Amalfi

Amalfi is also a town in the Antioquia Departament in Colombia.

Amalfi
Comune
Comune di Amalfi
Location of Amalfi
Amalfi Location of Amalfi in Italy Amalfi Amalfi (Campania)
Coordinates: 40°38′N 14°36′E
Country	Italy
Region	Campania
Province	Salerno (SA)
Frazioni	Lone, Pastena, Vettica, Pogerola, Tovere
Area
• Total	6 km2 (2 sq mi)
Elevation	6 m (20 ft)
Population  (December 31, 2004)
• Total	5,480
• Density	910/km2 (2,400/sq mi)
Demonym	Amalfitani
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	84011
Dialing code	089
Patron saint	St. Andrew
Saint day	November 30
Website	www.comune.amalfi.sa.it

Amalfi is a town and commune in the province of Salerno, in the region of Campania, Italy, on the Gulf of Salerno, 24 miles southeast of Naples. It lies at the mouth of a deep ravine, at the foot of Monte Cerreto (1,315 meters, 4,314 feet), surrounded by dramatic cliffs and coastal scenery. The town of Amalfi was the capital of The Maritime Republic of Amalfi, an important trading power in the Mediterranean between 839 and around 1200.

History

See also Duchy of Amalfi and Archdiocese of Amalfi for the ecclesiastical history.

Amalfi is first mentioned in the 6th century, and soon acquired importance as a maritime power, trading its grain, salt and slaves from the interior, and even timber, for the gold dinars minted in Egypt and Syria, in order to buy the silks of the Byzantine empire that it resold in the West. Merchants of Amalfi were using gold coins to purchase land in the 9th century, while most of Italy worked in a barter economy. In the 8th and 9th century, when Mediterranean trade revived it shared with Gaeta the Italian trade with the East, while Venice was in its infancy, and in 848 its fleet went to the assistance of Pope Leo IV against the Saracens.

The Amalfi coast.

An independent republic from the seventh century until 1075, it rivalled Pisa and Genoa in its domestic prosperity and maritime importance. It had a population of some 70,000, reaching an apogee about the turn of the millennium, during the reign of Duke Manso (966–1004). Under his line of dukes, Amalfi remained independent, except for a brief period of Salernitan dependency under Guaimar IV.

In 1073 it fell to the Norman countship of Apulia, but was granted many rights. A prey to the Normans who encamped in the south of Italy, it became one of their principal posts. However, in 1131, it was reduced by King Roger II of Sicily, who had been refused the keys to its citadel. The Holy Roman Emperor Lothair, fighting in favour of Pope Innocent II against King Roger of Sicily, who sided with the Antipope Anacletus, took him prisoner in 1133, assisted by forty-six Pisan ships. The city was sacked and Lothair claimed as part of the booty a copy of the Pandects of Justinian which was found there.

Amalfi was a populous city between the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. In 1135 and 1137, it was taken by the Pisans and rapidly declined in importance, though its maritime code, known as the Tavole Amalfitane, was recognized in the Mediterranean until 1570.

In medieval culture Amalfi was famous for its flourishing schools of law and mathematics. Flavio Gioia, who is traditionally considered the first to introduce the mariner's compass to Europe, is said to be a native of Amalfi.

In 1343 a large part of the lower town was destroyed by a tsunami, and its harbor is now of little importance.

Main sites

A view of Amalfi.

Amalfi.

Duomo di Amalfi and the piazza.

Amalfi occupied a high position in medieval architecture; its cathedral of Sant' Andrea, of the eleventh century, the campanile, the convent of the Capuccini, founded by Cardinal Capuano, richly represent the artistic movement prevailing in Southern Italy at the time of the Normans, with its tendency to blend the Byzantine style with the forms and sharp lines of the northern architecture.

Burial place of Saint Andrew

The Catholic Encyclopedia notes that Saint Andrew's relics were brought from Constantinople to Amalfi in Campania, by the Amalfitan Pietro, cardinal of Capua, in 1210 after the completion of the town's cathedral. The cathedral, dedicated to St. Andrew (as is the town itself), contains a tomb in its crypt that it maintains still holds a portion of the remains of the body of the apostle. You can also see a golden reliquary which originally housed his skull and another one used to process the bones through Amalfi on holy days. During Mass on these holy days, St Andrew's relics exude a liquid called St Andrew's Manna. The faithful are anointed with the liquid.

Today

Amalfi is the main town of the coast on which it is located, named Costiera Amalfitana, and is today an important tourist destination together with other towns on the same coast, such as Positano, Ravello and others. Amalfi is included in the UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

The Amalfi coast is famed for its production of Limoncello liqueur and home-made paper used throughout Italy for wedding invitations, visiting cards and elegant writing paper.

See also

• Amalfian Laws
• Archdiocese of Amalfi
• Duchy of Amalfi

Sources and external links

• Official Amalfi Coast Tourist Office
• The web guide to the Amalfi Coast
• Amalfi Coast Online Travel Guide
• Amalfi Webcam
• Amalfi and its Cathedral
• Amalfi Map
• Amalfi coast pictures and guide
• ItalianVisits.com
• Amalfi Coast Cooking and Pastry Classes
• Amalfi Photos
• Amalfi Coast Newspaper
• Amalfi Virtual Walk
  
• Amalficoast Official web site
  
•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)