Visit Ravello. Private, independent tourism initiative, not related to any civic institution.
I was inspired to paint this scene in the lovely & peaceful garden in front of the "Municipo", the town hall of Ravello. The garden faces the Palumbo & Fraulo hotels, formerly ancient palazzos.
Chris Apel was born in Cambridge Massachusetts, and graduated from Rockford College with a BFA. An award-winning artist, she studied with Danni Dawson, the internationally known portrait and still life artist and Robert Liberace, the acclaimed classical figure and portrait painter.
While she has painted Italian scenes for over 20 years, for the past five years she had devoted her time to capturing the beauty of Ravello on canvas. Two years ago, she created a website (www.discoveringravello.com) to showcase her paintings of Ravello.
When asked why she finds Ravello so artistically inspiring, she says: “It’s everything. The breathtaking views of the Mediterranean coastline. The villas. The manicured gardens. The mix of Romaneque, Gothic and Moorish architecture. The flowers. The grottoes. With its colors, contrast, texture, subject matter, and perspective, Ravello is an artist’s dream: a marvelous interplay of natural and man-made beauty, light and shadow, just waiting to be caught on canvas.”
We all have a spiritual home, a place where our mood is lightened, our anxieties ebb, our pulse quickens, and our hopes soar. For me, that place is Ravello.
Why Ravello? Because it sings to me.
Admittedly, that’s not a very satisfactory explanation, but I’m a painter, not a writer. If you want colorful prose, read Shakespeare, but if you want to understand why I’m obsessed with Ravello, look at my paintings. Better yet, buy one. That way, you and I can both enjoy Ravello.
Email Chris directly at chrisapel@discoveringravello.com
Visit Ravello. Private, independent tourism initiative, not related to any civic institution.