You don't have to be a Greek god to understand the great pleasure of sitting on a height and looking down as the rest of the world goes about its business far below you. It's a pleasure the medieval aristocracy of the Amalfi coast were well acquainted with, as they built their palazzi at the very top of region's already dizzyingly high settlements, taking advantage of views so spectacular they feel otherworldly. Many of these palazzi were converted into hotels in the 19th and 20th centuries as tourism became a phenomenon, and such is the story of Palazzo Avino, the elegant ‘pink palace’ that teeters atop the smart town of Ravello.
The palazzo has been in existence in one form or another since the 12th century, named and renamed for the families that lived there, including the wealthy Sasso clan, descended from founding members of the great Cistercian and Dominican monastic orders, who made it their home in the 1700s. It has seen many cycles of prosperity and abandonment, but having once become a hotel in the 19th century it has seen many starry visitors to Ravello pass through its doors, from Richard Wagner to Virginia Woolf, General Eisenhower to Ingrid Bergman. The current owners, the Avino family, bought it and restored it in the 1990s, and it is now run by the daughters of the family, Mariella and Attilia, who have made it an ultra-stylish destination for a young and glamorous crowd.
There are any number of reasons such a crowd flocks here. The hotel itself is impeccably picture-perfect, with its pink walls echoed in the pink and white striped parasols and canopies dotting the terraces that descend down the steep hillside. A staggeringly beautiful view stretches out to the east from these terraces, looking down towards the beach town of Minori and out over the Tyrrhenian Sea. Most guests will of course prefer to be outside at any opportunity, but the interiors are almost as pleasing as the exteriors, with colourful mid-century-inspired rooms by Giuliano Andrea Dell’Uva, one of Italy's most sought-after architects and interior designers. While we'd be loath to recommend a hotel purely on the quality of the holiday pictures you'll bring back, there's no denying that Palazzo Avino will give you some of the best you'll ever take.
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There is plenty to amuse guests within the confines of the hotel – two excellent restaurants, the fine dining Rossellinis (where breakfast is also served) makes the most of the heavenly view, with a signature candy-striped awning guiding the eye out over the landscape, while Terrazza Maraviglia offers more casual options next to the Lobster & Martini bar, where lobster and champagne are served from 6pm, along with over 100 variations on the martini. A terrace or two below, the lovely pool stretches out next to a small spa where guests can retreat for massages and then head straight back to their pink sun lounger. If you prefer to be by the sea, a shuttle bus can convey you to the Clubhouse by the Sea, a 15-minute drive away in the small town of Marmorata. A whole day can easily pass here, as the charming sunbathing platform is accompanied by its own restaurant and a villa with changing rooms and spaces to lounge away from the sun.
Beyond the palazzo's walls, Ravello is a magical place to explore, even by the standards of the Amalfi coast at large. There are other vast old houses and gardens to visit, most notably the spectacular Villa Cimbrone, now itself a hotel but with a devastatingly beautiful English-style garden created by the British peer Ernest William Beckett, 2nd Baron Grimthorpe, in the early 20th century. The Villa Rufolo, meanwhile, plays host to the Ravello Festival each year in July and August, with a series of classical concerts held on a terrace overlooking the sea, in tribute to Wagner's association with the town. The villa, whose gardens were restored by another British aristocrat, the Scottish botanist Sir Francis Neville Reid, inspired Wagner to finish his opera Parsifal, by providing the inspiration for the sorceror Klingsor's enchanted garden. Like Wagner, you may find that a visit to Ravello and the Palazzo Avino convinces you that you have entered another world, one that will stay with you long after you leave.
