The beautiful Villa Rufolo looks over the resort of Ravello – offering one Italy’s very finest coastal views (as you can see!)
In the Middle Ages, the Villa Rufolo was one of the grandest houses on the Amalfi coast. Kings stayed here; great poets wrote of it.
Today it is famed for its gardens, the legacy of one Sir Francis Nevile Reid, a Scottish botanist who came here as a young man in the mid-19th century, saw the ‘potential’ of the old pile (which had become a bit of a ruin) and put in an offer.
Reid, who had always suffered from chest complaints, lived out his days in this gentle climate.