Villa Cimbrione

Today we wandered along through Ravello's narrow streets, stopping regularly to gaze at the spectacular views eventually reaching the Villa Cimbrione. This is an old estate perched on the cliff top that was rescued from dereliction in the early 1900s by Lord Grimthorpe from Yorkshire. He came to this part of Italy in an attempt to recover from a serious depression following the early death of his wife, and fell in love with Ravello. As a consequence he purchased and restored Villa Cimbrione, creating a fabulous garden, heavily influenced by English designers such as Peto, Lutyens and Jekyll. Lord Grimthorpe was involved with the Bloomsbury Group, many of whom came here to stay and Vita Sackville-West organised much of the planting. It is a glorious garden, with amazing sea views throughout. I am sure it would be only too easy to recover from anything here. Lord Grimthorpe loved it so much, he left instructions that his ashes be interred at the base of a small temple overlooking the sea and Amalfi. I can think of worse places to rest in peace!Read more