Villa Fraulo, the history from the 18th century to the 20th century
The palace known as Hotel Villa Fraulo, located in Ravello (Sa), at 6 via S. Giovanni del Toro, was built in the twelfth century by the noble Neapolitan Confalone family. Between the late seventeenth century and the early eighteenth century, the palace was purchased by the priest Carlo Manso. The property consisted of a multi- story house with an oven and cistern, and a large vineyard below, cultivated with vines, fig trees, pear trees, and other fruit trees, located near the remains of the church of San Bartolomeo.
In 1744, thinking he had mismanaged the Chapel of Santa Maria Vetrana in the Ravello Cathedral, Carlo Manso donated the entire property to the Chapel. However, the institution was unable to cover the expenses necessary for the maintenance of the house and the forest. Consequently, it granted the property, in perpetual emphyteusis until the third male generation, to the priest Giovanni Manso, son of the “Magnificent” Carmine Manso and Agnese Iannelli.
In 1755, the property passed to a nephew of Don Giovanni, the Magnificent Carmine Manso, who had three children: Rachele, Pantaleone, and Bonaventura. Upon the death of their father, they inherited, but due to debts, Pantaleone was expropriated from his share of the property. After various legal events, half of the entire property went to Marianna Imperato, while the other half was divided among the sisters Amici and Raffaele Paolillo. In 1899, by deed executed by the notary Battaglia of Castellammare di Stabia, the surgeon from Ravello, Dr. Biagio De Cesare, acquired the residential part from Raffaele Paolillo. In 1901, the property was sold to Francesco Proto, who in 1923 transferred ownership to Mr. Pantaleone Fraulo, the grandfather of the current owners, Matteo, Luigi, and Alessandro Di Lieto.
The father of the latter, lawyer Guglielmo Di Lieto, repurchased the property which, in the meantime, had ended up in other hands. Together with his children, he took care of its renovation and transformed it into the hotel that it is today. In short, a very long history.
