Ravino

Botanical Garden with lodge villa. Villa Ravino
This is a unique concept on Ischia, fusing a lodge house with an extravagant garden. This garden, along with the mature areas around Villa Ravino, is the result of 45 years of great passion and loving work of Signor Peppino, the owner of the Villa. The exotic trees include palms, olive, lemon and orange. Cascading over the walls, pergolas and terraces are grape vines as well as numerous flowering climbers - providing a multitude of rich colours. A speciality of Signor Peppino are succulent plants and cacti. These are abundant throughout the garden and obviously thrive in the Ischia climate. Throughout our scent and colour filled garden are paths and steps to let you wander through and take in the serenity.
THE GIARDINI RAVINO
Nine years ago, the garden Giardini Ravino was born out of the courage to put a dream into reality, in details, that is to give a long-lasting home to cell culture.Giuseppe D’Ambra, a seaman travelled all over the world and a great aficionado of succulents and cacti, as of palms, all the time came back from his voyages with the bags full of seeds and scions of rare plants, one-of-a-kind in Italy and Europe.
The mild climate of the island Ischia und possibly the south-western exposure of Villa  ground, were the reason for the extensive growth of the plants and allowed their reproduction easily and unique in sort and amount.
That’s how the D’Ambra’s decided to show to the public this treasure that involved so much dedication, devotedness, sacrifice and patience. Directed by the father, Christoph and Luca, enabled by a genetic and inherited passion, with which they are born and with which they grew up, created a botanical garden that is open to the public.

An enthusiastic challenge, that also has to consider environment-friendly considerations as economical ones.; today Ischia is one of the most frequented touristic centres of Italy, with a potential that easily compares with other European centres, as with worldwide famous destinations.
Only taken the official numbers, which don’t reflect reality as the not declared numbers are missing, it is spoken of six billion visitors annually from March to October (eight months), at the rise to seven billion; the always growing numbers are the basis for the whole economy on the island. It is a petty that local entrepreneurs only believe that investing in constructions is the only way of growth and expansion (frequently disregarding urban planning laws) instead of taken the chance of initiating the dialog with the island, the “green” island, a paradise to make holidays.
The D’Ambra’s initiative is taken a place in this comparison, that is swimming against the current, to protect environment, not a construction; to emphasize nature instead of destroying her, to recover history, instead to bury them under cement; to cultivate contact between human beings and animals instead enforcing the differences ;
the possibility to get to know young artists living around the corner, not only the famous ones; to appreciate the sacrifice of those working with and for the Earth instead of only playing on the global markets; to enhance local trade and handicraft, not to imitate; to give room to alternative music and to exclude commercial ones.
Emphasizing traditional values, the D’Ambra’s opened this garden, to offer a place of culture and sustainability.The concept of the Garden Ravino, is not ahead of time, but is taking part and supplies a need of global citizens who sense this need more and more.The story of this garden starts in 2000, when destiny decided, that there is a piece of land for sale, right next to the existing Villa Ravino, at which Giuseppe D’Ambra already raised for 40 years around 3000 exemplars of his beloved succulents (probably even more…).
The story leads us to the vineyard of approximately 6.000 sqm, which could finally be bought in 2001, after heating debates. The difficulties arose right after the closing, when it became clear that the piece of land might be to flat. The necessary to work to move all the soil, to plant, to recover old buildings of the countrymen, the access for the disabled, the rules of constructions in progress that has to be looked after, shortly the whole amount of his enterprise, was enormously.
But there are no limits for those who want to realize a dream!
The team was step by step joined by a young and promising landscape architect, who planed the guidelines of the garden and coordinated the handiwork of the parracinai (old walls made of specials stones without mortar or cement and only can be handled by so called “parracinai”), the electricians, the plumbers….On September, 15th , 2005 the garden was inaugurated - the whole family was deeply moved and each member was touched at the bottom of the heart, additionally all the blaze of colours which alone was fascinating, the warm atmosphere and the familiar reception!