo .

son et lumière

Back in the hotel room we sampled another of the local wines. It was then that I realised that ‘it was forbidden’ to consume any food or drink that had not been purchased in the hotel and that the fridge was not to be used for for personal items either. Ooops!!

10 Comments CherryPie on Oct 21st 2017

10 Responses to “Ravello – Day Three”

  1. Ayush Basu says:

    the effect of the wind looks rather ominous, CP. lucky the glass missed Mr C. i liked the explanation of the sloping up towards the altar.

  2. The Yum List says:

    Looks like a lovely trip. Lucky the weather subsided for your day’s explorations.

  3. Amfortas says:

    What a day, eh. A conspiracy of circumstances, what with the wind and the ticket confusions. The village looks fine and the church beautiful. I find ‘relics’ to be odd in some cases and intriguing in others. Just why that relic should turn translucent on the same day every year is quite a mystery. What is the supernatural world trying to say?

  4. Chrysalis says:

    Absolutely love the photo of son et lumiere, Cherie, excellent shot. They’ve successfully blended the old with the new, in a peaceful way, haven’t they? :)

    Otherwise, Cherie, you and Mr. C shouldn’t throw wild parties at the pool and blame the wind, Cherie, I’ve told you about that ;)

    (Teasing, of course – I think actually you and I once had a conversation about when traveling, we both try to avoid the sort of places with giant swirly-twirly blue pools and swim-up bars which attract loud, drunken, party tourists who throw pool furniture (and each other) in the pool at 4 a.m. Bet you thought you’d avoided that sort of thing, then the wind played that role this time ;) Still, a beautiful, peaceful place, it seems – the architecture, the surrounding vegetation…:) )

    • CherryPie says:

      I took that photo with my phone camera and was surprised as to how well it handled the low light (better than my camera). The light exhibition is only temporary so we were lucky to see it :-)

      We liked Ravello because was quiet and relaxing :-)

  5. shabana says:

    i envy your travelling to such serene and magnificent place dear Cheri!

    thank you for delightful virtual trip to marvelous and scenic church and museum