Introduction to Ravello

6km (3 3/4 miles) NE of Amalfi, 29km (18 miles) W of Salerno, 66km (41 miles) SE of Naples

High up in the mountains, Ravello is a terrace over the sea, overlooking the villages of Minori and Maiori. The focal point of the short stretch of coast between Maiori and Amalfi, it has been the refuge of VIPs since Positano lost some of its glamour to the tourist invasion that began in the 1980s. Although tourists invade Ravello, too, during the summer -- Gore Vidal's decision to sell his villa here may have been the signal to the jet set that it is no longer cool -- the lay of the land is such that the town remains an attractive retreat. Already celebrated by Boccaccio in his Decameron and by Turner in his paintings, Ravello is surrounded by luscious fields, vineyards, and citrus groves.