Hotel Palumbo stands in one of Ravello’s most enchanting spots, 350 metres above sea level, and offers a breath-taking view of the Amalfi Coast. From here, your gaze can wander out to the furthest point of the Gulf of Salerno, the Cilento Coast and the archaeological inland area of Paestum. The blue of the sky and the green of the garden are one with the building…The astounding blues of sky and sea are enhanced by the intense green of the Hotel’s Mediterranean gardens, which blend naturally with the building and its elaborate network of pergolas spreading across the walls and covered with climbing plants.
The scent of orange blossom accompanies the wonderful views that can be enjoyed from the guests’ rooms. The design of the exterior has been kept as close as possible to the original. Orange and lemon trees, rose-beds and old vines about a 17th Century colonnade that frames marvellous views of the Amalfi Coast, the Gulf of Salerno and Punta Licosa.
Hotel Palumbo still preserves reminiscences of the original medieval structure of the 12th Century Palazzo Confalone. Other architectural and decorative elements were added in the 17th Century. The architecture of the building is in itself a mosaic of time. The five different levels of the building do not correspond to modern-day storeys, since the original structure was essentially vertical, but irregular. Additional wings and a tower-like extra storey contribute to the maze of unpredictable openings, corners and corridors.
The hall has kept the original nature of court it once had: the ogival arches are of Moorish influence; precious ancient Greek and Roman marble columns from Paestum and the Amalfi Coast; multicolour ceramic floors made of tiles with geometric and floral patterns, Pasquale Vuilleumier and John Huston designed them in 1952 while “The African Queen” was being filmed at the hotel; stairs climb to the upper levels in a feast of ornaments and elaborate motifs which act as frames to the rooms and other areas of the hotel.
The Vuilleumiers’ refined taste is particularly evident in the interiors of bedrooms and communal living rooms: each individual piece of furniture and ornament belongs to the family home and all rooms and communal areas have multicolour ceramic floorings dating back to the 17th and 18th centuries.