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According to the legend, Amalﬁwas founded in the 4th century by Romans coming b

According to the legend, Amalﬁwas founded in the 4th century by Romans coming back from Constantinople. First they stopped at Palinuro to found Melphe (hence they were called Melphitani) and then later moved north and founded Amalﬁ (A-Melphes). Most prob- ably, however, Amalﬁ was founded in the 4th century AD when a new Roman colony in nearby Lucania came under bar- barian attack and its inhabitants moved to the fertile and well- watered hilly area around what later would become Ravello. The discovery of fragments of Roman marble proves that the area has been inhabited since Roman Imperial times. In 553 it became part of the Byzantine Duchy of Naples. In 596 it was a fortiﬁed town that resisted bar- barians attacks until 838, when it was conquered and looted by Sicardo. After his death the town, which owed only token al- legiance to Byzantium, declared its independence. Amalﬁ was ﬁrst ruled by two prefects, then by judges and ﬁ- nally by a duke, or doge. The duchy of Amalﬁ came to em- brace almost the entire north coast of the Gulf of Salerno up to Sorrento, from the sea to the Lattari Mountains. Between the early 9th and late 11th centuries, with the sea power of Byzan- tium in decline, Amalﬁ became a maritime trading power. It had a near-monopoly of trade in the lower Mediterranean Sea, selling Italian products (wood, iron, weapons, wine, and fruit) in eastern markets and buying spices, perfumes, pearls, jewels, textiles, and carpets to sell in the west. A distinctive Arab-Sicilian ar- chitecture originated and devel- oped in Amalﬁ: the closely spaced houses, climbing up the steep hillsides and connected by a maze of alleys and stairs, are reminiscent of the souks of the Levant. In the 11th century, the Republic reached the pinnacle of 1 Amalfi Amalﬁ Its maze of alleys is reminiscent of the souks of the Levant 2 Amalfi its power thanks to trade with the Middle East. Amalﬁ had its own bases in Constantinople, Beirut, Syrian Tripoli, Cyprus and Alexandria of Egypt, and the Amalﬁtani also built churches and hospitals in Jerusalem. For centuries the maritime laws of the Republic, the famous Tables of Amalﬁ (preserved in the Museo Munic- ipale, or Town Hall Museum, were considered the code of commerce throughout the Mediterranean. The nautical compass was also perfected in Amalﬁ. The eastern connections also brought new or improved crafts to the area: paper processing, tanning, silkworm cultivation, the weaving of silk, and poly- chrome glazed pottery produc- tion. Wool was also spun, woven and exported throughout Italy; and coral was made into luxury objects, and pasta production and cuisine reﬁned. The decline of the independ- ent Republic came after the 11th century, mostly due to internal struggles. The Normans, who The Duomo of Amalfi by amalficoasting.org AMALFI 1 Piazza Flavio Gioia 2 Arsenale della Repubblica 3 Duomo 4 Chiostro del Paradise 5 Museo Civico 6 Museo della Carta ATRANI 7 Chiesa di San Salvatore de Birecto 8 Collegiata di Santa Maria 6 Amalfi Amalﬁ colony in the Holy City. The cathedral, rebuilt in Baroque style, has a Latin cross plan with three naves divided by pillars covered with inlaid mar- ble that, in some cases, enclose ancient columns (one example is in the 7th pillar). At the entrance of the presby- tery, there are two ancient monolithic columns and two candlesticks with mosaic deco- ration dating back to the 13th century. The altar is modern but was built with medieval marble. On the left-hand side, probably part of the primitive church, there are two small chapels with frescoes of the miracles and eﬃ- gies of saints, including Gerardo Sasso of Amalﬁ, founder of the order of Malta. In the center, the glass cases contain part of the cathedral treasure: a delicate embroidery of the Angevin Mitre (1297) made of gold, gems and 19,000 pearls; a ﬁnely chis- eled Chalice in silver-gilt with enamel, pearls and gems (14 cen- tury); a 18th century Chinese Sedan from Macao; rare pieces of silver of the Neapolitan School; and the magniﬁcent Falca (a wooden part) of a 15th century Venetian Galley used by Saracen pirates to attack the city (tradition says that the pirates were ship-wrecked by a terrible Duomo 5 Amalfi landed in the area Amalﬁ in 1003 on their way back from the Holy Land, conquered the city in 1073. Arguably the most famous town on the Amalﬁ Coast, Amalﬁ is very scenic, with nar- row and picturesque streets, similar to the winding streets of a medina. Piazza Flavio Gioia (#1 on the map), in front of the port, is named after the naviga- tor who perfected the use of the compass - between the end of the 12th century and the begin- ning of the 13th, the Amalﬁtani were the ﬁrst in Europe to rely on the property of the magnet. The statue in the center of the piazza is of the navigator, Flavio Gioia. Crossing the square toward the center of town, at the begin- ning of via Matteo Camera, two pointed arches hide the remains of the Arsenali della Repubblica (#2), or Arsenal of the Republic (visits: 9:30am to 12:30am and 4pm-7pm), where large galleys with 12-16 oars, among the biggest of the time, were built. In the center of the Piazza del Duomo is a fountain dedicated to the patron saint of Amalﬁ, St. Andrew, but the piazza is domi- nated by the Duomo di Amalfi (#3), or Cathedral of Amalﬁ, set high on top of steep, wide steps. Built in the 9th century, it is the most important monument on the Amalﬁ Coast. The original façade collapsed in 1861 and was later rebuilt. The large mosaic in the tympanum, depicting Christ enthroned among the evangel- ists, was also completed in that period. To the left of the prospectus, and not aligned with it, stands the bell tower, which was started before 1180 and completed in 1276. On the top of the Cathedral steps is the atrium, rebuilt after the collapse of the façade, but only partly fol- lowing its original design. The space is divided in two by columns. From there, one enters the Cathedral, the Church of the Cruciﬁx and the ancient ceme- tery, also known as the Cloister of Paradise. Originally there were two churches, both with three naves. The ﬁrst one (the Church of the Cruciﬁx ) is the old Cathedral, built between 959 and 1004; the second, wider and with a transept, was built some time before 1066, when its bronze doors were cast in Con- stantinople. In that period, an early Christian tradition of hav- ing two basilicas was common in the region and both churches were oﬃciated at the same time. The bronze doors depicting Christ, the Virgin Mary and St. Peter and St. Andrew with silver inlaid were donated by the 8 Amalfi The marble statues of St. Stephen and St. Lawrence are by Pietro Bernini. The Museo Civico (#5), or Civic Museum, in Piazza Mu- nicipio, (visit by appointment only) houses the "Tabula amal- phitana", the code containing the maritime laws of the Repub- lic of Amalﬁ. It consists of 66 chapters, 21 of which are in Latin. Although this version dates back probably from the 15th century, the wordings of the code go back to a much earlier age, probably late 11th or early 12th century. Also of interest is the Museo della Carta (#6), or Museum of Hand-Made Paper, on via delle Cartiere, 24. The ancient tradition of paper making in Amalﬁ dates to around the year 1000, when the Amalﬁtani came into contact with the new product in their trading with the Arab world. “Charta bambagina”, as it was called, cost less than the tradi- tional parchment, there was a rapid diﬀusion in legal and com- mercial circles despite the fact that in 1230 King Federico II pro- hibited the use of paper for oﬃ- The Cloister of Paradise 7 Amalfi storm invoked by St. Andrew, Amalﬁ’s Patron Saint, to protect the people of Amalﬁ). During the 4th Crusade, Cardinal Pietro Capuano swiped Andrew's relics from Constantinople and brought them to Amalﬁ. The relics arrived on May 8, 1208 and were placed in the cathedral's crypt, where they remain today. Towards the back, near the ﬁrst column 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 left of the atrium of the Cathedral, was built in 1266-68 as a ceme- tery for Amalﬁ’s most illustrious citizens. It was abandoned in the early 17th century and restored in 1908. The structure of en- twined arabesque arches rests on 120 marble columns. On the left 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 small chapel with a fresco of “Christ Pantacreator” and a magniﬁcent “Cruciﬁxion” from the school of Giotto uploads/Litterature/ amalfi-guide.pdf