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The Hotel Palumbo still preserves reminiscences of the original medieval
structure of the 12th Century Palazzo Confalone in Ravello. The five
different levels of the building do not correspond to modern day
storey’s, since the original structure was essentially vertical, but
irregular, a small flag like sign hangs discreetly above the main door
of Palazzo Confalone.
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; multicolor 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.
The Rooms and suites at Hotel Palumbo feature a mixture of arches,
corridors, corners, niches and passageways, a composition of "nests" for
the imagination, which opens onto the sun of Ravello and onto the Amalfi
Coast's mellow nights. Each room in unique, reconciling the medieval
origins of the building with ingenious use of space. All the rooms are
furnished with antiques from the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries belonging
to the Vuilleumier family. Faithful to the principle of individuality,
the detailing in each room is different. The Hotel Palumbo has just
twenty-one rooms.
If it had more, it would lose the special nature of a private residence
for a select clientele for which it has always been appreciated. 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 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 marvelous views
of the Amalfi Coast, the Gulf of Salerno and Punta Lycos.
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