The Gardens of Villa Cimbrone

The first “golden era” of Ravello occurred in the 11th century. This is also when the first mentions of Villa Cimbrone can be found in local records. The name comes from the large estate that once stood here – eight hectares known as “Cimbronium”. 

Initially, it belonged to the aristocratic Acconciajoco family, but in the 13th century, it was passed to the Fuscos, a local noble family, related not only to the influential Pitti family in Florence but also to the D’Angiò family in Naples. 

After that, it became part of a nearby monastery, which is why the papal arms of Cardinal Della Rovere have been placed over the old entrance gate. 

In summary of its long history, the villa and its gardens have changed owners several times through the centuries, and every owner has both preserved but also added something to the place. 

In 1861, historian Ferdinand Gregorovius described his impressions of the gardens: 

”Incomparable ... where the most beautiful flowers you can imagine flourished, coming from numerous plants of the South ... redesigned and enriched with countless ... ornamental features, small temples, pavilions, bronze and stone statues.”

A few decades after Gregorovius’ visit, in 1904, Englishman Ernest William Beckett (later Lord Grimpthorpe) fell in love with this place. The gardens are a place of their own, with their own logic, ruled by natural beauty, which is what drew him here. Beckett enlarged both the villa and the gardens by constructing battlements, terraces, and cloisters in a hybrid blend of neo-Gothic, Moorish, and Venetian styles.

Gossip at the time claimed that Beckett was the father of Violet Trefusis, widely known today for her intimate relationship with Vita Sackville-West. Both Trefusis and Sackville-West are among the most celebrated garden designers of the British 20th century, and spent much time in Ravello with Violet’s presumed father.

It’s no wonder that the gardens of Villa Cimbrone are considered among the most beautiful in Europe. 

After Beckett’s death, the garden was tended to by his daughter, Lucy Katherine Beckett, who was a keen breeder of roses, including the “Rose of Ravello”, which she developed in the 1930s. 

The villa was a hotspot for the intellectual elite and could count among its many guests Virginia Woolf (who loosely based the novel “Orlando” on the character of Vita Sackville-West), E. M. Forster, John Maynard Keynes, Lytton Strachey, Diana Mosley, Henry Moore, T. S Eliot, Greta Garbo, and Winston Churchill. 

What is it that draws people to this garden? 

In contemporary times, the Amalfi Coast has been turned into a consumer machinery. Granted, it costs a few euros to enter the gardens, but once inside, you can stay for hours, enjoying the views, scents from the flowers and sound of the wind gently caressing the trees, which is a welcome respite from the crowds in the seaside towns below.

Being here connects you with nature, it’s a reminder that there is more to life than merely doing things: You can simply allow yourself to be in the moment, giving you the freedom not to worry about the future or dwell on the past. 

The geographical location of the park, 350 metres above sea level, means that it is suspended above the Amalfi Coast, seemingly a world of its own. 

This is the gift of this garden, as it is of all gardens, which is also why Gore Vidal answered the way he did, when asked about what he remembered most from his many travels: 

”Twenty-five years ago I was asked by an American magazine what was the most beautiful place that I had ever seen in all my travels and I said the view from the belvedere of the Villa Cimbrone on a bright winter's day when the sky and the sea were each so vividly blue that it was not possible to tell one from the other.”

Villa Cimbrone

Ravello, Italy