According to the legend,Amalfi was founded in the 4thcentury by Romans coming backfrom Constantinople. First theystopped at Palinuro to foundMelphe (hence they were calledMelphitani) and then latermoved north and foundedAmalfi (A-Melphes). Most prob-ably, however, Amalfi wasfounded in the 4th century ADwhen a new Roman colony innearby Lucania came under bar-barian attack and its inhabitantsmoved to the fertile and well-watered hilly area around whatlater would become Ravello.

The discovery of fragments ofRoman marble proves that thearea has been inhabited sinceRoman Imperial times. In 553 itbecame part of the ByzantineDuchy of Naples. In 596 it was afortified town that resisted bar-barians attacks until 838, whenit was conquered and looted bySicardo. After his death thetown, which owed only token al-

legiance to Byzantium, declaredits independence.

Amalfi was first ruled by twoprefects, then by judges and fi-nally by a duke, or doge. Theduchy of Amalfi came to em-brace almost the entire northcoast of the Gulf of Salerno upto Sorrento, from the sea to theLattari Mountains. Between theearly 9th and late 11th centuries,with the sea power of Byzan-tium in decline, Amalfi becamea maritime trading power. It hada near-monopoly of trade in thelower Mediterranean Sea, sellingItalian products (wood, iron,weapons, wine, and fruit) ineastern markets and buyingspices, perfumes, pearls, jewels,textiles, and carpets to sell in thewest.

A distinctive Arab-Sicilian ar-chitecture originated and devel-oped in Amalfi: the closelyspaced houses, climbing up thesteep hillsides and connected bya maze of alleys and stairs, arereminiscent of the souks of theLevant. In the 11th century, theRepublic reached the pinnacle of

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AmalfiIts maze of alleys is reminiscentof the souks of the Levant

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its power thanks to trade withthe Middle East.

Amalfi had its own bases inConstantinople, Beirut, SyrianTripoli, Cyprus and Alexandriaof Egypt, and the Amalfitani alsobuilt churches and hospitals inJerusalem. For centuries themaritime laws of the Republic,the famous Tables of Amalfi(preserved in the Museo Munic-ipale, or Town Hall Museum,were considered the code ofcommerce throughout theMediterranean. The nauticalcompass was also perfected in

Amalfi.The eastern connections also

brought new or improved craftsto the area: paper processing,tanning, silkworm cultivation,the weaving of silk, and poly-chrome glazed pottery produc-tion. Wool was also spun, wovenand exported throughout Italy;and coral was made into luxuryobjects, and pasta productionand cuisine refined.

The decline of the independ-ent Republic came after the 11thcentury, mostly due to internalstruggles. The Normans, who

The Duomo of Amalfi

by amalficoasting.org

AMALFI1 Piazza Flavio Gioia2 Arsenale della Repubblica3 Duomo 4 Chiostro del Paradise5 Museo Civico6 Museo della Carta

ATRANI7 Chiesa di San Salvatore de Birecto8 Collegiata di Santa Maria

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Amalfi colony in the Holy City.The cathedral, rebuilt inBaroque style, has a Latin crossplan with three naves divided bypillars covered with inlaid mar-ble that, in some cases, encloseancient columns (one example isin the 7th pillar).

At the entrance of the presby-tery, there are two ancientmonolithic columns and twocandlesticks with mosaic deco-ration dating back to the 13thcentury. The altar is modern butwas built with medieval marble.On the left-hand side, probablypart of the primitive church,there are two small chapels withfrescoes of the miracles and effi-

gies of saints, including GerardoSasso of Amalfi, founder of theorder of Malta. In the center, theglass cases contain part of thecathedral treasure: a delicateembroidery of the AngevinMitre (1297) made of gold, gemsand 19,000 pearls; a finely chis-eled Chalice in silver-gilt withenamel, pearls and gems (14 cen-tury); a 18th century ChineseSedan from Macao; rare piecesof silver of the NeapolitanSchool; and the magnificentFalca (a wooden part) of a 15thcentury Venetian Galley used bySaracen pirates to attack the city(tradition says that the pirateswere ship-wrecked by a terrible

Duomo

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landed in the area Amalfi in 1003on their way back from the HolyLand, conquered the city in1073.

Arguably the most famoustown on the Amalfi Coast,Amalfi is very scenic, with nar-row and picturesque streets,similar to the winding streets ofa medina. Piazza Flavio Gioia(#1 on the map), in front of theport, is named after the naviga-tor who perfected the use of thecompass - between the end ofthe 12th century and the begin-ning of the 13th, the Amalfitaniwere the first in Europe to relyon the property of the magnet.The statue in the center of thepiazza is of the navigator, FlavioGioia.

Crossing the square towardthe center of town, at the begin-ning of via Matteo Camera, twopointed arches hide the remainsof the Arsenali della Repubblica(#2), or Arsenal of the Republic(visits: 9:30am to 12:30am and4pm-7pm), where large galleyswith 12-16 oars, among thebiggest of the time, were built.

In the center of the Piazza delDuomo is a fountain dedicatedto the patron saint of Amalfi, St.Andrew, but the piazza is domi-nated by the Duomo di Amalfi(#3), or Cathedral of Amalfi, sethigh on top of steep, wide steps.Built in the 9th century, it is the

most important monument onthe Amalfi Coast. The originalfaçade collapsed in 1861 and waslater rebuilt. The large mosaic inthe tympanum, depicting Christenthroned among the evangel-ists, was also completed in thatperiod. To the left of theprospectus, and not aligned withit, stands the bell tower, whichwas started before 1180 andcompleted in 1276. On the top ofthe Cathedral steps is theatrium, rebuilt after the collapseof the façade, but only partly fol-lowing its original design. Thespace is divided in two bycolumns. From there, one entersthe Cathedral, the Church of theCrucifix and the ancient ceme-tery, also known as the Cloisterof Paradise. Originally therewere two churches, both withthree naves. The first one (theChurch of the Crucifix ) is theold Cathedral, built between 959and 1004; the second, wider andwith a transept, was built sometime before 1066, when itsbronze doors were cast in Con-stantinople. In that period, anearly Christian tradition of hav-ing two basilicas was commonin the region and both churcheswere officiated at the same time.The bronze doors depictingChrist, the Virgin Mary and St.Peter and St. Andrew with silverinlaid were donated by the

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The marble statues of St.Stephen and St. Lawrence are byPietro Bernini.

The Museo Civico (#5), orCivic Museum, in Piazza Mu-nicipio, (visit by appointmentonly) houses the "Tabula amal-phitana", the code containingthe maritime laws of the Repub-lic of Amalfi. It consists of 66chapters, 21 of which are inLatin. Although this versiondates back probably from the15th century, the wordings of thecode go back to a much earlierage, probably late 11th or early12th century.

Also of interest is the Museodella Carta (#6), or Museum ofHand-Made Paper, on via delleCartiere, 24.

The ancient tradition of papermaking in Amalfi dates toaround the year 1000, when theAmalfitani came into contactwith the new product in theirtrading with the Arab world.

“Charta bambagina”, as it wascalled, cost less than the tradi-tional parchment, there was arapid diffusion in legal and com-mercial circles despite the factthat in 1230 King Federico II pro-hibited the use of paper for offi-

The Cloister of Paradise

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storm invoked by St. Andrew,Amalfi’s Patron Saint, to protectthe people of Amalfi). Duringthe 4th Crusade, Cardinal PietroCapuano swiped Andrew's relicsfrom Constantinople andbrought them to Amalfi. Therelics arrived on May 8, 1208 andwere placed in the cathedral'scrypt, where they remain today.Towards the back, near the firstcolumn on the right, there is a“Madonna with Child” 16th cen-tury fresco.

The Chiostro del Paradiso(#4), or Cloister of Paradise,which is accessed from the leftof the atrium of the Cathedral,was built in 1266-68 as a ceme-tery for Amalfi’s most illustriouscitizens. It was abandoned in theearly 17th century and restoredin 1908. The structure of en-twined arabesque arches restson 120 marble columns. On theleft are tombstones and sar-cophagi from different periods

and chapels built by patrons be-tween the 12th and 14th cen-turies. At the back, is a smallchapel with a fresco of “ChristPantacreator” and a magnificent“Crucifixion” from the school ofGiotto (Roberto D’Oderisio).

In the collection of the MuseoDiocesano (in the Church of theCrucifix ) there are fragments of11th century mosaics from thefaçade of the cathedral; colorful13 mosaic panels from two of theCathedral’s pulpits; two Romansarcophagi adorned with bas-re-liefs; two ancient columns witheagles; a 14th century statue ofJustice; a 14th century sarcoph-agus with the Madonna andChild and the apostles; archesdecorated with 13th century mo-saic and fragments of the 12thcentury façade of the Cathedral.

At the end of the right aisle ofthe Church of the Crucifix is theentrance to the Crypt of St An-drew. Built in the 13th centurybut renovated in 1719, it has twoaisles, with walls covered in mar-ble and stuccoes. During theFourth Crusade, Cardinal PietroCapuano swiped Andrew's relicsfrom Constantinople andbrought them to Amalfi. Therelics arrived on May 8, 1208 andwere placed under the altar ofthe crypt, where they remaintoday. The relics are held in a sil-ver urn under the central altar.

Crypt of St. Andrews

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cial documents insisting thatthey continued to use parch-ment as it was better fitted forlong-term conservation.

The bambagina paper wasmade from rags that were cut upand put into stone tubs. Thepieces were pounded into fibersusing water-powered woodenmallets or pestles. The pulp wasthen put into vats. At this pointa frame with a thin wire meshwas placed in the vat and a thinlayer of pulp was spread over themesh. The water was drained offand the pulp was put betweentwo pads and pressed to elimi-nate any excess water. The sheetwas then hung to dry.

During the 13th century theproduction of paper on theAmalfi Coast continued to ex-pand with the gradual transfor-mation of the water mills intopaper mills situated in the Valledei Mulini.

After the Council of Trento(held between 1545 and 1563) or-dered all parishes to keep regis-ters of births and deaths, therewas a further increase in use ofpaper. Solicitors, churchmen,universities and offices of theKingdom began to use paper fortheir deeds. The best qualitypaper began to be used at theAnjou and Aragon courts, in theSpanish vice-realm and later stillin the Bourbon court.

As its popularity grew in the15th century, many foreign au-thors had their works publishedin Naples utilizing this preciousproduct.

The height of production wasreached in the 18th centurywhen Amalfi had 14 paper-millsand the paper-makers had theirown corporation, with a congre-gation that met in the Church ofthe Santo Spirito located in thepresent-day Piazza Santo Spir-ito. Other mills were in Tra-monti, Minori and Ravello.

The manufacture of papercontinued for most of the 19thcentury and with the Industrialrevolution came some signifi-cant innovations, with new ma-chines that accelerated theproduction. Later, disastrousfloods caused the owners tomove their factories to otherplaces complicating the papermaking activity.

Today, only one paper mill inAmalfi still produces this famouspaper.

AtraniPart of Amalfi until the 16th

century, Atrani is just a thousandyards away, toward Vietri. Pop-ulated by the most importantnoble families of the Amalfi Re-public (the Doges were crownedand buried here), it is one of the

most picturesque spots on theCostiera.

Its intricate road system ismade of narrow streets, stepsand overpasses traversing houses,orchards and gardens and is oneof the best preserved examplesof the of the Amalfi Coast urbanarchitecture.

The Chiesa di San Salvatorede Birecto (#7), where the Dogeswere elected and buried, is inPiazza Umberto I, the center ofthe town. The church was found-ed in 940 and completely trans-formed in 1810. The portal, with12th century carved doorposts,was closed by a bronze door,which was moved to the Colle-

giata di Santa Maria. The interiorhas three naves. Along the rightone, there is a 12th century piecewith two peacocks side by sidewith their feathers furled, dividedby a palm tree with a bird nest-ing.

The Collegiata di Santa Maria(#8) with a spectacular view ofthe Gulf of Salerno, is a monu-mental complex built in 1274 butwhose use changed several times.It has a Baroque façade, a majolicadome and an elegant bell tower.The church has a bronze door,similar to that of the Cathedralof Amalfi, which was cast in Con-stantinople.

Collegiata di Santa Maria